Missed the Theme: Kunstraum Lakeside

May 20 to July 2

Catrin Bolt

Missed the Theme

Opening:
May 19, 6 pm

Missed the Theme / On the Definition
of Spaces

The Palace of Versailles gave me the idea. Every space has a function, a theme— dressing room, breakfast room, reception room. The space and how it is designed dictate what is supposed to happen there. Similarly, the appointments / interior design of the Kunstraum Lakeside art exhibition space give an extremely functional impression—the furnishings and equipment suggest a theoretical, conceptual use more than an elaborate, flowery kind of art. On the one hand, the place defines itself through its design, but on the other it also prescribes a «correct» use. At first I considered employing the furnishings of the Kunstraum contrary to their designated function, taking them apart completely or exchanging them for something different. For example, I can well imagine replacing the furniture and equipment at the Kunstraum with those in the entrance area at the Cité des Arts in Paris. Or, closer at hand and more private, with the furnishings in my apartment. You could then relax comfortably on the sofa, the selection of books would include mostly novels, and you could watch a film from my collection on the DVD player. At home I could watch movies using the beamer, but would have to get used to the somewhat harder chairs, which call for a more upright sitting position, and I would also have to make do with books on art theory as my library. If, alternatively, the furnishings at the Kunstraum were to be taken apart, the room would look completely different, even though the same things would still be found there. Robbed of their form and function, the devices and furniture would present nothing more than a colorful assortment of materials. It would probably still be possible to ascertain what the things are from their individual parts, but the room would be another kind of space entirely, perhaps looking a bit like a deserted home improvement store. Without knowing how this situation came about, one would at any rate try to define the place and figure out what it is used for. Does a space only exist when it is defined? Is it only then that the things in it can be recognized for what they are? Is there even such a thing as undefined spaces? We constantly find ourselves in spaces and places, using things whose correct and false use is clearly circumscribed. Sidewalk, park bench, handbag. Their type and use are communicated through their design and appearance. I read more or less by coincidence a few weeks ago about an appalling example where this fundamental communication is breached: described in «Walking through Walls» by Eyal Weizmann.1 «Inverse geometry» is what the commanders call a military method for soldiers to move forward during attacks. Only rarely do they make conventional use of streets, alleyways or interior courtyards, and they never enter houses through doors, windows or lobbies. Instead, they move horizontally and vertically through the hostile city, blasting their way through walls, floors and ceilings. Behind every door a booby trap might be lurking, next to the window the enemy. But apart from such practical reasons, this approach presumably has a strong psychological component—because by ignoring the entire urban and domestic infrastructure, the very existence of the city is not acknowledged; it is not perceived as a true place. Using the street, stairway or door would send the message that their hierarchy, which establishes and determines actions, is accepted, understood and appreciated. In thinking about my text, a self-reflexive idea then naturally occurred to me. This was the idea of simply ignoring the text’s own defined space that it has been building up to this point—because by now readers pretty much know what it is all about. In other words, to overturn in a revolutionary way the power the text holds over me at this juncture as I have defined it up to now. My plan was thus to waylay my own text with another text. But now I think it makes more sense to look at the theme from other sides as well, and to consistently not draw any conclusion from it. Because that's probably just what you're expecting: that I will now present you with a nice, logical summary to close the theme so that we can turn our attention to other things. But I'll tell you right now, I can't conclude this text that way, because I have no idea what I'm trying to get at.

Orange Trees in California

This is probably one aspect of defining spaces and things: that they can be clearly classified and demarcated, as well as foreseen. This allows us to know which place can be used by whom and what it should be set up like. We can then say immediately without much ado what fits and what doesn't. I noticed this for example when I took a photo at the swimming pool for this text. Photography itself is nothing out of the ordinary there—people often take pictures of their children, or of the adventure pool. But I photographed the chairs with the towels on them—i.e. really nothing at all—and did it a lot. So, although what I did fit into this context as an act, its orientation did not. This made people angry, and they shot me nasty looks. What you do should therefore not only be suitable for the place where you are located; the goal and reason behind it should also be foreseeable and coherent. In defining spaces and things as well, it seems to be very important to us to establish their purpose. Natural spaces are often seen as largely undefined spaces. We thus make a sport out of assigning them a usage. We even decide what nature really is and cordon it off to create national parks, which are then in turn devoted to a specific purpose—as places of recreation and the preservation of species. And in agriculture we use monocultures not only to define what is allowed to grow where, but also what it should be used for—for example, the palm tree plantations serve the production of biofuel, or there is the idea of «Fordlandia»2—a plantation on which only rubber for car tires is cultivated. In order to determine what something actually is, it therefore appears vital for us to know what it is used for. When I was in California I once took a walk with a friend through a development on the outskirts of Los Angeles. There wasn’t much traffic in the area and a lot of orange trees were growing there. The trees hung full of fruit that was so ripe, some of it had fallen to the ground. No one had taken the oranges, though, because they were not designated for consumption—if you want to eat oranges, you buy them at the supermarket.
Catrin Bolt

1 Eyal Weizmann, «Walking through walls,» http://eipcp.net/transversal/0507/weizman/en.
2 «A Tycoon in the Jungle,» working paper by Andreas Exenberger, http://www.uibk.ac.at/fakultaeten/volkswirtschaft_und_statistik/forschung/wsg/ford.html

Catrin Bolt, born 1979.2000–2003 cooperation with Marlene Haring as Halt+Boring.
Solo Exhibitions (Selection): «Bilder einer Ausstellung,» Kabinett im Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg, 2008; «Mechurchletukhutsesi», Galerie Winter, Vienna, 2007; «die verlorene gute Laune», Österreichisches Kulturforum, Warsaw, 2006; «mtkvari njet», National Art Center,Tbilisi, 2006; «there is still something you should know», Galerie Winter, Wien, 2005; «eingezogene Decke», Galerie der Stadt Gmünd, 2004; «aus’gstellt is», galerie.kärnten, Klagenfurt, 2004; «no show is an island», Rossek/Stahl, Frankfurt, 2004; «Vor deiner gebrochenen Nase», Galerie 5020, Salzburg, 2003.
Group exhibitions (Selection): «Sleepwalking», curated by Amer Abbas, Temporary Gallery, Cologne, 2009; «Fortsetzung folgt», curated by Katrina Petter, Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Vienna, 2009; Fotofestival Mannheim Ludwigshafen Heidelberg, Installation curated by vvork, Mannheim, 2009; «Factory», Modern Art Museum of Bat Yam, 2009; «Kunst im Park. Schloßpark Grafenegg», Art in Public Space Lower Austria, 2009; «Kairos», Biennial of young artists of the European and the Mediterranean, organized by Alessandro Stillo, Exhibition Center Fiera, Bari 2008; «Grillparty und Show», Apartment of Sonia Leimer, Vienna 2007; «Unterspiel2», curated by Seamus Kealy, Blackwood Gallery, Toronto, 2007; «Groupshow», international lab of artists and dancers, Tanzquartier, Vienna, 2007; «Luft holen», curated by Inge Vavra, Künstlerhaus Klagenfurt, 2006; Symposion at Villa Garikula, organised by KulturSchmiede Vienna 2005; «Die Ritter der Tafelrunde», curated by Roland Seidel, Künstlerhauspassage, Vienna 2005; «Unterspiel», curated by Seamus Kealy, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, 2005.