OVERDERESSED, 2006
Graphite on hand-made paper
31.5 x 23.2 inches
reproduction by Marco Wittkowski
"The candidates had to arrange the rooms in which their disputations were held basically on their own, perhaps with the help of their guests, into a suitable chair and table order, and to supply themselves with speaking water and glasses for the subsequent champagne. One particularly sad disputation even took place right in the cramped office of a commission member, with the PC running and the air bad. I saw examiners falling asleep in the commission, others handling their handbags on the exam tables, as if they were at a Tupperware party. Finally, the doctoral certificate itself, sent by mail, may also be an indication of this low standard: Printed out on an 80g piece of paper, it didn't even have the paper value of a phone bill. Whoever goes to such bad events and bought a suit for it, feels overdressed. The flowers from friends and relatives are embarrassing, they deliver only one message: you take yourself far too important."
From: Tales from 1001 Doctorates, "The Minimum University" by Kenneth Anders, 2006, Klinkhardt Verlag