The advertiser Michael Straberger, who comes from the business world, the artist Georg Holzmann and the sibling couple Müllegger, consisting of the cultural worker Julia and the sculptor and boat builder Wolfgang, became a colourful melange in the basic ideas of the project. The lawyer Johannes Schnizer, the filmmaker Philipp Bruckschlögl and the cultural worker and journalist Uli Loskot also joined the group. Together and with a growing number of accomplices, they want to realise the project Wohlstand (Afterparty).
Prosperity (Afterparty) is a project with many confrontations. By illuminating the topics from a wide range of disciplines, a continuous discourse results. Among other things, opposites such as the standstill of tradition and the further development in technology are negotiated. Gaps are filled between history and the future. Urban-elitist understanding of art meets rural romanticisation of art. This exchange of opinions is not only carried outwards, but is also effective within the team. There is a lot of potential for discussion and conflict. Because craftspeople, economists, curators, artists and sponsors all want to see their interests represented. In the process, worlds collide and open up new perspectives. That is what we have in mind when we build the floating sculpture, when we build the dinghy.
The sculpture is based on a centuries-old standard size that is shared by, among others, the Kobelzille and the articulated lorry. The shaping of the dinghy is based on the proportions of the flatboat. The form is always linked to needs, uses and users and was adapted accordingly.
Our sculpture starts in the Ausseerland, at the source of the Traun. We will throw it into the flowing water and let it drift, like our imagination. We will pull, push and prod it. It will bump into things, prove itself, fail, be successful, be lonely, feel strange, make friends, belong, move on, laugh about some things and feel ashamed.
We will leave the Salzkammergut together, cross the Traun into the Danube. We will leave borders and mountains behind us. We will shape our lives on it and adapt to it. We will cook, eat, wash, lie down, sleep, satisfy our needs….
Locations: Bad Aussee, Traunsee, Wachau / Wien (AT), Komáron (SK), Dunaujváros / Veszprém-Balaton (HU), Novi Sad (RS), Timisoara (RO)
