I think of touching sharp objects as if they think of touching me, Städelschule
Frankfurt on the Main, 2020
To mark their graduation from the Städelschule, Timon and Melchior Grau initiated an exhibition on the subject of design. They invited artists from all three faculties of the Städelschule (Art, Curation, Architecture) to create bridges and artistic exchange between the different areas of the art school. Referring to the book Are We Human? by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, in which they argue that everything is design and "design is what makes people human", the exhibition and the work Human explored the relationship between people and design.
In their book Are We Human?, Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley conclude that everything is design and "design is what makes people human". They describe the role of humans not as inventors of objects and tools, but the other way around: "Tools invent humans, and more precisely: tools and humans produce each other." This implies that people are inextricably linked to the artifacts they produce.
But it is not the design itself that is the artifact, Colomina and Wigley continue, rather it is the human body and brain that can be seen as designed artifacts, and what makes humans human is the radical nature of this mutual exchange. So when we think about what makes us human, we have to abandon the idea that the body is a closed system. In the world of design, there is no outside. The distinction between design and nature is obsolete. Even the earth itself, as a geological layer, is completely encrusted by design. Everything is design, and design makes man.
Artists: GRAU (Fine Arts), Anna-Lisa Scherfose (Curatorial Studies), Lukas Heerich (Fine Arts), Saakib Sait (Architecture Class), Kristin Reiman (Fine Arts)
