As a most loyal companion, umbrellas have been serving the mankind for centuries: In the present, however, their service is less and less limited to the mere protection of carefully arranged hairstyles. In the past few days, several local newspapers have reported on art events that feature umbrellas of all sorts including tilt umbrellas– anyone who only opens them on rainy days has promptly given away a number of levels of meaning.
As a symbol of the shamefulness of the throwaway society, the objects of desire have long since started a second career in the art world; Umbrellas have also been indispensable as a protective metaphor for what feels like an eternity.
Labyrinth of Lies
It is all the more refreshing that the umbrella was able to open up a new imaginary space in a Berlin Willner brewery that had been shut down. 450 exhibits showed the confusion of the current situation in the usual expressive way. In accordance with the first part of the working title “Labyrinth of Lies”, 450 open pocket umbrellas blocked the view of the actual exhibits, which thus only opened up to the scrutinizing eye of the public via winding paths. Only 4,000 tickets sold ensured that only experienced connoisseurs ventured into the hallowed halls of the brewery. The art philistines responsible for this blog meanwhile had to start with a field report.
While the pictures of the London Conner Brothers and the installations of the local hero Sven Sauer were only discussed in an elite circle, in Lower Saxony a somewhat more popular understanding of art is traditionally cultivated. According to the local district newspaper, the artist Katrin Zettermann-Wawrzinek, for example, does not put any unnecessary obstacles in the way of potential buyers: as a downer, however, she brings the tiresome throwaway society back on the agenda on her forest art path.
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Under an Umbrella
True to the motto “Under an umbrella”, however, the visitors are consoled by umbrellas, some of which have been painstakingly restored, for this lack of thematic exclusivity: after all, many a collector’s item has found its way under the stick umbrellas hanging in the trees. So on the path, the obviously outdated parasols come back to new honor; Traditional umbrellas also encourage you to complete the art show you bought inexpensively for the Oktoberfest with an additional accessory the next time.
In any case, the virtuoso pieces of jewelry make a stroll through the meadows with umbrellas taken as promotional gifts appear as a small fashion outrage – even though high-quality promotional items umbrellas in particular stubbornly resist the rampant throwaway mentality.