katalog-overlapping voices - Ritesinstitute

liticians, even if this concern thwarts the ambition of instant harmonisation,
and however disagreeable or inconvenient it may be. “We had to face the fact
that the often emphasised democracy – the citizen’s right to a say in a matter
– is only valid if it is not troublesome in politically problematic domains of
decision” the citizens’ committee declares. if living together is not that harmonious
– should this not be noticed first and foremost? Should not every
existing position in this matter have a voice? administration and politics would
surely appraise it as more comfortable if the problems simply did not exist.
if the Turks would return to Turkey and the austrian inhabitants would stay
in front of their Television, eating potato chips, watching football and drinking
beer. if both parties would simply vanish. if the job was finished before it was
begun.
a few blocks further, at augarten baroque park, several user groups and citizens’
committees – amongst others the renowned Filmarchiv – were promised
that there would be a guiding concept for the entire park and its use, prior to
a decision on what to build in its southern section. The minister for Economic
affairs overrode this process of civic participation with an autocratic gesture
and made his decision in favour of a concert hall for the viennese Sängerknaben,
and against a planned cultural centre for films. all this before the
guideline was established. in support of the concert hall a part of the historic
buildings in the park is to be demolished. maybe there will be a plaque
on the wall of the augarten, teaching us how to spell “demolishion” in embellished
arabic characters, or the word “monument preservation” with
straight Hebrew signs.
a group of Jewish and palestinian artists from israel plans to apply writings
in arabic and Hebrew in public spaces in vienna. With translation in German.
The viennese being scared of the arabic but ignoring the Hebrew – i didn’t
expect that to happen. On a sunny day in February i am sitting in Nazareth
with Karin Schneider, Friedemann Derschmidt and the parrhesia Group, we’re
discussing the project in vienna. in two former arab neighbourhoods in Jaffa
and Jerusalem, parrhesia has added arabic signs in the street and on road
signs, brought back the arabic language into the public domain, where it had
been obliterated. Now the point is to carry the project forward to vienna, to
modify it in a way that works and makes sense. The discussion has an effect
on my thoughts for several days. Foremost i am thinking about how the project
will change in an environment where Hebrew is not predominant, not signifying
the dominant culture. in israel it is Hebrew granting space to the
arabic language and signs. in vienna, in austria, in Europe, both languages,
both types of characters will be alien. What implications will that have for the
Hebrew, for the dynamics of a group composed of palestinian and Jewish
members? How will the Jewish artists react, if they feel that in vienna they
are no longer the granting party? Will the palestinian artists still feel they are
the ones that receive concessions? Will they be at the same level of alienation
as their Jewish colleagues? What will be my part as a German-speaking
austrian? as the one into whose language the signs now will be translated, in
the way arabic was formerly translated into Hebrew. as the one representing
the “granting” austrians in the group? Together we find a wording for a programme
flyer: “The project questions the tendency of the Western world to
perceive the arabic and Hebrew languages and cultures as a threat”. and in
the end it turns out to be simply not true. The threat is and stays the arabic
language and the arabic signs. Hebrew is not co-equal, not even in vienna.
it is not a threat at all, rather it disappears. it is the historic element, the matter
that vanishes. it is no menace any more, because it is already checked
off, finished. it is marginalised, it does not even scare the Dammstrasse citizens’
committee any more. and that is the moment when even i get scared,
because all of my questions seem to become senseless. apparently everything
remains unaffected, stays as it is.
a group of Jewish and palestinian artists from israel plans to apply writings
in arabic and Hebrew in public spaces in vienna. With translation in German.
Graffitis. “To get permission therefore will be tricky”, i tell parrhesias in israel,
and they are flabbergasted. like in many European cities, stencil graffi-
160 OVERLAPPING VOICES
tis on the walls and in the streets are common in Tel aviv and Jerusalem. Few
of them are thought of as being art, some simply announce the party to be
given next Thursday, some are illustrating political slogans, some may simply
be beautiful. This is not possible in vienna, of course. “Not even on junction
boxes?”, the israelis ask? No, we would have to ask the city’s electricity
department, ma 33. But maybe on sidewalks? Finally, we write a letter of application
to the street administration, ma 28, asking for a so-called “Gestaltungserlaubnis”.
in a telephone call i learn that the municipality disapproves
of signs on sidewalks in principle, due to the risk of people stumbling. On
mariahilferstrasse, a big shopping street in the city centre, the municipal
waste disposal department, ma 48, has applied arrows on the sidewalks,
pointing to the garbage bins. ma 28 now removes these arrows, because of
the department’s responsibility if someone stumbles. So the efforts of one department
to avoid pedestrians slipping on a thrown-away banana skin are
undone by another department, due to the risk that pedestrians could stumble.
This fits perfectly with the placards which the municipality sticks on junction
boxes and lamp posts all over the city, saying: “placarding forbidden”.
it is debatable whether the waste disposal department’s concern is not in fact
mandatory, because it makes for pedestrians’ safety and tidiness at the same
time. and avoiding “noise pollution, vehicle emissions, dirt contamination
and a lack of parking space” is after all what distinguishes us culturally from
the camel drivers. arabic signs on the sidewalks in this sense are for sure the
epitome of potentially dangerous contamination. Never mind the message.
One may be afraid. and one may wonder whether we will succeed in effectuating
the end of Western civilization this way.
DI Ursula Hofbauer is a vienna-based artist and architect, who has been working in and with public
space in several exhibitions and art projects, amongst others: “Strange views” (1999), exhibition project
in the vienna prater with lettering on sidewalks, “permanent Breakfast” (1999-2005), the everlasting
breakfast in public space, Wine tasting with homeless people under a viennese Bridge (2002) and art
projects with refugees (2004-2006). various lectures, publications and guided tours about the permanent
Breakfast project, gender and public space and viennese landmarks. Thoroughly dedicated to all
questions of democratic use and appropriation of public space and resulting designs.