Taming the Utopia
Exhibition Plan
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1. Do not provide any written material, data, information, or documentation on Yona Friedman, neither in the gallery nor anywhere else in the building. Do not present his bio, work, or the history of its influence or his manifestos (or parts of that), nor his credo possibly arising from it.
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2. Do not have any documentary or other audio-visual records (not on him, not by him). Do not show any pictures.
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3. Do not present quotes (regardless of length) by him or anyone else. No appreciation, no reminiscences.
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4. It is quite enough to indicate the following at the gallery’s entrance: Yona Friedman exhibition.
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5. Rise the ‘floating wall’ of the ‘Floating City’ (‘Ville Spatiale’) just a few meters from the gallery entrance using the distinctive Friedmanian elements all along with the gallery space, piling them up to a certain height so that visitors would not be able to sense depth and distance. Do not make an entrance on the ‘floating wall’. Although it will appear as a static complex, at first sight, the building parts can be undone and moved in any order.
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6. The inner space is not homogeneous but divided by Friedmanian geometrical structures. Depending on the very part of the ‘floating wall’, we might enter into different spaces. Different parts of the space should not have any function. They should only differ in form and material, evoking Friedman’s concept of aesthetics and concept. Differences should reflect the changes in Friedman’s work and thoughts. In this case, it has a retrospective aspect.
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7. Besides, the building parts must not have any practical functions – they have to be – more or less – closed units which, in that way, like the ‘floating wall’, cannot inform visitors about what they might find beyond the actual space unit. The (temporarily) distinct space units cannot be too big; they should evoke a certain claustrophobic feeling.
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8. Closed space units do not have an entrance or exit; only visitors can make space units transparent – either for themselves or for others. Building parts can be removed or changed depending on visitors’ decisions. The number and size of space units created by visitors depend only on their own personal decisions.
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9. Since all building parts can be removed, changed, or altered during the exhibition, the number of new structures is potentially endless. Pre-defined static building parts and the space units they shape – as a result of the constant interventions of the visitors – cannot act as a reference point either for the shaping of space and establishing aspects or for any defined aesthetic point of view, since the exhibition itself cannot be viewed literally only through deconstructing it.
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10. Do not provide visitors with any pedagogical or didactic help. They cannot receive any support for their activity. They cannot be informed, written or verbal; therefore, guidance is not possible either. Not even in this case, they do not act at all.
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11. There are only two usable tools (avoiding didactic elements as possible; the least information is given, the most it makes visitors tell about themselves).
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a. A simple paperboard sheet on the wall next to the gallery entrance without frame, ornamentation, or embellishment. Printed text cannot be placed on the board, only the following few handwritten (short) sentences can be on it:
Everything is removable
Everything can be brought here or taken from here
Every activity is allowed
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b. Approx. 4 cameras should be placed on the gallery’s ceiling recording everything that happens in the gallery from opening to closing hours. A screen should hang in front of the ‘floating wall’ built-in advance (only in the case in front has any meaning after visitors’ constant re-shaping). All camera pictures would appear on the screen simultaneously, dividing the screen into as many parts as many cameras operate at a time. Live and ‘archive’ pictures would run parallel, so past acts would come alive. There would be no long shots since each camera would only record a piece of the gallery space (so the whole location should not be surveilled). Also, time horizons would be slid since live records and ‘archive’ pictures would appear showing different times (and thus represent various states). Cameras cannot take really sharp images in order not to identify anyone on them (partly due to privacy issues), but they would mainly do so in order to avoid further observing of activities happening. Only fragmented outlines will be visible.
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12. Do not have a classic exhibition opening. Its date should certainly be promoted, adequate and prominent people must be invited, but the ceremony must be skipped. Do not serve free food or drinks. Competent people from the gallery cannot be present (especially me, the artist-curator). Visitors cannot be given any guidance (there is no one who could do that) so people could only gain information from the cashier and the cloakroom attendant. The gallery should open half an hour prior to the promoted opening time. Sooner or later, everybody would find the location, and all visitors would spend the time at their own discretion.
