CONCEPT/ Arnold Schalks

During my stay in Bremen, I want to concentrate on shipping and shipbuilding. For that reason, I will turn part of the KünstlerHaus gallery into my work place and use it as a shipyard. In this space, I want to build a wooden rowing-boat large enough to seat five people: one oarsman and four passengers. The vessel should measure approximately 17 feet long and 5 feet wide.

 

On February the 10th, the office of Reederei (shipowner) SCHALKS, located in another section of the gallery, will open to the public. On display will be photographs, drawings, model ships, and objects that relate to the building of ships, so-called nautical objects. The exhibition illustrates the fictitious history of the shipping company. The boat that is still under construction will be displayed in the Reederei SCHALKS shipyard section. As I figure it, building the vessel in Bremen will consume most of my time. I intend to prepare, make, or collect most of the nautical objects in Rotterdam and take them with me. To complete the collection, I shall spend a few days wandering around Bremen's harbour, looking for useful supplements (i.e. machine parts, wreckage, etc).

 

Ten days later, on February 20th, the boat will be taken out to the banks of the Kleine Weser River, where it shall be launched at high tide. My mother will name the vessel. During the ceremony, the Rotterdam chorus 'KOOR & HANS' will sing sea shanties accompanied by saxophone. Oarsman Wim Konings will row the boat across the river and pick up Andre Dekker, who will be ferried back as the first passenger. After putting his feet on shore, Andre will deliver an opening address and declare the ferry open for service.

The boat will maintain a ferry service across the Kleine Weser between two stops: 1. Galerie im KünstlerHaus/Reederei SCHALKS and: 2. Neues Museum Weserburg. On both banks of the river landing places shall be marked with signposts displaying the ferry's timetable. The schedule is based on the tides of the Kleine Weser and will correspond with the opening hours of both museum and gallery. A small fee shall be asked for one's crossing. The passengers (wearing life-jackets) not only get ferried across, they also receive a unique ferry ticket. The tickets will be sold from a small ferry-house to be built at the foot of the embankment in front of the KünstlerHaus. The house is located near the point of passenger embarkation. The name of the shipping company, painted on the ferry-house reads: Reederei SCHALKS (Übersetzungen) [Shipowner SCHALKS (translations)].

 

Today I started written correspondence with Andre Dekker which we intend to continue throughout my stay in Bremen. My contribution will exist of authentic or fictive maritime memories, a report on shipyard activities, and thoughts jotted down during the building process. At the end of the working period, each text shall be examined for its relevance to the project. The correspondence will be edited and a selection of the texts will be translated into German. I will then publish a bilingual brochure in limited edition and distribute it to interested persons.

 

The decision to use shipping and shipbuilding as the starting-point for my project was inspired by Bremen's history and its naval tradition. The title of the project: Reederei SCHALKS reflects that tradition and asserts my relationship with it.

The form of the project: the exhibition and associated activities enable me to comment on that tradition. It permits me to show elements of that tradition in a different (=my) context (Übersetzungen).

The decision to build a boat and use it as a ferry has linguistic motives: With one's crossing of the Kleine Weser, I want to create a situation where the two meanings of the German word übersetzen (to ferry and to translate) overlap.

My decision to start a ferry service between the two sites mentioned has strategic as well as practical reasons; first of all, it establishes a mental and physical liaison between the museum and the gallery; secondly, it draws attention to the project; and lastly, it can be extremely cold in February....... the oarsman stays warm.