Journal of Modern Greek Studies

Abstract:

Presented at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (Εθνικό Μουσείο Σύγχρονης Τέχνης) in the context of documenta 14 in Athens, Maria Eichhorn's Building as Unowned Property (2017) documents research on the proposed acquisition and legal transformation of an abandoned building into a memorial of urban ruination. Enacting her "adamant refusal of ownership and speculation" (Ferrell 2006, 199), Eichhorn's proposal sheds light on the erosion of the Athenian real estate market and the attendant condition of urban ruination under the recent conditions of austerity in Greece. This article first considers the visible and invisible urban contexts of the proposed site of Eichhorn's project. Then, it situates the conceptualization, implementation, and presentation of Building as Unowned Property within the cultural politics of documenta 14. Finally, it turns to the economic and legal frameworks from which Building as Unowned Property emerged, in order to delineate the discursive possibilities and limitations of Eichhorn's conceptual gesture.