Visibly irritated, the guard hurries past Louise Lawler‘s black-and-white photograph Paris, New York, Rome, Tokyo and heads towards the curtain: “Would you mind coming out of there,” she demands, pulling aside the curtain obstructing the view onto Friedrichsplatz. Then she does a double take: Standing next to the nine children is an adult woman grinning at her impishly. “Oh, I didn‘t notice you were there, too”, explains the guard apologetically, before ushering out the children from their hiding place.

She has just been an unwitting witness to, and participant in, an authentic “intervention by youngsters”. As part of the documenta 12 aushecken project, dubbed “Tricksen” (literally: bamboozling), a group of kids have been endeavouring to intervene in public space, or to be more accurate, on the premises of the documenta 12 exhibition. Conceived by the artist Annette Krauss, this three-day workshop for youngsters aged between 14 and 17 years sets out to explore the questions: How do people behave at an exhibition? And first and foremost: How can I influence their behaviour?



But first things first: It is Thursday morning, 11 am, and we are gathered at the rendezvous point in front of the aushecken container. The “Tricksen” project is now into its second day and the nine participants (six boys and three girls aged between 14 and 16) are already feeling like seasoned professionals. The day begins with warm–up exercises, borrowed from the theatre. Known as “soft focus”, the technique is designed to expand one’s field of vision – to encompass both the entire team and the visitors to the exhibition, who could become part of the intervention. The technique is also used by the dancers of Trisha Brown’s performances "Floor on the Forest" and "Accumulation" to prepare for their show.

Annette Krauss’ activities at documenta 12 mark her premiere on the site of an exhibition. But as the 36-year-old herself explains, even at documenta 12 it is possible to observe everyday behaviour by staging such interventions. The main objective is to “observe how people deal with rules and internalise them".

To start with Krauss joins her charges in reviewing the events of previous day – for such “debriefing” sessions are of crucial importance. The participants of the project are always divided into two teams: the first to perform the “action”, the second to document the activities, for which they are equipped with digital and video cameras. The photos and videos of their “actions” then serve as illustrative material.


For example, on the first day they were tasked with attempting to influence the direction of the flow of visitors. This can be achieved by using a variety of strategies. One can either allow oneself or an object to fall to the floor and thus create an obstacle. Or one can sit down on the staircase and completely block it; an astonishing number of people simply choose another route instead of asking to be let through. Or one can generate a queue by making the entrances narrower, explains the 14-year-old Willi.



So much for the debriefing. Now it is time to finalise today’s “action plan”: First the youngsters are going to pass themselves off as furniture removers by attempting to shift a large crate containing all their belongings, such as cameras, backpacks, biscuits and beverages, from the Aue-Pavillon up to the Fridericianum. Their objective: To avoid doing any carrying themselves by duping the other documenta visitors into performing the bulk of the work for them.

This, of course, requires careful planning: What shall we say is in the crate? Should we concoct some story to explain why under no circumstances we can’t carry the crate ourselves? And who should start carrying the crate anyway and act as bait? It should be the smallest among us, suggests the somewhat taller Yannick. His “Tricksen” colleagues all nod in agreement.

No sooner said than done! Willi and Felix – the two smallest of the group – start to lift the supposedly 50-kilogram crate. The others grab their cameras, whilst Jessica reaches for her video camera - and then they are off!


A few minutes later the kids from aushecken group start to “man” their observation posts in front of the Aue-Pavillon, armed with cameras. They are in no way conspicuous –as they are too many other camera-wielding visitors to the exhibition making their way from the Orangerie. Meanwhile Willi and Felix have already found their first victim: a young man leaves his girlfriend alone on the park bench for a few moments to help the two lads - groaning loudly from their exertions - carry the crate.

As they climb the stairs and struggle up through the Aue towards Friedrichsplatz, it begins to rain – difficult conditions for the "tricksters". But a sympathetic woman in her mid-40s volunteers to led a hand. "We are doing a project with friends, but they are busy with something else at the moment", explains Felix, sticking more or less to the truth. "Well, what fine friends you have!", quipped the woman grinning. Meanwhile these ‘fine’ friends are now positioned at various points along the route in order to record the action for posterity.


Annette Krauss surveys the proceedings with a satisfied expression. An artist in her own right, she specialises in performances and interventions in public space. One of her current actions, which goes by the name of "put-in-pocket", entails a kind of reverse pickpocketing in which the pockets of the ‘victims’ are not emptied of their contents but – on the contrary – filled up. The underlying objective and idea behind the “Tricksen" project at documenta 12 is to encourage youngsters not only to critically observe people’s everyday behaviour and even try and influence it, but also to find access to art in a proactive, playful manner.

After a short lunch break and a vain attempt by Willi and Oskar to enter the Fridericianum replete with the crate, yet without an admission ticket, the more “theoretical” part of the day begins. Yet leavened by the various actions, the workshop still appeals to the youngsters. Their next task is to search for works in the exhibition which are in some way related to tricking people – on either a substantive or formal level. And the results presented by the kids after a good half an hour demonstrate just how successful Annette Krauss’ approach to art education can be.

Willi, Felix and Yannick have sought out Lin Yilin’s Safely Manoeuvring Across Lin He Road. “He is trying to create obstacles so people will have to take a detour”, explains Willi. "He should try doing that on the autobahn", interjects Andreas, prompting a chorus of chuckling around him. At the subsequent discussion, suggestions were made as to what the artist could have done better – suggestions from one trickster to another.

The more reserved Peter has selected Anatoli Osmolowsky’s Mayakowski-Osmolovsky. Overall, he compares the artist’s action with the breaking of rules – for example, when they attempted to blag their way in at the entrance. "Why did the artist do that?”, asks Annette Krauss. "To defy the law", he fires back in response.

The natural ease with which the kids apply what they have learned is illustrated by Andi’s choice of Lili Dujourie’s sculpture Gyrus, Cecilia, Dolores. “Well I just stood in front of it and did the soft-focus exercise”, explains Andi, to the nods of his colleagues. At the same time, he was struck by the fact that the forms always appear different and that each viewer is shown something else. This time it is the artist who is conning the viewer."

Interestingly no one chooses the work most obviously associated with tricking people: Jirí Kovanda’s Aktionen – a series of seemingly playful gestures and unremarkable actions in a public space. But kids often see and think differently, as Krauss is well aware. And anyway, as she points out, the omission of Kovanda is not important as she had been planning to focus on it in detail tomorrow, the final day.

As reward for their hard work, the kids are allowed to perform one last action to close with: Their task is to move around the Fridericianum – far away from the usual paths taken by visitors. And, of course, in the process youngsters discovered the empty room behind the curtains. And although their “performance” is abruptly interrupted by the guard, it won’t discourage our “tricksters”. For they have fulfilled their mission – at least for today.


Christian Steigels

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