A student exhibition project by Sandra Ruppel, Jessica Schmudlach, Maxi Schneider, Nina Stamer, Yunyun Tuim as part of the seminar "Showroom - Über das Ausstellen an kleinen Orten", lecturer: Juliane Heise.
24/25.10.11

> Flyer About work trails PDF

The aim of the exhibition

The exhibition "About work trails and cup tales" ("Über Arbeitspfade/ Spuren und Tassengeschichten") will take place from 24 to 25 October 2011 in the Hörsaalzentrum A 14 of the University of Oldenburg. The thesis here is that work processes that are formatted around the cup and the drinking of coffee, tea and cocoa are linked to social mechanisms. The aim is to highlight these. In a small space, "About work trails and cup tales" will revolve around the simple white drinking vessel: What work does the cup do? What routes does it take at university? Who uses it how, when and for what? How can the cup be taken out of its typical context of use? These are questions that the exhibition raises and aims to clarify.
The idea for the exhibition was developed as part of the seminar "Showroom Box - On exhibiting in small places" (lecturer: Juliane Heise) and thus encompasses the guidelines given for organising an exhibition on the concept of "work" in a "small place".

The exhibition is primarily aimed at first-semester students, students, employees of the Studentenwerk and the University of Oldenburg and anyone interested in the topic.

The personal motivation

Since we, the exhibition organisers, are students at the University of Oldenburg ourselves, the cup is a daily companion for us: whether filled with coffee, tea or cocoa, it is considered an important "energiser" and "pick-me-up". Hardly any other object has such a uniform and visible presence within the university environment as the simple, white mugs of the Student Union, which accompany our paths and work: They are with us when we go to the lecture theatres, come with us to the canteen, lie on the lawn, stand on the forecourt or next to the bicycle racks and sometimes even find their way into the homes of some students, where they can be found in the kitchen cupboards. On the other hand, our intellectual work - our learning processes as well as work breaks - are also accompanied by the cups. The cups demand their physical labour from the employees of the Student Union: they want to be collected, washed and put back in their assigned place. The cups leave traces on these different paths. Traces that for us are inextricably linked to the university and would be inconceivable without both the mobile "small place" of the cup and the concept of "work".

With our exhibition, we would like to illuminate the paths, traces and transformation possibilities of the cup. We hope that visitors will rethink the significance and functions of the cup. With the help of different types of presentation and the targeted stimulation of sensory perception, the exhibition is intended to open up a new perspective and direct a variety of views on this everyday object. As a mobile "little place", it is impossible to imagine working life at the university and the student union without the popular cup: so let's give it a little more attention.

The guiding and research object

The central object is the Studentenwerk Oldenburg mug. It is a simple drinking container that bears neither the logo of the latter organisation nor a statement about the manufacturer. Thanks to its anonymous design, the cup is equally recognisable to all users. This means that one and the same cup can symbolise a break from work, but also work or thought processes that are accompanied by drinking. path The journey of a cup begins during production, it is later packaged and delivered to the appropriate recipients; in our case to the employees of the Oldenburg Student Union. From there, the cups are delivered to the campus of the University of Oldenburg via various routes. The campus, and in particular the areas where the beverage dispensers are located, therefore act as place of use of the cup. This attribution is important and should be particularly emphasised in the context of the exhibition. It is not only these specific locations, but above all the people and their handling with the cup. Keywords that play a role in this context are the following: Work routes, work companions, work breaks, etc.

Another interesting fact is that the cup does not only accompany work processes in a figurative sense. Rather, the students themselves leave their mark through the cups. The traces of the students can appear, for example, as unintentional coffee stains or cup marks in books. For example, if you borrow a book from the university library and find such stains, you can surmise that the corresponding work has already been used. It is also interesting to note that the cups can be taken out of the cafeteria, which means that they can be found all over the university campus, especially in the early evening when the campus empties out and there are only a few students left: As the students leave, the cups remain. Sometimes they stand there individually, sometimes in groups, sometimes they are barely drunk, sometimes empty. Sometimes with a spoon, sometimes without, sometimes tipped over, sometimes standing upright. New images reveal themselves every day. Images that can be understood as random formations, but at the same time as anonymous objects and can be interpreted as such. In the exhibition, it is not only the paths and traces that are to be considered, but also the everyday handling and the anonymous design, as well as the functional purpose of the cup. Creative, playful transformations are intended to open up new perspectives on the object. This process is organised under the heading "Tassilo's UNIversum" will take place. The aim is to use Tassilo to create an individualised transformation of and approach to the actual functional object.