“Room for Characters”. The site-specific text installation on the big wall (6,5×10 m) refers to the history of the Nestroyhof . The Jugendstil building was finished in 1898 according to the plans of architect Oskar Marmorek. He was a close friend of Theodor Herzl, journalist, writer, political activist and “father” of the modern political Zionism. Beside his influential and controversial book Der Judenstaat (The State of the Jews; published in 1896 ) he also published Altneuland (The Old New Land) in 1902. In this utopian novel about a prosperous Jewish state in accordance with all its neighbours an architect called Steinek plays an important role. Herzl used his friend Marmorek as a close reference for this character.
The sprayed text on the wall is a cut-up of quotes by architect Steinek vulgo Marmorek from Altneuland. The letter paintings, which are integrated in this text, establish a colour-coded second level of meaning made up of the names of real people in connection with the building. Anna Stein (the last owner before the building was aryanized in 1940; yellow), Oskar Marmorek (red), Julius Schwarz (the principal of the house; black) – and the word raumbezogen (space related), the name of the exhibition series of the Kunstraum where this exhibition takes place.
Foto: kunst-dokumentation.com/michael endlicher