Nikolaus Urban "Knife Grinder Performance"

'I sharpened knives and gave them away. The distribution happened through an assistant. She packed the knives in paper, then at the presentation introduced each recipient to the public. She provided most of the contact. The majority were not interested in receiving the knives, thus a large amount of the unsharpened pieces remained at the end of the performance. The visitors stood still for a while, those having the knife, played with it and discussed the quality of the blade and its sharpness. Some probably used it as well. One should consider the feelings of those, who ignored the gift.' (Nikolaus Urban, typewritten project description, 1977, archive De Appel / file Urban.)