Write a Story! For the World’s Craziest Wayside Sign.
Press Release
16 February 2009
All stories submitted to The Ill Rabbit by March 20, 2009 via e-mail to derkrankehase@kunstraum.at or by post to Kunstraum Goethestrasse xtd, Goethestrasse 30, 4020 Linz, Austria will become part of the craziest wayside sign any Capital of Culture has ever seen—one set up on the lawn along Linz’s Goethestrasse pedestrian mall as part of an “extravagant celebration of curiosities” produced by Chris Müller.
The “Sign of the Ill Rabbit” is meant to show what crazy turns life can take—whereby “crazy” is used here as a catch-all phrase encompassing out-of-the-ordinary episodes, the weird detours and emotional overloads life sends our way, all the way to your common, everyday nuttiness. These narratives will be set out for all to see on signage erected on a “motorist-free clover field” in downtown Linz. Premiere: March 21, 2009 at 1 PM.
Stragglers that just miss the deadline for inclusion on the sign will still be eligible for publication in a planned book (anonymously, if the author so desires) entitled “How Much Craziness Can One Provincial Town Stand?”
The Ill Rabbit // Crazy about Linz
This call for submissions of stories about odd incidents and peculiar experiences is part of “The Ill Rabbit // Crazy about Linz,” an art project that KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd in cooperation with pro mente Upper Austria is staging for Linz09. This project consists of 11 installations, interventions in public spaces and exhibitions being created by artists from Finland, Estonia, Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Throughout, the focus remains on the question: “How Much Craziness Can One Provincial Town Stand?” The overall project is being produced by artist Beate Rathmayr and KunstRaum director Susanne Blaimschein.
This production’s chief protagonist is The Ill Rabbit, the beloved fairy-tale character from the Grotto Railway atop Linz’s Pöstlingberg. Every since the poor bunny injured his paw (decades ago), he’s been getting attentive care from the dwarves who inhabit the grotto. As a result he’s full of energy and enthusiasm; nevertheless, he tends to be impudent and can even get a bit uncouth. With his own inimitable, in-your-face style, The Ill Rabbit is meant to kick off new ways to give business-as-usual a boot in the rear and to make Linz a bit crazier.
In the Capital of Culture, the questions are already coming in fast and furious—for instance, “When you feel lonely, what do you do?“ or “When life rains a lot of heavy shit down upon you, what do you feel?“ or—most impertinently—“How does a person live with such a condition? That’s something I’ve always been meaning to ask you.”
Links & Details:
At www.derkrankehase09.com, anyone can experience the search for traces left by The Ill Rabbit, and chat with others who have become infatuated with this project.
www.kunstraum.at provides an overview of all the events in “The Ill Rabbit // Crazy about Linz” series.
Contact: Susanne Blaimschein (director of KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd): 0664 544 51 44
