Proposals of critique: Maria Eichhorn’s ‘Building as Unowned Property’ (2017–)
Adela Kim
Abstract
Conceived for documenta14 in Athens in 2017, Building as Unowned Property by Maria Eichhorn (b.1962) directly engaged with the economic crisis that was consuming Greece at the time. The work consisted of a residential property – 15 Stavropoulou – and a plaque declaring that the building was ‘designated for public use, to be legally converted into a property that de facto does not belong to anyone’. The critical reception of the work at the time mostly focused on the administrative aspects of the intervention. In her article, Adela Kim argues that there are crucial elements missing from the discussion regarding Eichhorn’s work in Athens: the significance of abandoned buildings as an alternative form of housing to those without a roof; the patrimony entailed in a German artist dictating to the Greek authorities what to treat as cultural property; and, most significantly, the fact that Eichhorn failed to acquire the initial property on 15 Stavropoulou and convert its status as the work set out.