15 Artistic Positions Along the S-Bahn Line S2
April 13th to May 11th 2003 Berlin, Germany
Artists:
Susanne Ahner, Roswitha Baumeister, Marc Bijl, Dagmar Demming, Thorsten Goldberg, Gunda Förster, Azade Köker, Victor Kégli, Chantal Labinski, Inge Mahn, Andrea Pichl & Tilman Wendland, Norbert Radermacher, Arne Reinhardt, Mario Rizzi , Karla Sachse.
Start off:
April 13th, 2.30 p.m., Naturpark Schöneberger Südgelände, S2 station Priesterweg
contact:
0043-(0)30-7560-6968,
15 Approaches to an Idea to Discover Berlin Anew
From the April 13th to May 11th artists will realise temporary artistic interventions in public space related to certain stations along the S-Bahn line S2 in Berlin – in the trains, on the platforms and the nearer surroundings. The S-Bahn is not only seen by means of transport for people, but also as a time-space-lane.
The S-Bahn line S2 connects the historical and new center of Berlin with its industrial zones and the almost rural suburbs to the North and the South. Several times it crosses the former border of East and West.
A project specifically devised for the multi-layered urban space of Berlin – located between center and periphery –
TRANSPORTALE explicitly sets out to investigate the possibilities of artistic expression, specifically concerning its relation to the changing concepts of ?x201C;public space?x201D;. Some of the artists of TRANSPORTALE use visuals and sculptures, while others engage passers-by in interactive works, and still others using light and sound adopt a minimalistic position. The goal of the two years project is to postulate potential perspectives for artistic interventions in the (urban) public space and their conditions.
The artists in TRANSPORTALE implant uncommon objects in common places and stage live happenings in blind spots. Their interventions range from humorours and ironical to critical and reflective, and sometimes even playful. As the name transpORTale suggests (the German ?x201C;Ort?x201D; meaning ?x201C;place?x201D; or ?x201C;location?x201D;) their concept-based works each relate to a specific place. The ?x201C;images?x201D; and scenes thus produced unlike advertising do not wish to impose themselves on passers-by. Rather travellers may notice them in passing, or seek and discover them, thus generating a wide range of different experiences. In some of the projects they themselves become a part of the ?x201C;picture?x201D;. All artworks, though in varying ways are subject to a kind of processing: they are completed and individually recomposed by the associations of the beholder.
Through this process our perception of everyday life is induced to a stand still: amidst the constantly changing enviroment they provide us with an opportunity to stop in time and follow our own thoughts.
TRANSPORTALE was initiated by a curatorial team. The artists are not invited by competition, they are involved in developing the concept. The project started in April 2002 by a studio exhibition to show the different working methods of the invited artists. Included was a colloquium ?x201C;art-space-public?x201D; to discuss the different concepts, theory and practice and also to compare the situation in other cities.