NARRATOR:
The title of this work, a 1967 installation by Charlotte Posenenske, is Series D Vierkantrohre, which means ‘Series D Square Tubes’ in English. The work in the M+ Collection is a re-creation of the original, made in 2014. It consists of 16 modular units with six designs. The medium includes hot-dip galvanised sheet steel and screws. The dimensions of the work and the number of modular units displayed vary depending on how the units are assembled in the display space.
The modular units are standardised components of different designs. They can be put together in different ways, forming different shapes according to the curation or the characteristics of the display space. After assembly, the work looks like a rectangular ventilation duct of silver colour. The duct can stand alone on the floor, it can be attached to walls and ceilings, or it can be suspended in the air. For example, the modular units can be assembled to form a U-shape that stands on its turning point and has the height of an adult. They can also be configurated to look like a chimney that runs up a wall, or a ventilation duct that appears to run through a wall by putting two separate ducts on the opposite sides of the wall.
The six designs of modular unit are cuboid-like tubes in different shapes and length, with vertical or angled cross-sectional ends.
The designs include: first of all, the ‘Rectangular Tube’, which is a long cuboid tube with rectangular openings at both ends. Second, the ‘Square Tube’, which also has a long tube design, but with square openings that are twice as wide as the rectangular ones. Third, the ‘Cubic Tube’ is a shorter version of the previous design that is cubic in shape. Fourth, the ‘Transition Piece’ is a short trapezium tube with a square opening at one end and a smaller rectangular opening at the other end, which serves as a connector between a Rectangular Tube and a Square or Cubic Tube. Fifth, the ‘Angular Piece’, is a short tube that has the shape of a triangular prism that allows the connecting units to change in angle by 45 degrees. The sixth and the last design, the ‘T-piece’, is a short tube that has three openings that point towards the 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock directions, allowing the connecting units to split into two branches.
