press review

concept / installation

ballet palais
firma raumforschung
film im palais
archiv im palais
picknick am wegesrand

publication: skizzen des verschwindens

experimental installation for working, living and sleeping over a period of five days time. a laboratory, where scientists, artists and architects investigate spatial and temporal components of knowledge production next to the ongoing showings and rehearsals of theatercombinat and ballet palais. three container ensembles provide infrastructure and facilities, set-ups for sleeping and working. four groups consider the issues of palais donaustadt: contextualised spaces, temporary art and theatre spaces, performative areas of actions, monumentality and public space.

course

the camp was opened with presentations of material and lectures by participants as starting points for the further collaboration. showers and WCs were provided for, collective meals on offer. changes of topics and combinations of groups were possible. for a final presentation, only material developed during this process should be introduced. the time frame was defined, modes and contents and spatial configurations should have been output of the process.

each group was coordinated by a moderator to focus the different approaches. during the 12 hours of the final presentation, each group was responsible for three hours and chose the respective spatial setting for its presentation. the aim was to focus the horizons of thinking and activities of the whole 128 h for a selective audience in addition to the general observation given by the exposed publicity of the place, to exchange material and collaborate with the other groups.

working groups

1) contextualised spaces
spaces are contextualised by their history, planning history, their use, attribution and allocation of functions, time structures and attributions of concepts. how and whereby take those contextualisations place in case of donaucity?

2) temporary art spaces and theatre spaces
art spaces and theatres are mostly defined by immovable locations in inner cities. what could be art spaces which move through an urban landscape, react to planning, political and social developments and consider the respective contexts and public areas as challenge for aesthetic production? these spaces would be no longer ideologized as 'containers', but broach themselves as issues of artistic production. how do those approaches affect concepts and practices of space in urbanism and architecture, as well as in artistic production?

3) performative areas of action
performative areas of action enable activities as controversial cross readings of performative approaches with various existing social contracts. under which conditions do performative areas of action exist? the swapping of different performative formats makes it possible to analyse the respective contracts of different fields. attitudes of construction workers, employees, inhabitants, leisure, visitors, actors, artists, scientists, architects are transformed by the aesthetically re-articulated space into artificial gestures of arbitrary social agreements.

4) monumentality and public space
in which dimensions are artistic and social interventions in public space conceived? how do economy and ownership prohibit or stimulate spatial approaches and their visibility? which ideological and political stigmata prevent monumental, visible spatial settings?

palais donaustadt considers itself as visible intervention into a privatised space to claim it as public.