Uwe Bressem, Berlin

Project Scope

After a discussion with people from the Wedding District Council’s Employee Relations Office, on how service in The Kantine could be improved, one of them, Frau Monika Rojahn, suggested that Rabattmarken (rebate) coupons, might be issued to those who regularly visit the cafeteria.

Rabattmarken has had a long tradition of use, but the practice has fallen out of fashion. I agreed with this suggestion instantly, but wanted something that was slightly unique as well. It was immediately clear to me that my rabARTmarken coupons would need to have artistic images.

I sat down that evening and thought about productive ways to accomplish this task. I found plenty of my own images that could be put to use. When playing with the different pictures and the text ‘RABATTMARKE’, it occurred to me that the letters “ART” were already included in the word. As each coupon would be an individual work of art, it only seemed logical to me to coin the word ‘RABART’ and apply it to the project. Rabatt and rabart sound very nearly the same in German, so I thought this was a appropriate word and do proudly claim copyright for it.

I next had to work out an attractive size for the booklet and the stamps. A booklet for 16 stamps with the size of each stamp limited to less than 2 square centimeters was decided upon. I then focused upon how to make this project fun. Why not share the idea with others and see what they do with the concept? As a member of an artistamp e-mail list with a few hundred other members, I made a call for entries by describing the project, giving some parameters and setting a deadline. My hope was that other artists might like to take part in a project of some “useful art”, as I called it. On examination of the completed rabART stamp sheet, it is obvious that I received a nice variety of whimsical images.

Including myself, 17 artists from the five different nations of Great Britain, Japan, USA, The Netherlands and Germany, answered the call to participate. The youngest contributor was seven years old and the eldest, in his/her seventh decade.

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