A major Cologne art project is breathing gay life into the dusty and sleazy term "Kontakthof". It's about ... well, the search for contacts, of course!
The term "Kontakthof" originally referred to the classic, heterosexually orientated brothel where clients chose their whores in a kind of hall.
These rooms, which sometimes had the charm of underground car parks, can only be found occasionally today, for example on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg. Instead, punters are welcomed in chilled lounges or cosy living room bars.
But the term for these contact initiation centres has survived. And is now even being revitalised by an art project in Cologne - with a very special homoerotic angle. After all, such "contact centres" have been around in the gay scene for a long time, and are often completely non-commercial.
Think of train station concourses, certain holiday regions, discos, saunas, darkrooms, motorway service areas and countless chat rooms and forums on the internet. People meet "just for fun", sometimes more, sometimes less anonymously, and regardless of whether they define themselves as "gay" or not.
In Cologne's Medienpark, 20 artists are currently illuminating the "Kontakthof" theme visually, acoustically and haptically in pink. Serious, obscene, humorous, conservative, provocative and cheeky, the participating artists are transforming the exhibition space into a temporary "Kontakthof". With painting, drawing, photography, video, sculpture, installation and performance. The vernissage on 2 May was attended by 150 guests. You can still make contacts there until 21 May. ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU is also represented with information.
