1000 cloth bags filled with sand
Dimensions variable
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz
For the "kollabor" art education project with small children, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein invited Chicago-based artist Dan Peterman to create a variation of his Civilian Defense sculpture. In close collaboration, we found regional materials and manufacturers who contributed to realisation.
One thousand cloth bags filled with sand are spread out on the ground and stacked up to make a defensive wall. The result is a walk-in space that creates a gathering place and that calls to mind a nest or sanctuary. Civilian Defense Vaduz from 2023 has a smaller offshoot. Both elements invite visitors to enter, to explore the surfaces, to move around and settle down. A variety of furniture fabrics were used for the bags. The elements resemble cushions and create a cosy, homely impression. Anyone who touches and steps on the sculpture, on the other hand, is immediately aware of the great weight and stability. The mode of construction corresponds to the architecture of dams and barricades, as used in warfare and civil defence. Civilian Defense is themed around repelling threats in public space and, at the same time, suggests private qualities. In the museum setting, the installation forms a place of retreat. Visitors can occupy and use it on their own or as a group.
Peterman first staged Civilian Defense in 2007 for the Sharjah Biennial. The circular piece is now in the collection of the Van Abbemuseum. In Vaduz, the artist opted for the basic shape of an abstract shield.
The fabrics were selected from warehouse stock of the Tisca company in Appenzell, the bags were sewn by staff from the Textrina department of the Heilpädagogisches Zentrum hpz.
Susanne Kudorfer
"This museum and its collection are a good home for my artwork. Specifically because of the way in which the education programming that you do, and the kind of outreach and functional activation of an artwork like Civilian Defense, is integrated deeply in the how the museum operates and thinks about its collection. It is not an afterthought, or a kind of superficial add-on. Civilian Defense feels really embraced and fully activated in Vaduz."
Dan Peterman
From an e-mail conversation with Susanne Kudorfer, 2024
