STANDPUNKTE UNTERSCHIEDLICHER SICHTWEISEN

downtown Solothurn, Architektur Forum Solothurn, Switzerland

2002

This work was developed during several walks in this relatively small city (Solothurn has about 50.000 inhabitants). The fact that it is possible to get an impression of the city and its structure very quickly prompted me to involve the whole city in my installation. At the same time, the installations have to communicate – especially with the city’s inhabitants. With this in mind, I frequently made observations along walking trails in the inner city. I noted places that people frequently used for various purposes (meeting points, viewpoints, standing points, observation points…). The number of points depends on their respective environment. The points take on functions and visualize different views of the context and associated behavior. Stopping and standing at a traffic light, at a crosswalk, to have a look at an important building, to orientate oneself, to wait for the next bus, or waiting to observe or meet people. Twenty-eight places were marked with 50 cm diameter blue dots. The color and surface of the standpoints were based on the Swiss system of traffic signs for stopping and parking. Strongly different in their respective functions, the dots nevertheless form an open net of contact points due to their uniform design. Only when the space is occupied does the meaning of their position become clear. The net remains incomplete but cries out for its completion. The installation triggered a discussion of the different meanings of the dots and their positions: “Why does this café have a dot and not that one? Or why is there the salient point of seeing something? …”.