Against this background, Schütte’s design for the neon-work mentioned above turns out to be a respectful bow to Bruce Nauman and a logical development. In 1980, with regard to the condition of art, the most obvious thing to do was to draw attention to whatever was missing: an interest in interior decoration, the abundance of form, an awareness of detail and the pleasure in playing. Similarly Schütte rediscovered suppressed historical styles such as baroque and rococo: He used postcards showing different sumptuous period interiors of the Munich Residenz as invitation card for his first solo exhibition at the Schöttle Gallery in 1980 and around that time set up a nine-part tableau with a variety of postcards from the same source. (Ill. 9-10)
Schütte’s practice does not develop in a linear manner as might be suggested by the progression of exhibitions in which he featured: Westkunst. Zeitgenössische Kunst seit 193/ Westkunst. Contemporary Art since 1939 (Köln, Messehallen/ Cologne exhibition halls, 1981); von hier aus (Düsseldorf, Messegelände, Halle 13/ exhibition centre, hall 13, 1984); and documentas 8 and 9 in 1987 and 1992. They are moments within a chronological table, from which one can learn about his different editorial decisions in relation to architecture, urban development, utopia, the monument, the decorative, and the various artistic mechanisms of realisation. Within this spectrum, Schütte has analysed the publicity value of models and maquettes, accompanying drawings, and outdoor works, without identifying himself with the self-image of architects and town planners. The ambitious debate between artists and curators on the one hand, and art magazines such as Kunstforum International on the other, which took place between 1983 and 1985, was essentially influenced by the discussion of the study, Learning from Las Vegas, by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour, published in German in 1979.
In the section entitled ‘heute’ (today) of the 1981 Westkunst exhibition, in the booth of the Rüdiger Schöttle Gallery and on a table especially manufactured for this occasion, Schütte presented three models on a scale of 1:5, entitled ‘Schiff, Bühne, Kiste’ (Ship, Stage, Box). (Ill. 11-13) This solution resulted from the failure of the original idea of building a ramp, which visitors would have walked up. The ‘ship’ took up this idea of the ramp in a reduced scale. The ship’s bow and one side were decorated with a total of seven ‘garlands’ in different colours and styles. The ‘ship’ was accompanied by a box, covered with adhesive foil and supported by millboard columns also covered in foil. Attached to the front of the box was a banner made of green cloth and inscribed with the words ‘Pro Status Quo’ in white, capital sans-serif letters. A second attendant construction was a kind of semicircular revolving stage.