You don’t have to like Arcadia. But on the contrary. Some excited complaints have already been received, in the town hall and with the police, because the artistic interventions in the district town were not recognized or understood as such. But that’s exactly what makes the festival’s makers really happy. Because triggering alienation, or even rejection, is part of the business. All the art in public space, which the Ebersbergers have not been able to get past for weeks, is also supposed to provoke, because that in turn generates attention.
In this respect, Peter Kees, action artist from Steinhöring and festival director, has now achieved a new, greatest success to date: mail from the Lower Road Authority in the district office – with a clear message. Namely, that two of the installations could be punished under criminal law and would therefore have to be removed immediately. It is about presumption of authority and “forbidden advertising / propaganda for your artistic purpose in the out-of-town area”. On the one hand, there is talk of a “decelerated parking lot” in the Altstadtpassage, which reverses the usual fee schedule: the longer you stay, the less you have to pay. The second forbidden installation is a “stopping point” at the eastern entrance to the village, a bench with a sign, at which, however, a bus will never stop. The office sees this as an “obstacle in the street space”. Both works are by Martin Liebmann from the “Association for the Delay of Time”.
For Kees, this official order is an accolade and at the same time a step forward: “Nothing better could have happened to us,” he says and laughs. Especially since serious consequences are not to be expected. Arcadia has absolute backing from both the mayor of Ebersberg and the district administrator, and both reacted calmly to the cause. It is therefore at least doubtful whether the police, who received a copy of the letter, will take action. Especially since the festival ends this Sunday. In other words: Everything will be dismantled on Monday anyway. However, by no means to the extent required by the traffic authorities: If there are more “art objects” in the district, she writes, these should also be removed.