One of the last days of Urban Interface Oslo somebody decided to unplug the sensor driven sound and light box inside the pentagon. Without damaging any hardware the voices and lights were silenced.

Blue Wall of Silence | Friluftskino | Soundpockets | Orange Works | Telart | The Head

But what were the interests or priorities of the using public—in this case the Elgsletta area residents? We see that the Solarium was used by residents with a generally weak ability to make a space claim for themselves (homeless persons, street people, etc.) who saw it as a fortunate passive space to be claimed, and when possible closed off. Though the structure was initially clean, open and safe, it did not generally attract the mixed use of the jogger or the mother pushing the pram. It is as though the space was seen as exceptional, not fitting into pre-established spatial patterns and so attracted an exceptional population that has little ability to control a private space of home or apartment—public space as a collective remainder for those without private space. What would happen if this understanding were to be formalized in law?

The project’s result perhaps puts into question the default leftist protest against the privatization of public space—that it a resource to be shared, because perhaps in reality, we are not so interested in making the social negotiations that sharing entails. One could point to the particularities of the site, with its mark of the other (Somali hash dealers, junkies) to account for this reaction, but I think the site just put the question into stronger relief—the dynamic might be replicated, albeit more softly at other sites.

Is this a question of the cultural conditioning associated with capitalism or does it reach back to something more natural, as Adam Smith proposed with his “tragedy of the commons” theory?

As far as the structure needing to be taken down, I think it is a very good result for the project, breaking through the circumscribed envelope that often encompasses the artworld, and pushing a situation until it became problematic.

Dreams of huge trolleys or cranes to take the house it self away or small houses just like this one (but with a proper door and window) was a subject throughout the two hours plus it took us to take the walls down. Hinges and screws were taken care of by the helpers so they could construct something of their own.

Anders and the moose

Three happy campers

Getting good help

Orangework sure knows how to construct - those bolts were hard to crack..

“Keep clean - put your garbage in bags or similar”

To be continued…

Without the walls the lights and sounds are triggered by every passer-by. At night the pentagon has a strong presence on the square.

Saturday 09/29/07

Early morning. The walls are pretty much gone, the rain dissolves the flour and paper and the birds take care of the rest.

This will happen today, wednesday, and anybody interested in the materials are welcome to show up around 1730 (the sofa has allready been booked).

http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/009621.php

Monday 09/24/07