Class Visit to the Exhibition: Red Dye No.2 at the Lecture Hall Ruin of Charité’s Museum for the History of Medicine

On the day of take-down for my installation in the history-filled Lecture Hall Ruin, I meet with the class there. The work consists of red-transparent garbage bags, which filled with air, tied together and interwoven – are reminiscent of organs, nerve tracts, the insides of a body and the circulation system. Due to integrated lamps, the objects would be lit from inside. Some are constantly moving; they turn on record players or are held in motion by small motors. A tone-collage from Kai-Annett Becker belongs to the work.
The food colouring Red Dye No.2 was put into e.g. jams, drinks, lipsticks and sweets for decades, before it was forbidden in 1976 as carcinogenic (because of this, there were no red M&M’s for ten years.)

The children storm the room immediately as a huge play area, and fall on top of the objects. Somehow it is understandable – it is reminiscent of an Ikea play chest with the coloured balloons…they have to sit down – has anyone already had experience with art? Not too long ago H was at the MOMA exhibition. He tells of the wait, of the silence and everyone standing reverential in front of the pictures. I describe other forms of art – installations.. Then the question: “Are you an artist then?”




in the ruins of the lecture hall at the Charité, the Installation Red Dye No.2

What triggers art?
The children discover the theme of the installation themselves, it’s also about the colour red – on the one hand it symbolizes anger and hate and on the other side love and passion. What affect would it have, when everything was yellow? Why garbage bags? A lot occurs to them...
Can you make a living from art? Why do you make art? Why do you paint a picture?
Suddenly something is working here, question are posed, which raise more questions. There aren’t always clear answers. It’s about curiosity, about emotion, about researching.
I often wished for such moments in this project.
Why does it suddenly first happen here, outside of the school, in a room which the children don’t know. Perhaps a more directly physical work with immediate sensory experiences like for example theatre would have been more satisfying?