Christoph Schwarz is an Austrian artist and filmmaker. A few months ago, the 40-year-old was given a yellow convertible and had an idea: He and friends planted the Peugeot 306 with herbs – in the middle of Vienna. The “Cabriobeet Straßenkräutzer” campaign also has a socio-political message.
SZ: Mr. Schwarz, it is difficult to contact you. Where are you now?
Christoph Schwarz: As a supervisor at a children’s camp in Lungau.
So in the mountains in the state of Salzburg instead of at home in Vienna. Who pours your convertible when you’re gone?
Neighborhood friends take care. It’s a community herb convertible.
Do you actually have something against your convertible?
Not at all! How did you get that?
Well, the herbs seem to be doing quite well, but I’m not so sure about the car.
Don’t worry, the convertible is doing fine.
Well, I don’t know, so unfolded at the mercy of the rain and watering cans.
The convertible is laid out with a tarpaulin and has a water drain. A wooden structure is hidden under the ground, on top of which is the best worm humus and a dozen herbs. As you can see, we’ve put a lot of effort into this. Now everyone can get a few fresh leaves of mint, blood sorrel or rosemary if they want. The car is in the 9th district of Vienna, the Alsergrund.
Sounds nice, but do you go to such an effort for a few herbs?
There’s another reason. My circle of friends and I would prefer to create a real herb bed in Vienna – but that is as good as impossible in public spaces. In Vienna, the side surfaces in streets and alleys are primarily used to park cars.
However, this is not a unique selling point of Vienna.
Just! It’s like building the cities around the cars. There is an abundance of parking spaces in urban areas, although it would make sense, especially in urban areas, to use space differently, for example for a herb bed.
A flower bed in the city – is it so difficult to manage?
Oh yes, it’s extremely difficult to realize. If you want to change something in a parking lot, it involves an immense bureaucratic effort. And even then, it is not certain that it will work. This is how the idea for the convertible came about: It is the easiest way to create a flower bed in Vienna.
With his convertible bed he wants to point out unused potential in public space: Christoph Schwarz, filmmaker and artist.
(Photo: Florian Rainer)
In short: herb bed no, herb convertible yes, because it’s a car?
You just have to go to the admissions office and have everything done within 20 minutes. Then you buy a district parking sticker and you can park the car anywhere. This is how the community herb convertible came about. It has now also become a meeting point, twice we have had an aperitif there with neighbors and friends. There is so much untapped potential in public spaces.
However, you have now received a complaint about the convertible.
More precisely, it is a towing notice. The magistrate has non-roadworthy cars towed away – the herbal convertible is roadworthy.
At least when you remove the earth from the driver’s seat. How long does the digging take?
About half an hour. And then we moved it to show that it was working. It is now three streets away.
Soon it will be cold and the herbs will wither. Then what happens to the convertible?
Maybe a soup kitchen will be built there, maybe someone will build a snowman on it. Everything is still open, but only until March: Then the herb season begins.
And how long should the campaign last?
At least until August 2022. That is how long the convertible is registered.