Archive

Riverbed-sleeping

Campaign and temporary sculpture at the river „Große Mühl“


September 2004
Neufelden

 

Installation of 60 steel beds in the river bed of the “Große Mühl” below the dam. Joint investigation of life in the river and overnight stay in the river bed.

Art as social organism
Joachim Eckl


One problem of our time is the lacking feeling of connection with the people living in former times and those who will live in the future. The achievement and prosperity oriented single-society expresses this kind of reality. Art is able to convey to take a closer look, to remember and look ahead. It can connect people in their perception and encourage action. Art changes the world. It develops visions and perspectives, approaches and values and often anticipates them in its creations. New social realities are being created by this. Art is only effective in our social practice when we succeed to create social organisms. That’s what we call “social sculptures”. Over 500 people took part in the project “Joint water-drawing” and “Riverbed-sleeping” at the “Große Mühl” in 2003/04 and thus contributed actively to realise a “social watercolour”. A social reality has been created with the visionary power and the connecting energy of common pictures. This reality influenced the real conditions and affected them constructively. The “Joint water-drawing” and the “Riverbed-Sleeping” made a major contribution to the fact that as of the 1st of January 2005 – after over 80 years – the amount of residual water of the “Große Mühl” below the dam is being raised to 300l/s (30 times more than before). This resolution was made by the Energie AG voluntarily and in a mutual agreement with the state government of Upper Austria to revive the riverbed of the “Große Mühl” in its lower course up to the mouth. This now takes the needs of nature and population into account.