Krieg der Zeichen

While signs in urban space have been a frequently discussed topic, Markus Hanzer does not only provide an approach to reflect on their cultural impact, but invites visitors to interact with the presented collection. In an attempt to analyse and structure the vast amount of information to which we are exposed in urban space. Visitors are invited to reorganize the collection according to various criteria, such as "disturbing", "utile", "unnecessary" or "essential". All photos are presented on card boards that can be removed from one category to be filed in a different one. In re-organizing the signs visitors encounter not only many interesting, funny or informative signs, they also reflect on their symbolic value, their informative impact, and their role in shaping ways of seeing and navigating public space.

However, Hanzer stresses the metaphor of war to describe the competition for attention, the delimitation of territory, and the channelling of traffic in urban environment. Although war as a general metaphor for information design in urban space appears as rather inappropriate, the exhibition is absolutely worth visiting and offers a pleasant experience browsing through the large number of examples collected by the Hanzer family. The problem of the war metaphor becomes more troubling in the well edited and beautifully designed book accompanying the exhibition. While each text describing a category of signs attempts to relate it in one way or the other to the general theme of war, it becomes very clear that this concept is not only inappropriate but rather limiting the analysis of media strategies used in urban space.

Krieg der Zeichen. Spurenlese im urbanen Raum, designforum Wien (May 20th 2009 - August 30th 2009).

The book Krieg der Zeichen. Spurenlese im urbanen Raum, at Verlag Herman Schmidt.