inges idee consists of the artists Hans Hemmert, Axel Lieber, Thomas A. Schmidt und Georg Zey, who have worked jointly on artprojects in public space since the group was founded in Berlin in 1992. Along with works carried out in the group, all members are active in their own individual artistic practice.
inges idee works as an artistic collective in public space. What is therefore important is to develop an intuition for the possibilities and specificities of a site and to explore the effect a concrete intervention could have. This is done in dialog with the given site, which, unlike the reference-free “white cube” of museums and galleries, is not static and timeless, but subject to a constant process of change. To properly understand a site, its spatial, social, and historical qualities must be examined.
Public art can shift a given context in order to open the gaze up to other aspects of reality. If that is successful, then the site becomes more interesting and richer. The accustomed course of public life is interrupted for a moment and the viewer has a chance to reflect upon something he is unexpectedly confronted with. This can happen very directly and need not be of a theoretical nature. This immediacy is a democratic experience that inges idee tries to implement. The aim is a new characterization of the site and the viewer’s relationship to what he perceives and experiences there. Successful artistic interventions enrich not only the site in general, but also people, who can experience it as an extension of their private sphere.