You are not my shelf!

The shelf is undergoing a structural change, probably even a disruption. As we all know, it is running out of traditional content - books, records, CDs and video cassettes have disappeared from everyday life, are becoming disembodied digital and their old collection places are therefore relatively useless. Shelves used to be bursting at the seams, with the Brockhaus complete edition alone taking up a few meters. VHS videocassette backs were so wide that movie buffs had to keep adding to garages and attics. Iconic shelving designs such as those by Rams, Moormann, Billy and Co. have now all been on the shelves for many decades. Of course, there is still a shelf in the room today, but it is no longer cluttered and is often more of a delicate design element in the room than a heavyweight. You could also say that the shelf is finally allowed to play its own role and does not have to take a back seat to its contents.

The shelf remains important, if only because many people around the world take part in team and Zoom meetings from their desks. It has a new, representative role to play: as a decorative background. What used to suffice as a badge of knowledge - an overloaded rack of Suhrkamp products - now only looks sloppy in the laptop camera. What is needed is a visibly hand-curated shelf in which discreet leftover books alternate with small design classics and curious found objects, with art and ceramics, perhaps a bold battery-powered lamp, a pair of sneakers and hip houseplants - with meaningful empty space in between. Everything should appear completely random and unarranged, as if you were simply a very interesting person. A prestigious shelf like this demands active engagement - unlike the former book tombs that weren't even dusted for years. It constantly invites you to reassemble and make the individual shelves even more appetizing. Everyone is their own window dresser! This work is very meditative, like Ikebana with home accessories. You pluck and move, arrange the colors, place disruptive elements and sort some things out again. You don't have to think about anything, your eyes and hands do the calming work by themselves. And, oh wonder of wonders, it's the ideal activity for lengthy video conferences. Just make sure you switch off the camera first.

Text: Max Scharnigg
Illustration: Dirk Schmidt