Hollein - Tobacconist’s.

Hollein's masterpiece from the '60ies - the Retti shop

Designing and building a tobacco shop is not quite a proper, political correct commission - anyway - Austria's only Pritzker Prize winning architect did it: In 1992, Hans Hollein designed a tobacconist's shop at Stefansplatz, a top location in Vienna. It is not his only shop in the city center. Most prominent Hollein shops are the jeweler's shop Schullin (1972), Christ Metek's boutique, Reti’s candle shop (1965) and of course the Haas House. At least in Vienna, these shops are retail architecture classics of postmodernism.

the original Hollein design (left) - and its destruction (right)

But now, the Austrian Tobacco Industry (now owned by Japan Tobacco, JTI) wants to get rid of the tobacconist's shop. Apparently, the iconic tobacco leaf has not attracted enough smokers. The owner argues, however, that the shop has been used as a trainings-facility for handicapped people and was not practical in the current design.The proposed after-Hollein design scheme shows an doorless facade, welcoming smoking addictive customers. Surely functional but an architectural affront - especially at this address. Couldn't they have just widen the entrance?

the new proposal for the tobacconist's - what an ugliness! 

Surprisingly, after most parts of the facade have been demolished, the shop got an "preservation order" - most part of the lately demolished facade has to be reconstructed. (even politicians are now on the case - [ger] - http://www.schicker.at/?p=2227)

Is building preservation of contemporary architecture the only way to prevent building-owners from their own destructiveness?

The Copying Artists of Dafen.

copyshop in Dafen (image by Geheimagentur)

60 percent of the world’s copied artworks come from Dafen, a village in South China - the village is the leading production center for cheap oil paintings. In 1989 Huang Jiang found the first workshop for copying master craftsman like Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, and more. Today, most paintings are the work on the assembly line production where each painter works on different production phases of the painting: plants, reflexion, glossiness, etc. The more faces or hand the pictures includes, however, the higher the price. Approximately five million oil paintings are produced in Dafen every year; between 8,000 and 10,000 painters toil in the workshops (source: spiegel.de). Consumer are mostly department store (like walmart).





As part of the WIENER FESTWOCHEN, the art collective "Geheimagentur" presents a studio for copying paintings and socializing the art market. The group raises the question “Why the art world and the art market are ruled by ‘the original’ and obsessed by the idea of ‘originality’?

On the contrary: Copy art believes that a copy displays aesthetic and artistic decisions just like an original, that a copy is a witness to and the result of an artistic process just like the original, and that a copy develops an aura just like an original – but at a fraction of the cost. (source: themostwantedworksofart, geheimagentur)

painter in Dafen, China (image by Geheimagentur)

From from June 6th to June 13th 2010, artists from Dafen will produce a selection of the most wanted works of art. At the finissage (at the Kunsthalle Karlsplatz, Vienna) the artworks can be purchase by auction - the geheimagentur is redefining the art market.

Urban Interventions.

Another "lazy" posting - however - I like these urban interventions by Harmen de Hoop.

 Replaced Dustin (1996)

 Sandbox (1996)

 [via todayandtomorrow]