HANS

HAACKE

MEN OF MUSCLE MEN OF THE MIND

Die Eahiic hoch! (Rai.se the Flag), taken frotn the first line of a Nazi sotig, was ihc installation prepared by Hans Haacke lor "ArgusAuge". an outdoor exhibition held on the Knigspiatz in Munich ( 13 September - 10 October 1991), curaled by Wemer Fenz under the auspices of the Stdtische Galerie itn Lenbachhaus. This installation comprised a flag with the inscription Zutn Appell Deutsehe Industrie im Irak (Roll-callGerman Industry in Iraq) and photo silkscreen of the SS-badge, 550 x 350 cm; two nags with names of German corporations, eacb 1100 x 250 cm; and Propylaea. the triumphal gate tTanked by two neo-classical museum buildings around Munich's ninotoenth-century city square.

Just before the end of the exhibition, a Munieh jtidge issued a temporary injunction against mentioning Ruhrgas on the flags listing German corporations irt Iraq. Two months later, the city of Munich and Ruhrgas AG reached a settlement according to which a note was lo be included iti the catalogue of the exhibition, explaining thai it was not Ruhrgas AG but LOI Saar Industrieofenanlagen GmbH which conducted business with Iraq. LOI Saar Industeofenanlagen GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of Ruhrgas AG. The following text was written in AugusI 1991 for the "ArgttsAuge" (Argus-eye) catalogue.

In the Munich subway, sitting on the Knigsplatz (King's Square) station platfomi is a stone Otto. To his right, in a hairsbirt stands a hippie, with long hair and a long beard. He appears to be past his midlife crisis. Sotiic people think he resembles our dear Lord Jesus. However, ignoring him totally. Otto Jr. stares at four Drer evangelists and does not think for a moment of offering bis seat to the gentleman who clearly would have seniority, were it really HIM. Moreover, the almost naked, though helmeted, bodybuilder, striking a contraposto on his left, docs not deign to look at hairy face either. Instead, be takes an interest in curley, who, clad in a skimpy tunic, is casually leaning on a ship's rudder. A sign informs us that this light-footed fellow is a representative of the "merchant class.
HANS 50 HAACKE

whose rudder and other attributes remind us of bow trade supports the state". Frotn the same sign we gather that the old, naked man to the far right and the Henna he is busying himself with, embody science and art. Passengers waiting for the No. 2 train who know the place can tell you that this group and the extras who, more or less scantily dressed, stand, kneel, and loll about in glass cases on the station platform, did not quite make it unharmed through the Blut und Boden (blood and soil) war and the air pollution that followed. Originally they were ensconced in the pediment of the Propyiaea on Knigsplatz. They now continue their exhibitionism in an air raid shelter. Celebrating victory in the pediment of the martial gate are mere simulacra.

ts a .\eic York-based artist icbo bas e.xbibited e.xle>isirely throughout Europe and tbe USA, ARTSTEKT 42 1992

HsNS

HAACKE

Die Fat\ne Hoch! 1991 Knigsplatz, Munich

In 1832. Otto One. the model of the Bavarian court sculptor Schwanthaler. was lifted onto the Greek throne France, England and Russia had built especially for him. Once up there, half a century after the French Revolution, the Bavarian tried "by divine right" to introduce Bavarian ways and to govern in a strictly unconstitutional manner. After a euphoric period at the beginning, the ungrateful Greeks were not at all pleased. Eventually, after thirty years in the sun and without further ado. they sent him back to Munich. Meanwhile, "in order to give the marble workers of the Unterberg something to eat", Ludwig I had a triumphal gate erected for his eldest. He paid for it with the tax money of his former subjects ( in fastpaced Bavaria he had lost his throne already in 1848, due to his persistent hostility to a constitution). The Propyiaea was unveiled on the day before sun-tanned Otto returned to the banks of the Isar. On the facades of its fortified towers, the King of Bavaria-Ruhmeshalle-Walhalla provided for sculptural celebrations of the heroic struggle of the Christian Greeks against the Turkish infidels. He did not skimp on Bavarian lions and crosses. In spirit, he had also fought in Greece (by now Bavarians have more or less reconciled themselves with the Ottoman NATO allies, still infidels, and have called them to punch in at their time-clocks). This forum of absolute monarchy, in philheilenic dress, proved its worth as a set for various demonstrations of

powerand of art, even after the demise of its creator. The creative crowd from Schwabing appreciated that Knigsplatz is in easy walking distance. In the thirties of our century, for example, the postcard painter Adolf Hitler and his first master builder Troost, who had made himself a name with the interior decoration of ocean liners, gave the .square a new orientation toward the East, This was Otto's line of vision from the pediment of his gate. In the East, there still was space. Between the Barlow Palais-turned-Braunes Haus (Brown House), which Troost had already brought up to ocean liner standards, and Ludwig's temple-studded landscape, there was room for a Fidirerbau (with a balcony for the proclamation of the Munich Agreement), and even for the National Socialist corporate headquariers. including monumental logos. Provisions could be made for worship. It occurred to the creators that since the takeover, the Blutzeitgen (Blood Witnesses) had been left at the Odeonsplaiz, Now there was an opportunity to accommodate them properly in two brand-new Ehrentempel (Temples of Honour), constructions offering the latest amenities. They were fully equipped with fire bowls, which arc so popular in the art world of Munich, and also included a double set of SS-guards. Troost's columns in the new houses of worship, those unique forms of dignity, fittingly echoed his columns of the Haus der Deutschen Kunst, w hich was under construction at the same time (generously sponsored 51

Tvmpanijm ol Propylaea Korigsplatz, Munich

by German business). They also parodied the order of columns of the Wittelsbach temples. Only the civilian lawn was out of place. Daisies are sound-absorbent. And even Lwenzahn (lion's tooth = dandelion) cannot straighten out a bunch of thugs disguised in uniform. There had to be slabs of granite! Only then could the roar of '^HIER!" during the Blutzeugen roll-call make people's flesh crawl. Death's-head insignia were finally given a fitting environment. And a resounding echo for pledges of allegiance was now assured. With hardly any loss, these audio ceremonies could be carried by radio to the farthest regions ofthe expanding Reichand scare the wits out ofthe unworthy. For those (Jews, gypsies, Marxist trouble-makers, culture Bolsheviks, clerics lacking humility, queers, and other riffraff) a place to stay had been made available in Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich. Every now and then, when the weather was nice, from the fortified towers ofthe Propylaea one could see smoke signals rising from there. For the men of business the postcard painter's temple of art on Prinzrcgcntenstrasse was not the first and would not be the last occasion to dip into their pockets to fulfil one of the artist's favourite wishes. For he had convinced them that his type of socialism was in fact "love ofthe country and its people", that he was committed to an independent national economy", and that he would fight tor a powerful state and strong amied forces (secret code: a boost to the arms industry!. They were also 52

reassured by his promise that the "expropriation of land without compensation", referred to in the charier of his rifle club, was aimed 'primarily at the Jewish real estate speculators". Moreover, Mr Hitler had proven in Munich that he cared about obedience and could restore order. He was a man to cope with those irresponsible crazies of the Marxist infiltrated unions. Fritz Thyssen was the first who recognized that the comedian from Munich was called to higher tbings. He was soon followed by a member of his class, Friedrich Flick. Also the gentlemen from AEG, tbe Mining Association, and IGEarben did not want to wait too long wilh their contributions, Emil Georg von Strauss, the chairman of tbe Daimler-Benz supervisor}' board and a leading director of Deutsche Bank, had a revelation: this was the man for the future of Germany! In 1933, following the latest fashion, his comrade, the president ofthe star-struck Stuttgart car maker, donned a neat black SS-uniform and began sponsoring the "Heritage" program of his new club. To the staff he extolled the "radical change of the German people from a mass of resisting forces in the political, social, and economic fields to an internally and externally cohesive, purposeful national unity". Looking ahead he proclaimed: "The German automobile industry sees its mission in fulfilling this great responsibility. However, inspired by the Fhrer's idea of team effort, this job must be

Helief on tower of Propylaea depiclirg battis between Greeks and rurks

accomplished by the collaboration of all forces." Soon it was teeming with Wehrwirtschaftsfiihrer (armseconomy leaders). Industry was running full speed. Jews were out in the cold, and there was no more mention of class struggle. In collaboration with the experienced ReichsfhrerSS, an ambitious program was staried to create jobs for prisoners of war, foreign workers and persons in protective custody. Manufacturers of stretchers and crutches, particularly, experienced a boom. As part of a general expansion of the health service, new and trail-blazing techniques were developed. The postcard painter's concept of Blut und Boden. which until then had meant little to most Germans, gained new significance and appreciation, now based on personal experience. Finally, history was in the making again! After the fight to the last drop of blood, the cream of top executives went on to the creation of the economic miracle. Old burdens, especially those of the right convictions, were finished with in a remarkably short time. In Otto's field of visionhe had suffered a face woundthere were some structural changes. The Ehreiiteinpel were no longer up to date. They were blown up, together with the Blutzeugen. Wildlife preserves took their place. Troost's corporate headquarters was turned temporarily into a lost-and-found office for abandoned works of art. Eventually it was handed over to ari aficionados. In the Fhrerbau, the companion structure on the other side of

the street, the halls were now echoing musical rehearsals rather than rhetorical exercises. With great sensitivity, the logos of the previous owner were put into storage. The granite slabs, used to the marching stride of tough pedestrians, had to adjust to the new wave of automobile rubber tires lining up. However, even that still evoked memories of the square's big time. After some years, the granite slabs disappeared in a warehouse. Now grass is growing there. Bearing in mind the close relationship between the muscleman and the swift merchant, which was expressed with great empathy and foresight by Ludwig I, in the pediment of the Propylaea, a new generation of Wehrwirtschaftsfiihrer went to work. Their pioneering spirit, sense for quality, and persistence has since won international recognition. Even in crisis areas, where competitors hesitate with a full commitment, they can be counted on. True to Shakespeare's line "The readiness is all" it so often embraced in public announcements, Daimler-Benz excels here as well. Together with the South African govemment, the ever ready strongmen from Stuttgart are building heavy and extraheavy diesel engines in the country where heritage still matters. They also made a highly valued contribution to the fleet of the local forces of law and order. Nobody else was prepared to get involved so deeply. And that wasn't all! In 1985, under the leadership of Jrgen Schrempp, president of
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Temple ol Honor

erected by Nais tor their "martyrs" Knigsplat;, Munich

HANS

HAACKE

Die Fahne Hochi idel 1991 KDrigsplat2, Munch

Mercedes Benz of South Africa Ltd, the company made an additional investment of DM 150 million. Thereupon, Edzard Reuter, the man beyond reproach, handed the joystick of his new Deutsche Aerospace (MBB, MTU. Domier, Telefunken) to the proven strategist from South Africa. Schrempp's cockpit is in Schwabing, the Munich artist hangout. One, two, three, four ..., in no time the corporate identity people came up with a four-pointed star for Dasa. As at Daimler's, the will to fight came alive with other big names of German industry. From AEG to Thyssen, they all remembered their glorious past and took up the challenge of the future. Even .small and middle-sized companies mobilized. A decisive factor for their remarkable success was the lack of concern the new generation of executives showed toward the image and the logos of their clients. For them it was irrelevant how many points the star had, what types of crosses were sported, and on what colour and shape grounds crescents and scimitars appeared. On the balance sheet they were all equal. Free enterprise was arming for the future in the Orient. It was there that extraordinary and fascinating challenges presented themselves. Initial successes were scored in the field of exotic chemical products (know-how from the past could be called upon). Halabdsha gained worldwide recognition. Also Samarra, Faliudsha, and Salman Pak became internationally

known names. The Father of the People of Iraq was interested in a broad range of products, and so he summoned to his country experts for all sorts of highly specialized equipment and developments. Among the chosen were also nuclear engineers from Siemens, a company with a venerable tradition. When they were called upon to mobilize for the "Mother of All Battles", of course the men of Daimler rallied. They sank large batches of various types of rockets, helicopters, military vehicles, and flatbed trucks into the sand. Kurds and Shi'ites were particulariy impressed by the MBB helicopters. Outside his realm, the enemies of the Great Saladin were frightened more by his Mercedes flatbed trucks (extra long, special desert paint, matte). To be sure, nothing was delivered for free. Also the Emirate of Kuwait, a major Daimler shareholder, profited. When the desert storm had passed. the WehiM'irtschaftsfiihrer from Stuttgart placed a confession in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: We are fascinated by technological progress, and we are committed to continually improve and perfect performance. But we forget sometimes that there are other things as well which are important: atl, for example. If we integrate art into our everyday life, it prompts us again and againto see the world in a new way. g

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