The Man of Tolerance (Tolerance-Cross)

The sculpture „The Man of Tolerance“ deals with the interaction and the coexistenceof different cultures in our society today.
The sculpture represents a person who receives his counterpart with open arms.

This man emerged as a sign of the presently urgent
Necessity of modern, open thinking towards peacefully cultural
Differently thinking and basically shows our western understanding of tolerance with the peaceful coexistence of different cultures.

At the first encounter with this sculpture, the viewer will certainly associate a cross.
This is not my intention!
My intention is to portray a humanistic person.

And this is in the abstraction with outstretched arms and closed legsnow sometimes a cross.

And of course our culture can not be separated with the Christian cross.
This man, and in the transferring sense of our present society, has been socialized with a Christian cosmopolitanism – whether he is religious or not.

This cross is for me therefore a cultural symbol – but also a religious one.
And yet the cross, the traditional symbol of Christian religions, has over time also become a sign of liberality and mutual respect for all religions for many cultures.

Our Christian society is open to all peaceful people,
however you may call her benevolent God.

The Man of Tolerance, 2001
Stainless Steel

Jan Köthe, 2018

© Jan Koethe 2013-2021