Entscheidungsfindung / Decision Taking

Hans Danuser focuses in his THE COUNTING OUT RHYMES PROJECT not on the result of a decision (decision making), but on the process of decision taking. Such questions on the subject of decision taking are already present in Danuser's work since the 1990s, when he turned his attention to genetic research in the question of which gene is valuable and which is not . FROZEN EMBRYO SERIES 1996-2000 The question of how the selection procedures, models and parameters work, that influence decisions in business, politics and also in all private areas of life, has always been significant and is, as a result of our unstoppable globalization, becoming increasingly important. Since 2020, with the spread of global pandemics such as CORONA, the direct impact on the individual on this matter is becoming more and more noticeable.

In December 2008 the gallery Luciano Fasciati showed Hans Danuse's AUSZÄHLEN - THE COUNTING OUT RHYMES PROJECT. Danuser places typefaces with counting rhymes from all over the world on the walls of the gallery. AKKA BAKKA BONKA RAKKA, ELLE MELLE DEG FORTELLE. Counting rhymes are present in different cultures worldwide. Surprisingly, the rhymes in different languages show a similarity in sound and rhythm. In children's play the counting rhymes function as decision aids. Similar to mathematical algorithms, counting rhymes reduce complex facts to a model.
(Stefan Kaiser, Entscheidungsfindung. Ein Projekt von Hans Danuser«, in: Du. Die Zeitschrift für Kunst und Kultur, Nr. 795, 2009, S. 81. Download
In addition to the typefaces, Hans Danuser also conducts conversations about the process of decision taking. The exhibition is accompanied by a video conversation between Hans Danuser and Andrew D. Barbour, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Zurich. Interestingly, the meandering and the pauses of the very long conversation represent a decision taking process itself.  
(Abstract »ENTSCHEIDUNGSFINDUNG / Ein Gespräch über Entscheidungsfindung zwischen Hans Danuser und Andrew D. Barbour». Download

One of the main focuses of THE COUNTING OUT RHYMES PROJECT is the realisation of typefaces in architecture. Since 2010 Hans Danuser has been realizing various architecture and art projects: Piff Paff Puff, Prime Tower, Zurich, 2010/2012, Akka Bakka, Health Directorate Canton of Zurich, Zurich, 2013, Joggeli, Nationale Suisse, Basel, 2014, Uccelin - Gio'n Fond Dal Mer, Promontogno community center, Promontogno, 2014, Uccelin, Secondary school Quader, Chur, not realized due to cost-cutting measures of the City Council.

The projects take up the onomatopoeic similarity of the different language counting rhymes. Each spatiality allows their rhythm, sound and colour to be heard in different ways

In his essay "From Uccelin to Gottfried Semper", published in May 2016 in Hochparterre, Phillip Ursprung writes about the spatial situation that Hans Danuser creates in the context of his counting rhymes project. According to Ursprung the dualism 'figure-ground' is abolished and a spatiality is created where there is no difference between the spatiality of the building and that of the artwork. Here the architecture does not just serve as the background of the typefaces, but becomes their component. Ursprung compares Danuser's view of architecture with Gottfried Semper's 'clothing theory', according to which the roots of architecture lie in textiles: "The production of the textile on the loom follows a similarly repetitive pattern as counting out. The process allows countless variations, but chance is basically less important than agreeing on rules and patterns that can then be preserved over many generations and can migrate from one cultural area to another." (Philip Ursprung, »Von Uccelin zu Gottfried Semper», in: Hochparterre, Nr. 5, 2016.) Download

In 2021, Hans Danuser designed and implemented a reference library in four showcases with books, documents and objects. The Library of Decision Taking is dedicated to the subject of decision-making both in general and with special attention to questions of law. It is analogous to showcases in the research laboratories of the 18th and 19th century designed in which writings and objects enter into a dialogue and can also be senn as a further development of his installation A COLLOQUIUM of THINGS at the former observatory at the ETH Zurich. Each of the four. Each of the four showcases has a thematic focus that interacts with the others in a scenographic interplay. The Library of Decision Taking is an extension of the writing-image work PIFF PAFF PUFF from 2011 at the same location. (Susanna Koeberle, »Hans Danuser`s Library of Decision Taking im Prime Tower in Zurich», in: Bündner Monatshefte, Nr. 3, 2021.) Download