Archithese

in Archithese (2015), 2

When We Share More Than Ever

Book published by Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (2015)

6th Triennial of Photography, MK&G Hamburg When we share more than everThe show “When We Share More Than Ever” consists of 246 works. It is the very nature of sharing in the digital age that (most) visual ... [more ▼]

6th Triennial of Photography, MK&G Hamburg When we share more than everThe show “When We Share More Than Ever” consists of 246 works. It is the very nature of sharing in the digital age that (most) visual information is treated horizontally: democratically not in the sense of a philosophical prerogative, but rather a form of free-to-choose availability that is – at least partially – neutrally presented. This form of neutrality is based on a supposed pragmatic objectivity. Just think about Google Image Search. If I can have it at my fingertip, I am the one to make the decision. With the aforementioned in mind, we have created a central-access exhibition layout, which takes as a primary motif the ambition of the inventory. From all that we have heard, been told, seen and experienced, the show and its meta-narrative is dealing with (and producing) different forms and formats of the archival. Even the (forthcoming) blog functions as an archive. Producing a (spatial) inventory of all works (which you will find in this document), we have studied each “sharing”-cluster, investigating size against content and vice versa. The central driving force of our investigation is considering the huge number of works on show, the archival nature of the collection, and the meta-context of the Triennial as a form of Future Archive. Hence, our proposal for the show is dealing with the inherent relationship between art and trade, which – especially at the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe – has, historically, been a major focal point. The exhibition design interrogates the role, function, and contextualization of an individual work within a cluster and the show at large. Moreover, it interrogates the relationship between different works as well as the role and position of the artist(s). In an exhibition format that attempts to unite 13 institutions (+ 38 satellite shows) within a content framework dealing with a specific form of production and output, photography and film, this underlying narrative of the archival becomes even more relevant. The exhibition design works around a single concept of hanging, which is horizontally organized around a 1,2m baseline. This form of organization produces a fixed horizontal datum. It further means that each work has to negotiate as well as that is has to be negotiated – it produces an archival show in its purest form. All physical elements and objects to be built react to the very same datum and are cut off vertically at the horizontal datum. This form of vertical and horizontal display allows for a no-nonsense inventory that formulates a framework for a virtual-era Neue Sachlichkeit. As part of our design, we would like to propose to go even a step further and remove any physically present information about artist(s) and work(s). Each individual work on the wall (or in space) would simply be allocated with a number, underlining the intrinsic relationship between spatial installation and the printed matter guide, which will act as a deciphering manual for the entire exhibition. The setting up of such scaffold and borderlines is crucial as each individual member of the audience to the project needs to take a position. Taking a position always has consequences. Only when a border is acknowledged, understood and recognised it can be broken, transgressed or (mis)used. By deliberately producing such agonistic field of (productive) encounters, the design aims to nurture and exploit notions of misunderstanding(s) and a pro-active outlook on the value of failure as the starting point of all forms of experiment. We understand the design of the show to act both as an act of enabling (facilitating consensus), as well as an act of disabling (exploiting dissensus). Invited Artists: Laia Abril, Ai Weiwei, Regula Bochsler, Natalie Bookchin, Heman Chong, Aurélien Froment, David Horvitz, Trevor Paglen, Doug Rickard, Taryn Simon, Jens Sundheim, Penelope Umbrico. From the Photography and New Media Collection of the MKG: Fratelli Alinari, Hanns-Jörg Anders, Nobuyoshi Araki, Francis Bedford, Félix Bonfils, Adolphe Braun, Natascha A. Brunswick, Atelier d’Ora-Benda, Minya Diez-Dührkoop, Rudolf Dührkoop, Harold E. Edgerton, Tsuneo Enari, Andreas Feininger, Johann Hamann, Theodor und Oscar Hofmeister, Thomas Höpker, Lotte Jacobi, Gertrude Käsebier, Kaku Kurita, Atelier Manassé, Hansi Müller-Schorp, Eadweard Muybridge, Arnold Newman, Terry Richardson, Max Scheler, Hildi Schmidt-Heins, Hiromi Tsuchida, Carl Strüwe, Léon Vidal, and more. [less ▲]

Art In The Periphery Of The Center

Book published by Sternberg Press (2015)

Peripheries are profoundly ambiguous regions. While trying to build a relationship with the center, the periphery often finds itself excluded both on a structural and actor-related level, no matter if the ... [more ▼]

Peripheries are profoundly ambiguous regions. While trying to build a relationship with the center, the periphery often finds itself excluded both on a structural and actor-related level, no matter if the center-periphery model is defined in terms of space or along relations of power. However, beyond static perspectives of such struggles, in a dynamic and globalized artistic field increasingly transformed by the digital revolution, temporary mobility attractors deserve our attention. This publication attempts to shift practices of thought toward both critical realism and new materialism. It is neither committed to today’s wishful thinking regarding horizontalized networks and deterritorialized structures, nor does it fix itself to determinist approaches. In contrast to twentieth-century constructivist approaches and their epistemic fallacies, materialized verticalities and matter-based, infrastructural spaces are brought to the fore. This book is the result of four years of collaborative work that focused on topics of affect, the return of history, ecology, and art and its markets in today’s power law–based economies. These themes triggered not only the development of new artworks but also gave rise to reflexive discourses and discussions surrounding art theory, philosophy, sociology, and economics. The book contains a visual documentation of a number of group shows—which also included the works of winners of the Daniel Frese Prize—at Agathenburg Castle, Halle für Kunst Lüneburg, Kunstraum of Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and Kunstverein Springhornhof. The contributions by critics, curators, theoreticians, and scientists include essays and in-depth conversations. Works by Art Club 2000, Patterson Beckwith, J. St. Bernard, Angela Bulloch, Daniel Buren, Merlin Carpenter, Gordon Castellane, Diego Castro, Nicolas Ceccaldi, Jeremiah Day, Stephan Dillemuth, John Dogg, Maria Eichhorn, Jana Euler, Loretta Fahrenholz, Renée Green, Karl Holmqvist, Gilta Jansen, Monika Jarecka, Tobias Kaspar, Carola Keitel, Jackie McAllister, Josephine Meckseper, Dirk Meinzer, James Meyer, Shana Moulton, nOffice, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Fabian Reimann, Carissa Rodriguez, Megan Francis Sullivan, Katja Staats, Simon Starling, Buffy Summers, Jan Timme, Daniela Töbelmann, Niko Wolf, Amelie von Wulffen, Phillip Zach [less ▲]

Common Grounds Michael Buhrs, Verena Hein

Book published by Hatje Cantz (2015)

This publication features artworks that unearth subjective narrative styles behind collective historiography--particularly regarding media coverage in the Middle East. Israeli artist Dor Guez, for example ... [more ▼]

This publication features artworks that unearth subjective narrative styles behind collective historiography--particularly regarding media coverage in the Middle East. Israeli artist Dor Guez, for example, arranges archival material from the first half of the 20th century that documents the personal stories of Christian Palestinians. [less ▲]

What’s Next?

Book published by Kopaed (2015)

Die Welt ist im Wandel und mit ihr die Kunst. Was ist die nächste Kunst? Welche Themen werden künftig wichtig? Welche Formen, Methoden, Verfahrensweisen und Praktiken setzen sich durch? Welche Folgen hat ... [more ▼]

Die Welt ist im Wandel und mit ihr die Kunst. Was ist die nächste Kunst? Welche Themen werden künftig wichtig? Welche Formen, Methoden, Verfahrensweisen und Praktiken setzen sich durch? Welche Folgen hat das für das Denken über Bildung und Vermittlung der "nächsten Kunst"?Band 2 der Reihe "What's Next?" ist ein Reader. Er versammelt Essays, Interviews, Thesen, Manifeste und Zitate, die im Anschluss an den ersten Band "What´s Next ? Kunst nach der Krise" (herausgegeben von Johannes M. Hedinger und Torsten Meyer, Berlin 2013) Möglichkeiten der Verkoppelung von Kunst und Bildung - in der Schule, im Museum und an anderen Orten - thematisiert. Die Beiträge nehmen zum Teil Bezug auf Texte aus dem ersten Band, auf das Buch im Ganzen oder auf parallele Entwicklungen und Beobachtungen. Wie bereits im ersten Band wurden die Beiträge mit Blick auf den internationalen Diskurs und globalen Kontext zusammengestellt. Es gibt deshalb Beiträge in deutscher als auch in englischer Sprache.Das Buch soll Kunstlehrer_innen, Kunstvermittler_innen und Studierende anregen, die Verknüpfung von Kunst und Pädagogik vor dem Hintergrund der nächsten Kunst neu zu (be)denken. Es unterbreitet auch konkrete Vorschläge für Praxis, die helfen zu imaginieren, was Kunstpädagogik im fortgeschrittenen 21. Jahrhundert bedeuten könnte.Versammelt sind rund 120 Essays und Interviews sowie über 100 Thesen, Manifeste und Zitate von insgesamt weit über 200 Autor_innen zum Thema des möglichen Nächsten im Feld der Kunstpädagogik.Darunter finden sich unterschiedliche Denkanstöße von Marina Abramovic, Maria Acaso, Paolo Bianchi, Franz Billmayer, Nicolas Bourriaud, Bündnis kritischer Kulturpraktikerinnen, Sara Burkhardt, Jacques Derrida, Mary Drinkwater, James Elkins, Sabine Gebhardt-Fink, Lady Gaga, Neil Gaiman, Priska Gisler, Jean-Pierre Grüter, Talita Groenendijk, Jan Grünwald, Robert Hausmann, Johannes Hedinger, Christine Heil, Antonia Hensmann, Emiel Heijnen, Alexander Henschel, Gerrit Höfferer, Marike Hoekstra, Selma Holo, Christina Inthoff, Henry Jenkins, Peter Jenny, Konrad Jentzsch, Benjamin Jörissen, Notburga Karl, Lennart Krauß, Gesa Krebber, Marie-Luise Lange, Heinrich Lüber, Nanna Lüth, Oliver Marchart, Paul Mecheril, Markus Miessen, Carmen Mörsch, Chantal Mouffe, Karl-Josef Pazzini, Peter Piller, Stephan Porombka, Jacques Rancière, Irit Rogoff, Lisa Rosa, Andrea Sabisch, Ansgar Schnurr, Diederik Schoenau, Ulrich Schötker, Konstanze Schütze, Bernadett Settele, Michel Serres, Stefan Seydel, Keri Smith, Cornelia Sollfrank, Marcus Steinweg, Nora Sternfeld, Sabine Sutter, Adam Szymczyk, Sally Tallant, Kevin Tavin, Kristin Westphal, Georg Winter, Manuel Zahn, Jutta Zaremba, Rahel Ziethen und vielen anderen. [less ▲]

noon 5 2014 Society

in noon 5 (2014)

L’incubo della partecipazione

Book published by Archive Books (2014)

Italian Translation of The Nightmare of Participation Welcome to Harmonistan! Berlin-based architect/writer Markus Miessen tackles the pervasive contemporary overuse of the concept of ''participation'' in ... [more ▼]

Italian Translation of The Nightmare of Participation Welcome to Harmonistan! Berlin-based architect/writer Markus Miessen tackles the pervasive contemporary overuse of the concept of ''participation'' in the final part of his paradigm-changing trilogy. Supported by a nostalgic veneer of worthiness, phony solidarity and political correctness, participation has become the default of politicians withdrawing from responsibility. Miessen argues for an urgent inversion of participation, reflecting cogently on the limits and traps of its real motivations. He dreads breeding the next generation of facilitators and mediators, insisting on conflict as an enabling, instead of disabling, force. With refreshing candor, this internationally known architect and professor outlines a format for acting as uninvited irritant, forcing entry into fields of knowledge that arguably benefit from exterior thinking. Sometimes, Miessen writes, democracy has to be avoided at all costs! [less ▲]

MARK VON SCHLEGELL Ickles, Etc.

Book published by Sternberg Press (2014)

It’s the late twenty-first century. Technological, environmental, and social catastrophes have changed the meanings of culture, nature, and landscape forever. But in what remains of the international ... [more ▼]

It’s the late twenty-first century. Technological, environmental, and social catastrophes have changed the meanings of culture, nature, and landscape forever. But in what remains of the international urban scene, architecture still refuses to admit it hasn’t been modern since the early twentieth century. Enter Ickles, Etc. Helming Los Angeles’s most misunderstood info-architecture practice is Henries Ickles, “the man without self-concept.” Time and again Ickles offers practical solutions to the most impenetrable theoretical entanglements of art, architecture, and science in the 2090s. In the fifth book in the Critical Spatial Practice series, Mark von Schlegell’s fusion of theory and fiction puts the SF back in notions of “speculative aesthetics.” A collection of interconnected comical sci-fi stories written for various exhibitions, Ickles, Etc. explores the future of architectural practice in light of developments in climatology, quasicrystalography, hyper-contemporary art, time travel, and the EGONET. Occupying New Los Angeles, visiting the Danish Expansion, Nieuw Nieuw Amsterdam, and 1970s St. Louis, the practice finds selves embroiled in very spicy mustards indeed, redefining info- architecture and jettisoning the burdensome “self-concept” of the Western tradition in the process. Just don’t expect a visit to the ruins of Disney Hall! [less ▲]

Hubs And Fictions. On Current Art And Imported Remoteness

Book published by Sternberg Press (2014)

Hubs and Fictions, originally a touring forum, invited international curators, writers, and producers to probe how fiction plays out in a globally distributed art-world ecology, and how infrastructures ... [more ▼]

Hubs and Fictions, originally a touring forum, invited international curators, writers, and producers to probe how fiction plays out in a globally distributed art-world ecology, and how infrastructures are invented against its background. In 2012, the forum was staged sequentially at Cooper Gallery (Dundee), Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (Gateshead), Goldsmiths University of London, and operated as a satellite event to Edgar Schmitz's exhibition “Surplus Cameo Decor,” curated by Sophia Yadong Hao at Cooper Gallery. The book functions as a deliberately discontinuous reader; it juxtaposes documents, negotiations, and reflections from and on these conversations. The publication also includes a preface by Andrea Phillips, a new image sequence by Schmitz, and a suite of reflexive annotations exchanged between Hao and Schmitz. [less ▲]

Judgement

Book published by Rice (2014)

This book illuminates a set of exchanges among architects, critics and art historians including Sarah Whiting, Hal Foster, Neil Denari, Ben van Berkel, Markus Miessen, Jeffrey Kipnis, Sylvia Lavin, R. E ... [more ▼]

This book illuminates a set of exchanges among architects, critics and art historians including Sarah Whiting, Hal Foster, Neil Denari, Ben van Berkel, Markus Miessen, Jeffrey Kipnis, Sylvia Lavin, R. E. Somol, and Brett Steele. First and foremost, Judgment is a conversation about architecture’s partisanships, the indispensable and biased engagements that catalyze architecture’s progress. Judgment is the result of a series of conversations that took place, and continue to take place, at the Rice School of Architecture. [less ▲]