It’s hard to know where to start. Now you travel to Nuremberg in the firm conviction that you only have to accompany a sad remnant of a dying plant in unstoppable infirmity on the last stretch of an endlessly long, agonizingly arduous journey to its last breath. And what happens?
You meet trade fair visitors, among them the odd familiar face and many esteemed colleagues, who are in a good mood as they gather information at the stands of those exhibitors who, despite all the prophecies of doom, have dared to enter the well-known exhibition halls. And even the exhibitors are in a good mood. Even in Hall 4A, also known in industry circles as the Tomb Hall. However, this is where the columnist in Metz comes to the fore again, who is not quite sure whether it is desirable for there to be significantly more exhibitors in the exhibition hall than there are.
The fact that, subjectively speaking, the extremes seem to diverge further and further in an ever-shrinking space also gives food for thought: discreet, balanced design next to squeaky polished rinds. Overloaded ostentation next to reduced restraint. Exhibitors who dare to ask fundamental questions, within sight of others who will not even ask these questions when social change has left nothing left of their business model.
And in the midst of it all, Metz, who is palpably enraptured, where bewilderment makes its way. But fortunately there are, shall we say, attentive colleagues everywhere who quickly bring you back into a world in which there is much to see. And to hear. For example this: “They should be hanged, the two commentators in STEIN!” The butchering columnist is jubilant as he now has clear proof that not everything is in vain. And that it’s alive: his scene!
Sideways glances from STEIN in July 2013.