 Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", detail view, Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999

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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", detail view of potato flowering, Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", detail view of potatoes under growlights, Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", mid-view of potatoes under growlight, Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", potatoes under growlights, Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", potatoes under growlights, Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", closeup of heirloom potatoes, Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller, "Pataters", Stade (near Hamburg), Germany, 1999
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Birgit Kratzheller Pataters Pataters was an installation built for the "KunstWagen" (ArtProject), to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the railway-track between Hamburg and Bremerhaven in the North of Germany. Birgit Kratzheller was one of five artists invited to reflect on the regional influence of the railway line. Once completed the ArtProject toured for three weeks on the tracks between Bremerhaven and Hamburg. Birgit Kratzheller chose to highlight role of the potato in the development of the region.
BACKGROUND
At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution the land in the so-called "Wet Triangle" between the Elbe and Weser rivers was drained. During the first decade of the 20th century the farmers in this region started breeding and growing potatoes.
Between Hamburg and Bremerhaven twenty-seven train stations were built to support the potato farmers. Adjacent to these stations a special type of agricultural building was created. Inside these buildings young seed potatoes were germinated. From harvest up to the start of the next planting-season they were stored in special wooden boxes to provide the best conditions of air, warmth and light. The "Stader-Kartoffel-Vorkeimhaus" building near the city of Stade was typical of the region. This is where PATATERS was installed.
The Installation
The installation was divided in to two separate rooms. The visitor first entered the "DARK ROOM", which was dedicated to the past.
After passing a kind of sluice gate they entered the LIGHT CHAMBER of the present.
THE DARK ROOM
Reflections of black lights on the small white signs provided limited light in this room. 440 Wooden boxes form walls and corridors of a Potato-Mausoleum. Every single box is dedicated to one variety of potatoes that was grown in the region between 1900 and 1970. Most of the varieties have disappeared, so most of the boxes are dark and empty. The few varieties that still exist are presented in the boxes. They seem to glow in a red warm light. The white sign tells the names of the varieties, mentions the breeder and the period of time, when they were grown.
LIGHT-CHAMBER
Daylight floated through the small windows from both sides of the room. Pre-germinating lamps -similar to the type used by breeders- gave additional light. Rows of tiny thin boards filled an inclined plane that covered half of the room. Every little board carried - on precisely positioned nails - 5 Potatoes of one sort and a little white sign with the name. The boards showed pairs: "Original" and "Reproduction", so you always have a group of ten potatoes of one variety. They all look different, but you can see the unique characteristics of each group. 1780 potatoes, 10 of each of the 178 varieties allowed to be grown in Germany, form a bizarre collection of grotesque forms and multifarious colors.
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