Project aims to reinvent concept of public space and make art accessible
ALEXANDRIA: Standing amongst a crowd of art snobs, government officials and giddy students, two old men dressed in galabiyas stick out like a pair of very sore thumbs.
The crowd has gathered along the Mahmoudiya canal, in an industrial part of town, to celebrate the unveiling of this city’s latest piece of public art: an avant-garde installation by the German duo of Hoerbelt and Winter.
And while the men in galabiyas have likely never heard of Hoerbelt or Winter – nor read about the artists’ highly-celebrated works in Korea, Sweden and Brazil – the wide grins on their faces say it all: this is fun.
In fact, built from 969 pink milk crates, Hoerbelt and Winter’s “Mahmoudiya Cratehouse looks less like an attempt to redefine the definitions of public space and more like a piece of candy glowing in the evening twilight.
The approach seems to cross cultural boundaries, too, says Berthold Hoerbelt, standing next to his creation.
“All [people] recognize that the crate is something you find in everyday life and that you can transform it into art, he tells The Daily Star Egypt.
Indeed, while a lot of avant-garde art is dour and pretentious, the work of Hoerbelt and Winter is exuberant and joyous.
Says Wolfgang Winter, “The crate is a thing that is everywhere in the world. A lot of sculptors work with stone – we work with things that are all around us.
A joint project of the Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF) and the Goethe Instituit, the “Mahmoudiya Cratehouse is also a major coup for Alexandria’s small but growing art scene, which is just starting to emerge from Cairo’s shadow as a vital center for modern Egyptian art.
Designed as an “intervention in the ebb and flow of urban life, the cratehouse is a place where people can examine the aesthetics of urban life – or simply head inside and relax.
Construction, which Winter says resembles a “sandwich with the crates connected by long screws in between a sturdy base and a durable top, took about two weeks.
“We finished yesterday – it was quite a lot of work, he says.
The project started last November, when Bassam El-Baroni, co-owner of ACAF, looked around his city and felt frustrated with what he saw.
“Over the past five years we’ve had some pretty bad public art in Alexandria, he says.
Characterizing much of his city’s modern artistic monuments as “extremely kitschy and devoid of intellectual weight, El-Baroni and his team at ACAF set out to create a project that would help pull Alexandria’s art scene out of the dark ages.
“It’s a very small scene here and it’s prone to a very classical way of thinking, says El-Baroni. “But what we’ve tried to do is to open up to new developments and try to get in sync with what’s going on in the rest of the world. Alexandria can feel like a very isolated place.
El-Baroni also wanted the project to have an educational element that would infuse fresh ideas into the city’s youth (see the sidebar for more detail).
After doing some research, El-Baroni found his ideal artists in Hoerbelt and Winter. The duo is well known for their simple yet elegant creations that challenge and redefine the concepts of both art materials and their place in public space.
And when the Goethe Instituit signed on – along with some much-needed funding from the German government – the project, which cost about LE 140,000 in total, was a go.
“Everything fell into place in two months, says El-Baroni.
Well, almost.
Along with difficulties in gaining permission to construct the cratehouse along the canal, there were some quality issues with some of the building materials and issues with supplying the location with electricity, according to the organizers.
“We try our best, but projects like this are very hard to realize, says the Goethe Instituit’s Stefan Winkler, standing amongst other dignitaries at the installation’s unveiling.
“I’m really quite glad it’s finished. I can’t believe it yet.
The location was chosen as an attempt to revitalize the canal and the surrounding areas. The canal was constructed in the 19th century as a transportation link to the Nile and is still the city’s main source of fresh water. However, the area has become a drab industrial area.
The location was also picked to allow the locals, like the men in galabiyas, a chance to interact with a piece of modern art.
“The ordinary classes see art as something really far away from them, says El-Baroni.
“The cratehouse is a work that is approachable and enjoyable.
Last March, Hoerbelt and Winter departed from their headquarters in Frankfurt and ensconced themselves at the Alexandria University, where they coached young students on everything from the use of unorthodox materials and the functionality of public art to definitions of public space.
“I didn’t think it was possible. No one knew what to expect from the students, but after settling in, we had some great discussions about art, says Winter, noting that working in Alexandria has been “totally different from other places . there’s a totally different mentality.
“They got to see how we worked and we got to see how they worked.
After the workshop sessions, the students were then given an assignment: take weird materials and design innovative pieces of public art.
And last weekend at ACAF, the students had the chance to show their stuff.
Hind Nawari, a 21-year-old student at the University of Alexandria, designed a floating café made out of car and truck spare parts. Her design, shown as a computer-generated drawing, uses tires as tables, car doors as kitchen doors and old car seats as the café’s chairs.
She says it’s a nod to both Alexandria’s seacoast and the choking traffic that afflicts the city during the summer months.
The piece de resistance, however, is the café’s roof, which is filled with streetlights and is topped by a bus. The menu is also themed for road warriors.
“We used slang Arabic, she says, noting that the words are the kind used by bus drivers.
The work is imaginative and irreverent, and Nawari says that learning from Hoerbelt and Winter was a great chance to expand her horizons and branch out from her usual studies.
“Here in Alexandria, it’s all classical art, she says. “Everything has to be clear detailed. This kind of abstract art doesn’t exist here.
The project also gave her the chance to collaborate with Martin Flemming, a student from Germany, and other students on the fantastic installation piece “1,440 Times a Day, which is basically a square plastic box that blinks on and off, illuminating the word “hi.
Alexandria’s governor, Adel Labib meanwhile, also seems pleased with the results.
“This is just the beginning, he said during an interview. “We’re looking forward to more cooperation between Egypt and Germany in the field of art, especially between students.
