Concept

-2000-

The Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (a technical university in Aachen, northwest Germany) agreed to collaborate with Jankowski and the local Kunstverein. In interviews with Jankowski, the heads of five academic departments talked about the relationship between art and their respective fields – mathematics, mining, engineering, iron and steel, and welding. Jankowski selected 30 quotes from the conversations, which students then painted onto banners and hung on the outside of the corresponding department buildings.
Given the combination of contexts and visual languages, the banners themselves represent a mixture of absurdity and political commentary. On the side of a building from the mining department hung a large, cloth banner painted over in thick, black paint: »You can only build temples in Greece if you can also pay for them!!!« As the professor explained, even in ancient Greece, architecture and culture were financed through scientific knowledge and the wealth it generates.

Banners

30 banners, acrylic on cotton, dimensions variable, unique