inside to outside / outside to inside

History of the work

For the Lorraine school at Lorrainestrasse 33, the Bernese sculptor Beat Feller in 2017 swapped two things that were already there. For 'aussen zu innen' (outside to inside), the large glacial boulder that had lain outdoors on the school grounds for years was moved into the link building to the gymnasium. For 'innen zu aussen' (inside to outside), three steps of the disused granite staircase were taken out of the school; they stand on concrete bases to the left of the main entrance in the forecourt.

The work was created as 'Kunst am Bau' (art in architecture) during the complete renovation of the school. Building work, led by Rykart Architekten of Liebefeld, began in July 2016, and the children returned in July 2017. The cost came to just under 12 million francs. City architect Thomas Pfluger presented the result on 7 July 2017 and expressly mentioned that the boulder had not been disposed of but had become the starting point of the art.

The school building itself dates from 1880 and, according to the city, was one of the first outside the old town. The municipal building department designed the rendered masonry building with a low hipped roof; two extensions followed in 1913, the gymnasium in 1933, and in 2010/11 the roof was repaired after a fire in the attic. The building inventory lists it as worthy of protection.

Feller was born in Bern in 1955, trained as a stone sculptor in the 1970s and has worked in Bern since 1982. The artists' lexicon SIKART names object art, wall and floor reliefs, installation, conceptual art and drawing as his fields. He is also a musician and performs with his brother Ernst Feller. Earlier works for buildings include pieces for the Burgdorf grammar school and the Neuhaus building of the University Psychiatric Services in Bern.

On site it is worth comparing the two parts: outside, steps that no longer lead anywhere; inside, a boulder that suddenly lies under a roof. In the south-east corner of the grounds there is also a small fountain of 1880 with an oval basin.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Hochbau Stadt Bern: Bauflyer Gesamtsanierung Volksschule Lorraine (2017) · Stadt Bern: Referat Thomas Pfluger, Point de Presse 7. Juli 2017 · Bauinventar Stadt Bern: Lorrainestrasse 33 · SIKART: Beat Feller · Wikipedia (de): Beat Feller · Wikimedia Commons: Steininstallation innen zu aussen / aussen zu innen (Beat Feller 2017)