Building site of I. G. Farben 1928

Pauline Kowarzik captured the Building Site of I. G. Farben with delicate strokes of pastel on paper. Observe how Kowarzik uses a palette of muted yellows, blues, and browns, creating a sense of subdued industry. The composition is structured around a contrast between the rising buildings in the background and the construction site in the foreground. Consider how this composition creates a visual hierarchy, leading the eye from the labor-intensive processes at the bottom to the imposing architectural structures above. The formal arrangement here mirrors the social and economic structures being erected. The repetitive shapes and lines of the building materials contrast sharply with the varied and complex forms of the buildings, perhaps symbolizing the tension between individual labor and corporate power. The artist's choice to use pastel allows for a soft, almost dreamlike quality, yet the subject matter is undeniably grounded in the material reality of construction and industry. This tension between form and content invites us to reflect on the relationship between artistic representation and socio-economic reality.