6. Utopia
Free choice of place 'Traurige Tropen' (sad tropics)
"Traurige Tropen" is the name of the wall object by Eckstein related to the key work by Claude LŽvi-Strauss1. Artistically it is in the tradition of the suprematistic PROUN or the counter reliefs by Tatlin. With this Eckstein relates to an approach of modernity which has remained relevant despite or because of the above mentioned context. Modernity has not brought about the con- ditions of imperialism which ruined the existing symbolic economy in the tropics because of the demand for food and commodities of the industrialized countries but they were the result of the acquisitiveness of for example the royal houses, tycoons, bankers as well as the military elites in the national states which let fight for sphere of influence worldwide. The artists of Modernism did not look for the national, imperialistic and economic path  but with their images and shapes related to the symbolic language of the primitives where they saw sources to overcome the middle-class culture. Even when the archaic cultures on all continents have been annihilated by and by - their fascination still remains due to their obvious sharing the space they resided in and encompassed with nature. This co-existence contains an expanded idea of the 'shared space' where plants animals and people have the same rights and live in interchange with each other. It is an utopia of living-together that especially nowadays remains significant when we are searching for a balance with nature despite continuous further reaching destruction of our living environment.

The paper work that is fixed onto the blue tarpaulin of "Traurige Tropen" presents ornaments which moved from the skin of  inhabi-
tants in the clearings of the jungle to clothing pieces of fashion companies. They were adapted from the hippie culture and nowa- days are printed in large quantities by textile manufactories in Asia and America on fabric balls for the world markets2. The signs of reconciliation with nature find their dispersion in the mass culture. Even though the concrete recollection for the interrelation has been blurred they do fire the longing for free relations with each other and social self-organization.

    7. Post-script

In the spoken introduction at the opening of the exhibition I pointed out the streets in antique Pompeji. Those were  designed like canals because they served not only as road ways but also as public sewers. Accordingly the the streets flanking footpaths and crosswalks were several decimeters high so that pedestrians could cross the street without soiling their feet. Hence sewage and traffic stream were there on one level what shows that the essence of flowing of the sewage has been related to traffic. It becomes demonstative here that transport of large quantities asks for particularization, that is breakdown in small packages if possible: this creates smoother masses.  This procedure  by the way has been terminologically retained up to the immaterial level; because also in the internet information is transported chopped up in parts.

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1.The title of the installation correlates to the book 'Tristeds Tropiques' by Claude LŽvi-Strauss who wrote about two jungle peoples during his staying in the Brazilian  Matto Grosso. It was published in 1955.

2. LŽvi-Strauss researched the significance of ornaments in cultures without writing culture and couldn't have suspected that he delivered also an interpretation approach for the far-reaching global scrpt-lessness.

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more photographs of the installation
 Vernissage
This exhibition is the 03. for the year project shared space 2009 of  the EINSTELLUNGSRAUM e.V.    
Supported by the department for culture, sports and media of Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg and district office Wandsbek