German federal parliament has decided, that Haackes "Der Bevoelkerung" will be realised, inside the parliament building, as a contrast to "Dem Volke" on the front of the Reichstag. "Volk" vs. "Bevoelkerung".... Deputies were not all pleased to bring earth from their hometown, one member of the green party called Haackes idea "Oeko-Kitsch".... Artists doing politics....we had not the best experiences with such interdisciplinary work, and Haacke seems to be bad informed, what "Volk" means and about the history of the Reichstag in general. And I wasnt shure, if I liked the idea. In general Haackes things are ok, even if you dont follow his meaning, what he thinks, his works mean, they are strong even if you have the opposite opinion. But in this case... The earth....would be ok, if deputies are free to participate. But this case seemed not to be thought about. It would have a special beauty to see the work of art half completed, but now.... The case was interesting because Haacke and others said, there shouldnt be an open discussion in the parliament, but only in a special group concerned with the arts, how to spend those 40 millions DM, that are there for artists. Wow. The "Oeko-Kitsch" member of the green party reminded the fact, that there are no unknown artists, that art experts are questionable etc pp.... "Gesinnungs TUEV" was one of her strongest arguments againt the project. Heiko
