At first glance, these scenes are disturbing: a man and a woman lay immobile on sidewalks, streets and stairwells, pools of red gushing from their abdomens. But then you realize that the weapon that has ‘murdered’ them is absurdly large – and made of cardboard. German-based artists Maria Luján and Wolfgang Krug set out to make murder funny with their street art project ‘The Knife.’
The knife itself is as large as the victim, and no attempt has been made to make it look realistic in any way. The blood is simply paper.
Luján and Krug take turns strapping the knife to each other and laying down in conspicuous places throughout Berlin, where they’ll be seen by lots of passersby.
Whether these onlookers are disturbed, confused or amused, the artists have certainly livened up their day a little.
What’s the point of these cartoonish cardboard crime scenes? There’s no serious commentary on violence to be found here. According to Krug, the pair took on the project “Just for the fun of it.”
