German City Erroneously Issues a Parking Ticket to a Sculpture of a Truck That Was Created in the City’s Honor
photo via SZ
In a hilarious case of mistaken identity, a traffic warden for the German city of Karlsruhe innocently issued a parking ticket to a very realistic, albeit bent, sculpture of a Mercedes Benz truck that was crafted by Austrian sculptor and performance artist Erwin Wurm. The sculpture, simply named "Truck", had been created in honor of the city's 300th anniversary celebration.
For the city's anniversary, Wurm has a bright red truck reverse up a wall of the Weinbrennerhaus. Elegantly bent upwards at the center, the Truck appears to effortlessly overcome its own weight, and to adapt itself in conformity with the shape of the representative building. Owing to its physical distortion, this utility vehicle assumes a sculptural character, while its function now becomes of secondary importance to its artistic form. The faiade of the house also loses its original meaning: becoming both parking space and street for the truck, the wall serves less as a shell for the interior but more as a stage for art.
image via ZKM