One Man Swiss Army Knife Army.

July 5, 2010 4:28 AM

"Free Repair" is a project by Swiss artist Roland Roos, who traveled through Europe for over two years to repair broken, displaced or damaged things in the public space - without an assignment, but also without asking for permission. He documented his endeavor with photographs. (Coral Cached Link)
posted by starzero (25 comments total)

God bless this man for replacing that toilet paper.
posted by XMLicious at 4:44 AM on July 5, 2010

I love this guy; he reminds me of my boss, a major fix-it freak. #96 is just the sort of thing he'd do.
posted by mediareport at 5:34 AM on July 5, 2010

could he come around here and repair that back button he seems to have messed up on my browser??? ( i know, he put a return link at the bottom, but who the hell is looking for that???)

My deck needs painting too...
posted by HuronBob at 5:34 AM on July 5, 2010

He's kind of like a tagger in reverse. I wish there was more of a narrative to this -- did people notice him working? Thanks him? Did he get in trouble?

Also, I really liked the corridor and ice boat.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:34 AM on July 5, 2010

I just keep laughing at these. There's something so beautifully metaphorical about #56 - hell, about all of them.
posted by mediareport at 5:36 AM on July 5, 2010

God bless this man for replacing that toilet paper.

You laugh, but the next guy in there will be glad for it.

I like this; it's hard to imagine that an unsolicited act that makes the world better in some incrementally small way isn't also a clear statement. This is art, I say.
posted by mhoye at 5:37 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

#68 is my favourite I think, because it's not even about making something better; he just fixed a thing because it was broken.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 5:50 AM on July 5, 2010

He's kind of like a tagger in reverse. I wish there was more of a narrative to this -- did people notice him working? Thanks him? Did he get in trouble?

According to Banksy you can get away with a lot of stuff in public if you just wear a hi-vis vest and a hard hat. I'm guessing it would be even easier if you were repairing stuff vs putting up graffiti stencils!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:54 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Isn't this the guy who was recently arrested for plastering the Great Sphinx of Giza's nose and gluing arms on the Venus de Milo?
posted by pracowity at 5:54 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Are we sure he isn't just photographing things and then breaking them ?
posted by Pendragon at 5:59 AM on July 5, 2010 [21 favorites]

Nice. I do this on a much smaller scale with my Swiss Army knife. I often tighten loose screws on stuff that doesn't belong to me. Take that, Entropy!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:10 AM on July 5, 2010

The 'before' state of #91 looks as if anti-Roos, his evil counterpart had been along beforehand. Actually I think I prefer it.
posted by Phanx at 6:19 AM on July 5, 2010

So, #34: did he fix something that was not broken (ie: was this a designers wish that he superseded)?
posted by el io at 6:19 AM on July 5, 2010

Are we sure he isn't just photographing things and then breaking them?

You suspect it's all just a Roos?
posted by hal9k at 6:55 AM on July 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

Pendragon: It'd be hard to fake repairs on #72 and fake wear and age on #92 or #52
posted by stereo at 7:08 AM on July 5, 2010

This man is more Swiss than his neighbours.
posted by Nelson at 7:21 AM on July 5, 2010

I love this guy.
posted by MarshallPoe at 8:08 AM on July 5, 2010

Remember when taxes paid for these repairs?

I feel so old.
posted by srboisvert at 8:25 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Reminiscent of these people, who fixed the clock in Paris' Pantheon.
posted by dd42 at 9:16 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

A guy I knew in art school got into performance art via skateboarding. He had a project where he would go into public places and remove many of the bolds and screws that held tables and doors together. Something about subversion and hastening entropy.

This is much better.
posted by Benjamin Nushmutt at 9:50 AM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Phanx: The 'before' state of #91 looks as if anti-Roos, his evil counterpart had been along beforehand.

...his evil counterpart being thereifixedit.com.
posted by hangashore at 10:50 AM on July 5, 2010

i want to be friends with him.
posted by gursky at 11:43 AM on July 5, 2010

Is there a Nobel prize for surreptitious repairs?
posted by Cranberry at 12:34 PM on July 5, 2010

I actually prefer the "before" version of no. 50 to the "after" version, although I can't quite put my finger on why...
posted by sour cream at 12:34 PM on July 5, 2010

was this a designers wish

Being the designer's wish does not mean it wasn't broken.
posted by Chuckles at 12:49 PM on July 5, 2010