A pile of 200,000 glittering glass crystals was deposited on the ground of Vienna’s city center for forty-eight hours. To protect the crystals, four red-and-white striped wooden barriers used at construction sites were placed around the pile. You could see what was left of the pile after two interesting days in public space.
What about the inhibition threshold regarding public property? Who will resist the lure of glittering crystals? Barriers and signs, even if red-and-white striped, have long since lost their authority. The project Errichtet 2010 – Ein Haufen Kristalle (Installed in 2010 – A Pile of Crystals) speculated on the speed information spreads in the public realm. How long does it take until nothing but a dreary and useless building site scaffold is left from the presentation of an imposing pile of crystals, and how far will people go to get their share of the cake? Does the dreaded privatization of public space already begin with such minor “peccadillos”? And isn’t the individual’s behavior of prime importance concerning which counter-measures may be taken against the progressing privatization of the public sphere – or, as often, unfortunately fail to materialize?