А. Монастырский, Н. Панитков, И. Макаревич, Е. Елагина, С ...

72. LAUNCHING A KITE IN PRORA
S.H.: The launching of a kite can be treated as light sporting activity for seaside outdoorsmen. Or
does this action gain a special taste when backgrounded by romantic Rygen landscape This
background – taking into account the notion ―Haimat‖ (Motherland) – is intensified by architerctural
ensemble of a resort named ―KDF‖ (―power through joy‖), monstrous relicts of Nazi holiday home
named Prora.
A.M.: Clearly, this action is of ―shifted‖, almost oneiroid nature due its location. The depressive
architecture of Prora‘s ―earth-scrapers‖, a sort of ―Anti-New York‖, these grey centipedes are so
inspiring esthetically that any action seems useless before them, as there‘s always something else to
see. In a place like Prora, a place of unfinished rituals, any action is forced to be come ritual. This
necessarily involves mass ritual gatherings in its central part. The oneiroid side lies in the fact that
while launching the kite I felt some forced action, partially or not controlled at all, like in dreams. For
me personally there was no ―side‖ view, I acted as a machine, or, more exactly, as its part. That is,
probably, the reason why I got this ―schizophrenical‖ trauma of fingers from the revolving drum with
the line to which the kite was attached.
S.H. I want to add several details to this description. I think that Prora‘s architecture cannot be treated
unanbiguously, and that gives the opportunity of suspension, in either touristic meaning or historical.
You are right when you speak of depressive minimalism which is created by the construction‘s
immensity, closed facades stretching almost five kilometers in a huge line along the seashore, without
any color shades or architectural diversities – I mean dull repetitions without rhythmical variations
which are especially magnified in contrast with diverse and agile forms of the sea waves and
rhythmical rotation of trees along an alley when you are driving by it in a car. All this is true. But the
functionality of Bauhaus style is also there. The complex is designed so that the windows of each and
every vacationer (20000 persons in total) faced the sea. Besides that, the project included different
verandas, cafeteria etc., as architectural details and ornament. Therefore, the original project
suggested some diversity, but it was never realized because of the war. It is important to know that in
the central part a huge neo-classical hall also wasn‘t realized. And what we were left with is the
empty center for action.
A.M. That‘s what I‘m talking about – the action, I mean the launching of the kite, was performed in
the empty sacred center. Actually, this hall used to host mass gatherings of ideological purpose. No
kite launches were supposed here. Every action is first of all compared to its location and is even
somewhat determined by them. An actionist is attracted by the place in the same way as an artist is
attracted by canvas, but while the painter works with colors and brushes, i.e. his choice is rather
limited, the actionist is perfectly free in instrumental sense, at least at first sight. He seems to be be
able to use anything he wants. But in fact I‘m not completely sure that it is really so. Some archaical
mechanism seems to be working here that ―gathers up‖ a certain instrumentation for the action and
then ―guides‖ the actionist to the place where this instrumentation is used. Therefore, it is rather
difficult to tell actionist activity from ritual or magic, although there certainly is some esthetical
autonomy.
S.H. Here the ambivalent intension between the mass scale and elitism is also important. Prora was
designed as a specimen of mass resorts – ―leisure free for all‖. This tradition can be traced until our
days. In fact, Prora has always been a closed area. Many legends and gossips surround this place. The
Red army showed up here after the war, they tried to blow up some parts of the ensemble, thinking
that they could be somehow connected with rocket building facilities in Penemunde (perhaps they
didn‘t quite understand that this building was a resort). According to other gossip, there was some
sort of submarine dock, some underwater subway for transporting the vacationers from the residential
complex to the festive hall. It was also said that an exact copy of this complex resided somewhere in
Argentina. In the times of German Democratic Republic this resort used to host military barracks.
After the reunion Western military men would re-educate their Eastern colleagues there. And only
last year this place became accessible to public. I could also say that the launching of a kite happened
at the moment of ―unsealing‖ of this place.