Following of the 1960s and 1970s conceptual work approaches, Jan Timme’s pieces are characterized by a reduced materiality and make use of the most various mediums. The references to art-theoretical issues made in his installations and the use of film and music quotes demand the exploration of their textual structure and address the situational perception of the viewer.

With his edition for “Texte zur Kunst”, Timme continues a mode of production that takes the conditions of its triggering as the starting point – in this case, the creation of an object with a high number of copies. With the bedroom lamp he designed, Timme, in a humorous act of misuse, falls back upon an item of furniture from IKEA and sets this process in relation to a discussion led a few issues ago in “Texte zur Kunst”. The fact that it is a product of a “design for the masses” manufacturer is commented on in the title on Timme’s behalf by John Knight and his examination of the designs of the Eames couple. By means of a minimal intervention, the function of the consumer item is newly defined: the paper lampshade is coated with blue phosphorescent paint that is charged when the light bulb is on and persists when it’s dark. One can thus look at a gradually vanishing blue sphere – like in the film “The Power of Ten” by the Eames – and imagine a view of the earth. Hence, while falling asleep, an unexpected perspective opens up behind what everybody assumes and what is mass distributed – nothing is written.