'Waterproof' für Uschi

A parlor, sparsely furnished, with table, stool and lamp - spartan in the design age. One looks as if into a wonder box and enters. The irritation begins. The bright room becomes dark and the sound (from Truffaut's »American Night«) falls silent. At the same time, the table lamp now casts an image onto the surface of the cup filled with water. Underwater images, shadowy and enigmatic, tempt us to stand still. The tiny projection wants to be studied. But the staging continues, in the abrupt reintroduction of music and light. Sound on. Picture off. The spectator moves, and again the miniature in the cup beckons. A treasure, perhaps, which Norbert Meißner does not want to hand over. He succeeds in seducing the spectators to a paradox. Only in the movement does the contemplation of the image succeed. The standstill in contemplation is its death. »Waterproof for Uschi« is a very personal work, the other side of the politically engaged media criticism one associates with Meissner.