EN

Since 2008, within the framework of a series

of discussions known as Dornbracht Conversa­

tions (DC for short), Dornbracht has grappled

with current developments in design, architec­

ture and art. On the occasion of the ONE ON

ONE exhibition at the KW – Institute for Con­

temporary Art, Berlin, in December 2012,

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Dornbracht issued invitations to the fourth edi­

tion of DC. The topic: “Public Intimacy”. The

participants on the panel, Carolyn Christov­

Bakargiev, Susanne Pfeffer and Jeremy Shaw,

discussed with Charlotte Klonk the loss and

repositioning of privacy, through awareness and

communication in the area of tension between

the public and private spheres.

The moderator Charlotte Klonk provided the

introduction with a socio­historic classification

of the terms “private” and “public”. Previously,

the private sphere was connected to the area

of the home. Just recently, it has also referred

to an intimate space, according to Klonk.

Carolyn Christov­Bakargiev, Artistic Director of

dOCUMENTA 2012, questioned the difference

between private and public – this divergence is a

problem in Western culture.

“I believe that one of the greatest challenges

of our time is to understand the Self,” says

Christov­Bakargiev.

Overall, the panellists agreed that today the pri­

vate space receives greater attention than the

public space, while these two spheres are be­

coming ever more interwoven. The ONE ON

ONE exhibition, curated by Susanne Pfeffer

and sponsored by Dornbracht, at the KW – In­

stitute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, served as

an inspiring lynchpin, to which the issue could

be credibly anchored.

It made the art more direct.” However, instead

of leaving the KW – Institute for Contemporary

Art, Susanne Pfeffer asked artists to produce

works which were only intended for one viewer

and which sought a direct dialogue.

When asked how he came up with the idea for

his work in ONE ON ONE, the artist Jeremy

Shaw explained that during DC4: “I had two

choices – on the one hand, to create the beauty

of the silent encounter between the work of art

and the viewer or, on the other hand, to exploit

the idea that a person is at the mercy of my

work. I chose the latter.”

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“My idea for ONE ON ONE goes back to Jan

Hoet’s Chambres d’amis in Gent,” says Susanne

Pfeffer. In 1986, the Belgian curator there exhib­

ited works of art in private dwellings, as indeed

occurred at the 2006 Berlin Biennale in Au­

guststrasse. “I liked this idea of intimacy.

More information on the

Dornbracht Conversations 4 event

and the ONE ON ONE exhibition

can be found at dornbracht.com/cultureprojects