A project to the topic human dignity
The work refers to the article 1.1. of the German Constitution: "The dignity of the human being is inviolable". This statement, derived from the general explanation of the human rights (UN 1948), doesn't refer to German citizens preferably but formulates the idea of the human rights shortly and tersely. That is the starting point of this project.
It's positioned into two parts: The first part consists on a statement that is brought as a textline in the public area and the second from the installation of a walk-in area on basis of the investigation of opinions and atmospheres.
The line
The text "the dignity of the human being is inviolable" is translated into different languages and is written on the ground of public places in form of a line. This way, the sentence is transported from the code for an urbane context. The line is restricted and finishes there in each case, where the floor-covering shifts. It should appear in a city at several places so that the imaginary continuation yields a line network proceeding through the entire city.
The letters are put on the existing underground by patterns with white roadway marking. They are step-big so that the text line can "be crossed" comfortably without having to touch it. The possibility, that the white color wears out in the course of the time and the text more and more is deleted, should remain open.
A temporary action can take place accompanied to it in the media. The text line will appear in the entire day edition of several newspapers, for example. In this case, the sentence proceeds as far as to the last side from the first as a soft printed line. The screens (media facades) existing in the city and poster walls could be included just as well.
The
universal idea: The general explanation of the human rights raises an
universal claim.
Many states ratified these, but not all wrote this claim solidly in their
constitution. The question is, whether and how this claim can be converted
for all people of different nationality, origin and culture likewise and
can be realized. We would like to find it out
1. what people understand in different regions of the world by human dignity?
and
2. which are the differences and obstacles in the way to the realization of the "dignity of the human being"?
We
would like to transport the project to many streets and squares from Europe
and to other continents in order to stimulate the world-wide discourse
about it.
There, where it cannot be converted into this form because of cultural
and political reasons, we would like to contact local artists to develop
a suitable regional form together.
The living space
The perception of the human dignity from the different social, cultural and national viewpoints should be investigated and processed artistically.
We want to question people to the above named aspects and want to pick up their answers as well as the atmosphere of their habitat acoustically and visually. This material should be shaped with reference to an audio-visual area installation. The walk-in installation will offer a "trip" to the visitors through the cultures of the world. It shall transport the questions with reference to the universality of the dignity of the human being as well as mediates above all an emotional-sensitive dimension of the topic also as through the aesthetic confrontation intellectually.
As a traveling installation, it can then travel from place to place.
© Karen Bartram & Andreas Peters 2002/2004
The project is supported by amnesty international, Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte, Amt für Kultur und Freizeit Nürnberg, Bezirksamt Mitte von Berlin - Referat Kultur, and by Senatsverwaltung für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur Berlin.