The Seidenpudelspitz project refers in its assumption to the theme strongly linked with the regional culture. At the same time the jubilee celebrations dedicated to the 250th anniversary of birth of the writer were a pretext for the promotion of the contemporary art. This unique combination of tradition and modernity is the greatest asset of the Seidenpudelspitz, showing its artistic potential and generating the interest both of the artists and the visitors around the project.



 

The very title of the Seidenpudelspitz [1] project is rather torn out of the context element that can be interpreted in any way. Thanks to this it intrigues and compels the viewer to search for the intellectual context of the event.



The use of the modern visual arts to transform the spatial tissue of Friedrichstrasse into the space for the presentation of art inspired by the works of Jean Paul is the interference not only into the urban structure of the city (the street was free of traffic for four days, and thus there was changed the basic function of the street - from the communication to the performance). The strength of the artistic impact of the Seidenpudelspitz project consists primarily of its intervention into the social structure of Friedrichstrasse. For four days this, known on the local scale, the average part of the city becomes in fact the intriguing cultural epicenter completely open to the public. Peter Shmid writes: The architecture should be understood in the broadest sense of the term, as an integral part of shaping the civilization and culture [2]. The Seidenpudelspitz project is entered fully into this idea of the “socially responsible architecture” thanks to the special artistic intervention that has taken the place.



 

An additional advantage of the project is its interactivity. The arrangement of the art objects over the whole street makes them become the space for the personal travel and free exploitation. The creation of the visual arts festival events combined with culinary attractions revives the entire local infrastructure, increasing the attractiveness of the "cultural travel" along Friedrichstrasse. In this way the modern art enters into a dialogue with the elements of the public space and the historic architecture of the street casually, so to say. The clash of all the separate qualities within the space well-known to the local residents by daily use sharpens the senses of the visitors, resulting in an entirely new spatial perception.



Walking down the street we look and observe; the street is stored in us as the interpretation of our environment, it remains in our memory. This ability of the automatic unconscious organizing the space allows finding ourselves intuitively in the environment, discovering the places for the shelter and rest [3]​. The mechanism of the interference in the urban and social structure used in the Seidenpudelspitz makes this project not only a "cultural product", but also "the culture-creating product" with a real impact on the development of the local cultural identity among the local residents.

 

The exhibition was attended by fifteen artists - Germans and foreigners were invited to participate in the exhibition. The selection of the artists and the invitation rested entirely on the shoulders of the association Sillixen AG.

The artists had the complete freedom in choosing the means of art. The interpretation of the artistic works of Jean Paul was dependent only on the imagination and sensitivity of the invited artists.



The artists, who have participated in the exhibition:



 

The German artists:

Martin Fürbringer – Germany
Utta Hagen – Germany
Cornelia Hoffmann – Germany
Patricia Lambertus – Germany
Ruth Loibl – Germany
Philipp Moll – Germany
Christian Psyk – Germany
Robert Siebenhaar – Germany
Heidrun Schimmel – Germany
Andrea Sohler – Germany
Annette Voigt – Germany
Christa Varadi – Germany
Reiner Zitta – Germany



The foreign artists:



 

Sam Hopkins – Kenya
Ika Wato – Poland



The main organizer of the project, the Association Sillixen e.V. [4], exists in Bayreuth since 2006 and operates as a non-profit organization. The association consists of four people: Achim Eichholz, Werner Geister, Christa Pawlofsky and Johann Schuierer. All are active in the field of the visual arts, primarily as artists and, thanks to their association, as promoters of the artistic events.



The main activities of the society revolve around the organization of projects in the public space. The Association Sillixen AG has realized so far four such projects with the aim of stimulating art to life by placing it in the context of everyday human activity with unconventional exhibition ideas.

 

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• „Sonntagsauslfug”
• „Parallelaktion”
• „Glühwürmchen – Feuersalamander”
• „… no Center”

The members of Silixen AG look for the new ways of art presenting and the ways of communication between art and recipient, far from the traditional exhibition, which can be seen in the museums. The artist activity is settled by them in the context of public space, so that the cultural transmission is likely to reach a larger number of people, even those not yet interested in the visual arts, and to make the real influence on shaping public awareness and sensitivity within the artistic community of Bayreuth.















References:



[1] Roughly translated (in German): "seiden" - silk, "pudel" - poodle (dog breed), "Spitz" – spike

[2] Housing: Building Homes - A "CyberEmpathic 'Process Part 1 - The Model / P. Schmid. CyberEmpathy: Visual Communication and New Media in Art, Science, Humanities, Design and Technology ISSUE 2/2012. CyberSky. ISSN 2299-906X. Kokazone . Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web. URL: http://www.cyberempathy.com/ #! issue2article4/c1hf8
[Architecture Should be seen in its broadest meaning. It is what humankind is building as civilization and culture.]
[3] A. Głowacki, From empathy to cyberspace. On visual communication in public space, 1st Edition, p.h. Academic Consortium. Publisher EEZ in Krakow, UiTM in Rzeszow, WSZiA in Zamosc, 2012, p. 164

[4] e.V. (eingetragener Verein) - registered association, the legal form of the organization with legal personality in Germany and Austria, which are voluntary association of private persons appointed to the joint protection of their rights, registered in the German (and Austrian) court register of associations