Daniel Man

Working in public space is nothing new for the artist Daniel Man, born in 1969 in London, who today lives near Munich: before studying fine art he was active for fifteen years in the graffiti scene. In his one-year design project for the kiosk outside the Lenbachhaus, Man developed a concept with phases that change every four to six weeks titled "Ice, Icebaby."

At the outset in May 2014, the artist sprayed the kiosk completely black. For the next phase, white lines fractured the black. In the following month, this gave way to a colorful geometrical composition that was then supplemented with stenciled lettering reading "Artists are mean and cruel respect neither themselves nor others"—a slogan modified from an American anti-graffiti campaign in the 1980s.

At the end of September, a muted orange-and-brown camouflage pattern followed, virtually turning the kiosk into an integral part of the Lenbach villa. Man’s design scheme in "Ice, Icebaby" transformed the kiosk step by step from black cube to an object that melted/merged in with its surroundings almost symbiotically—as if to reflect the gradual process of habituation to this foreign body on the edge of Königsplatz.