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Grassimesse Leipzig 2024 Compact: vondingen


Published on 27.10.2024
vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Grassimesse Leipzig 2024 Compact: vondingen

As discussed with Grassimesse Project Manager Sabine Epple, in order to stage Grassimesse during Covid it was necessary to place exhibitors in the permanent exhibtion spaces by way of guaranteeing the legally required distancing. A concept that exhibitors and visitors very much took to and which thus has continued post social distancing reality, and that very much not only to the agreement of exhibitors and visitors but to the benefit of the Grassimesse which has gained a new dimension. One obviously can't and shouldn't talk of advantages of Covid, but...

An integration of contemporary craft, applied art and design amongst historic examples of the same that on occasion results in a direct communication between then and now, occasionally a counterpoint, and occasionally inspires an exhibitor to engage with the setting in which their works are to be presented. The latter being the case with Berlin based manufacturer vondingen a.k.a. artist Georg Eisenmenger and designer Jakob Timpe, who finding themselves set beneath the monumental 18th century Gobelin The School of Athens, a work based on, copied from, Raffael's 16th century fresco in the Vatican, set about developing a scenography that expanded the 2D Gobelin into 3D, a scenography that set their works as elements of that Gobelin, that set the vondingen portfolio as elements of The School of Athens. Which, no isn't pretentious.

And also allows you to set yourself as a member of The School of Athens. Which we did. Which is and was an act of unbridled pretension on our part.

And we did so, as you also can, thanks to the vondingen ladder 3½ which allows you to climb up and communicate with Ptolemy, Ibn Rushd, Parmenides, Pythagoras, amongst others, whereby Plato and Aristotle are a still a bit too high, yes, metaphor. A ladder we're calling a library ladder, and that primarily on account of the extended central pole which, we assume we've never actually used it in an actual library, but which we assume, presume, will provide support and stability while you search in your bookcase, although as a ladder it's uses are arguably many in all manner of domestic, civic, commercial, educational, et al contexts.

A pleasingly compact work that takes advantage of not only the geometry of the tripod, the pyramid, to reduce its physical presence, a decision of which Pythagoras may or may not approve, but also makes use of the so-called samba principle, as in the off-setting of steps for the left and right foot and not the music of Rio de Janeiro, to aid its reduction, which again Pythagoras may or may not approve of, the step arrangement not the musical arrangement, although we don't know. But thanks to 3½ you could ask him. The use of the the tripod, the pyramid, also enforcing an alignment between the apex and the centre of the base which not only allows 3½ to fit into a space much smaller than it apparently needs, but also allows it to get up close to bookcases, cupboards, shelving, walls, etc.

3½ by vondingen in the version with the long neck, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
3½ by vondingen in the version with the long neck, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024

Beyond offering stable and secure use as a ladder 3½'s steps can be employed as an impromptu seat and perch, and it can also serve as a space, a location, for storing coats, clothes and other similar objects, making it an interesting option in the hall. Especially if that hall contains high bookcases. And is also a visually intriguing and communicative work, a work with a satisfying graphic quality, as an object it appeals as much visually as functionally, which isn't always the case with ladders, and that, arguably on account of the structural decisions necessary to achieve its space-saving form, and which mean that as a work it is curiously resemblant of a giraffe, which arguably also aids its compactness, a subject we'll return to shortly in context of another Giraffidae-esque project.

And a work joined in vondingen's School of Athens by an alternative version without the long neck, is one so will, an okapi, that squatter member of the Giraffidae, arguably that which Jean-Baptiste Lamarck thought the giraffe started of as before through stretching ever higher upwards its neck grew, which, yes, is an interesting discussion for The School of Athens. A 3½ okapi that is graphically every bit as satisfying as its giraffe relation and which despite its somewhat chunkier materials presents itself as visually lighter than said 3½ giraffe, an effect arguably due to the visual deception produced by the lack of the neck/central pole but also by the angled construction which seems to cause it to fold in on itself. And a difference of appearance that tends to imply a difference of use; you can still use the 3½ okapi in a library but are, we'd imagine, more likely to employ it as a general step ladder for reaching higher shelves and spaces, and that, again, in all manner of domestic, civic, commercial, educational, et al contexts. And also using it with just as much ease, security and stability as an impromptu seat and perch. If it doesn't offer the clothes horse function. OK it does, but not as elegantly, practically or tidily. Probably only the likes of us would use it as such.

Thus an okapi and giraffe which having engaged with you want to discuss with Plato in context of his position that physical objects are but the imperfect, imitation representations of a perfect, higher ideal, an archetype, in this case a pyramid. And then bring in Euclid to that discussion. And Pythagoras, unless he's of practising his samba.

3½ by vondingen in the neckless version, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
3½ by vondingen in the neckless version, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024

Beyond 3½ in its various incarnations vondingen also populated The School of Athens with their Stand trestle table, an object based around a plug'n'play system in which legs and frame are slotted though each other in such a way that the base is self-supporting; the Sims shelving which with their tapering into nothingness as they move away from the wall invoke a pleasing improbable lightness, and which as oiled pine are also suitable for bathroom and kitchen; the Indirektor light, an fascinating construction from three lengths of aluminium held together by plastic clips, and whose lamp head can be tilted allowing it to point either horizontally to the ceiling or vertically to a wall, both of which reflect the illumination back into the room. The indirect light of the name, and which is an important component of any interior lighting design but not always present.

And also by Display a nest of beach rods that can be a bookrest, can be a desk tidy, can be a hall table tidy, can be a bedside table tidy, can be a tablet stand, can be a filing system, can even be an aid to displaying. An object that, as with 3½, is a highly graphic work, a work that arguably need do nothing, does all it need do through being in the room. And an object that particularly caught our attention on account of its stupidly simple, rational, efficient, multifunctional construction system: the longer beach rods all feature four holes into which the shorter rods slot, a plug'n'play as easy and foolproof as that on which Stand is based, and which also means that those longer rods on the edge proudly present their unused, unfilled, holes, which on the one hand provides a decorative note, and on the other allows Display to, well, display, it's workings, its construction principle and thereby helps bequeaths Display an honesty and openness that is very welcome in our contemporary age. And, potentially, also allows it to be endlessly extended, an important consideration because if our lives never stay the same why should our objects of daily use.

Which, yes, does sound like a conversation you want to, must, engage Parmenides and Heraclitus in.

vondingen and all other projects selected or invited to participate in the 2024 Grassimesse Leipzig can be enjoyed, viewed, engaged with until 6pm on Sunday October 27th at the Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Johannisplatz 5-11, 04103 Leipzig.

Full details of the 2024 Grassimesse, including opening hours and ticket prices, can be found at www.grassimesse.de

And more information on vondingen can be found at www.vondingen.com

Display by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Display by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Indirektor by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Indirektor by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Indirektor pointing upwards and backwards
Indirektor pointing upwards and backwards
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024
Works by vondingen, as seen in The School of Athens at Grassimesse Leipzig 2024

Tags

# #Berlin #display #Georg Eisenmenger #Giraffidae #Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst #Grassimesse #Jakob Timpe #ladder #Leipzig #The School of Athens #vondingen