L J
Tobias Rehberger
THE ART OF THE SUBLIME
Tobias Rehberger built a flower-stand on
the Koningsbrug, between the station
and the old city centre. He did everything
in his power to make it a perfect flow
er-stand and fresh flowers are actually
sold. There is someone serving the cus
tomers, as one would expect in a real
flower-stand. But this is more than a
flower-stand; it is a sublimation of reality.
Rehberger has designed a fafade in the
aesthetic sense of the word. Seen from
the station it is a tapered construction that
runs out from one point of 26.5 centime
tres to a width of 2 meters. This propor
tion fits flowers better than people. The
shop front, with two levels, is divided into
a grid, with each compartment containing
cut flowers in vases. This is a theatre of
seduction, a joyous entrance to the fabri
cated reality of the old city centre.
On the way from the station to the
city centre the traveller passes two mon
uments of the banal: a flower-stand and,
on the opposite side of the bridge, a
fish-stand. Could one imagine anything
more commonplace Dutch than fish
and flowers? This is what we are used
to calling 'authentic'. But how authentic
can something be if it shows no signs
of aging, of wear and tear? When it is
perfect to such a degree that it surpasses
everyday ordinariness? Tobias Rehberger
is an artist who questions the concept of
authenticity. As far as he is concerned it
is a nineteenth century concept that still
expresses a judgement about what is real
and what is not. The latter is conceived of
as inferior. In his view authenticity is not
necessarily connected to originality or the
genuineness of an object. Rehberger is of
the opinion that an idea is more impor
tant than the thing itself when consider
ing its authenticity. He questions the ways
in which we look at things that are famil
iar to us. This includes the flower-stand: a
solid and recognizable object.
The urban environment is the home
of the flower-stand. In contrast to a shop
in the street it has a fleeting nature. It
seems like it could be moved at any sec
ond. The flower-stand does not function
in architectural grammar. First and fore
most it should be functional, and no more
than that. A flower-stand is a somewhat
sturdier format than a market-stall, which
is no more than a counter with a canvas
protecting it from the elements. One can
immediately see what is on offer.
Rehberger has turned that concept
upside down in a radical way and there
by transgresses the borders between
commerce, art, design and architecture.
His flower-stand is a clear architectural
statement. It is subdivided into two levels,
which is completely out of the ordinary,
in terms of flower-stands. The merchan
dise is exposed in a neat, almost perfect,
manner. This is more than a shop; this
is a display that entices and seduces. It
seamlessly fits into the illusion of the city;
a living display for all the luxury goods we
think we need.
This perfect display belongs to our
world of consumerism and experience.
Watching and being seduced, that is the
main idea behind this flower-stand, which
gives the impression of just a fafade.
www.tobiasrehberger.de
69
