The Moth King of Marcel Duchamp

The Moth King of Marcel Duchamp




A few weeks ago, I was at the home of Jörg Schröder and Barbara Kalender. They are legendary because of the MÄRZ Verlag they ran from 1969 till 1987, an institution of literary counterculture. They're also fellow bloggers: since 2006 they blog in "Schröder erzählt" in the taz with the device: "Eine Ansicht, die nicht befremdet, ist falsch." (An opinion that doesn't appear strange, is wrong). 

On that Saturday afternoon I visited, there was a wonderful gathering with wine drunk in crystal glasses that Barbara Kalender collects, and self-baked salty cakes. The walls of their apartment are decorated with works of artists they have met. They used to have an Andy Warhol, they told me, which they sold. And in the living room they also have a Mottenkönig (Plectranthus fruticosus). Barbara printed out the blog post they wrote about their plant that prevents moths from entering the house. They found out that Marcel Duchamp used to have one too, and as a present he gave an offset of the plant to Jasper Johns. Marcel Duchamp's plant is still alive, at least an offset of Jasper Johns' one finds itself at the Duchamp Research Center of Staatlichen Museum Schwerin, and they on their turn gave an offset to Stefan Banz and Caroline Bachmann of Kunsthalle Marcel Duchamp in Switzerland.       
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