Moiré Wind Pendulum

History of the work

In the inner courtyard of the Gymnasium Neufeld at Bremgartenstrasse 133 stands the “Moiré-Windpendel” (Moiré Wind Pendulum) by Werner Witschi from 1971, made of galvanised steel. The architects Hans Andres and Felix Wyler built the school itself from 1962 to 1965 on the edge of the Bremgarten forest; in spring 1965 the city's classical and modern-language grammar schools moved in, and the building was inaugurated in 1966.

Witschi was born in Urtenen on 10 June 1906. He qualified as a secondary school teacher at the University of Bern in 1928, studied with André Lhote in Paris in 1928/29 and taught at the secondary school in Bolligen from 1930 to 1963, then drawing at the teacher training college of the Neue Mädchenschule in Bern until 1971. His paintings date from between 1924 and 1953. From the 1950s he worked non-figuratively in iron; he became known for the “Rütlischwur” (Rütli Oath) made for the 1964 national exhibition in Lausanne, which has stood in Flüelen since 1965.

From 1966 Witschi turned to movement. He mounted pendulums made of rows of rods with metal sheets on metal stems and placed perforated sheets one behind another. When such grids move against each other, constantly changing moiré patterns appear. According to an obituary by Swissinfo, he only discovered the moiré effect at around sixty through his wind pendulums; afterwards came works for the Gymnasium Neufeld, among others. According to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, the kinetic works earned him international attention.

Witschi died in Bolligen on 24 December 1999. Another moiré object by him, made of two curved perforated sheets and dated 1974, belongs to the Institute of Exact Sciences on the Grosse Schanze. In the school courtyard it is worth stopping on a windy day: the patterns then shift with every movement of the pendulum.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · HLS: Witschi, Werner · Wikipedia (de): Werner Witschi · Swissinfo: Berner Künstler Werner Witschi 93-jährig gestorben · Wikipedia (de): Gymnasium Neufeld · Bauinventar Stadt Bern: Sidlerstrasse 5