Hannes Priesch & Herta Kramer-Priesch

Guidance systems, which are colloquially called barriers for a reason, are used to separate certain areas from each other and to direct access. Protection and control, security and exclusion quickly come into conflict.

Hannes Priesch and Herta Kramer-Priesch worked with this dichotomy when they were commissioned in 2018 to deal with barriers - i.e. with accessibility and non-accessibility - at the Kunsthaus Graz. 

With a twinkle in their eyes, they created the group of works Soft Interventions, citing roadblocks, industrial fences or prohibition signs in a variety of ways. The Soft Interventions became whimsical, sculptural objects made of unusual materials, which, due to their haptic impression, tempt the viewer to touch them. They thus also shifted the self-image of the institution itself - its relationship to and in addressing the audience. In addition, established routines changed, such as the daily activities of the security guards when certain zones had to be closed to the public. The publication documents the project, originally designed as a permanent intervention, which unfortunately had to be largely removed in 2022 due to fire safety concerns.

Published by Kunsthaus Graz
ISBN: 978-3-903179-54-7

Languages: English and German
88 pages