Talks/panel discussion: with Linda Bilda (ArtFan, Vienna), Günther Friesinger (monochrom, Vienna), Alessandra Galasso (cosmika76, New York and Biella) and Jen Liu (Asher Archive, New York). After their individual statements, a panel discussion entitled “Personal experiences in publishing” with the same lecturers and moderated by Rita Vitorelli (Spike Art Magazine, Vienna) and Cathérine Hug (Curator KUNSTHALLE wien) will take place between 7 and 8PM. Venue: Ursula Blickle Video Lounge, KUNSTHALLE wien in the MQ, 6 – 8PM. Event in English.
Abstracts
Jen Liu (New York): Asher Archive: Mythology
The Asher Archive seeks to preserve the artistic work, correspondence, pedagogical documents, and publications of and about Michael Asher, noted conceptual artist currently living in Los Angeles. As segments of the archive become available, they become the occasion for theoretical, curatorial, and artistic expansions by younger artists, then integrated into the archive. On the eve of the release of the first segment, Jen Liu will discuss concepts behind the project: reproduction in the age of reproduction, reproduction and its relationship to mythologies, and our role as artists in the seemingly atomized narrative of contemporary art history – through the lens of art’s journey away from revolution and towards re-evaluation, and a singularly totemic Elvis-with-gun. The Asher Archive is a project of Marte Eknaes and Jen Liu, artists from Berlin and New York, respectively. They are working closely with Michael Asher and his personal archive, as well as in collaboration with various institutions.
Guenther Friesinger (monochrom, Vienna): Context Hacking
The term “context hacking” – like its older mimetic sibling “communication guerrilla” – refers to unconventional forms of communication and/or intervention in more conventional processes of communication. Context hacking is a specific style of political action drawing from a watchful view of the paradoxes and absurdities of power, turning these into the starting point for interventions by playing with representations and identities, with alienation and over-identification. Guenther Friesinger will present some projects by monochrom, a worldwide operating collective from Vienna dealing with technology, art, and philosophy that was founded in 1993. The group specializes in an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, and political activism. Their mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost “in culture-archaeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment.”
Alessandra Galasso (cosmika76, New York): Limits of traditional media in documenting contemporary art. Are new media the answer?
I LOVE books. We all LOVE books, and yet, we are all aware of the limits of traditional printed books especially when it comes to documenting the work of contemporary artists. The impossibility of understanding and appreciating most artworks through fixed images, the high costs of good quality printing, the prohibitive conditions of international distribution, and the scarce consideration given to the readers, just to name a few. Digital media offer whole new perspectives on how contemporary art can be documented, promoted, discussed, and shared by a far much wider audience of international art professionals and art lovers. cosmika76 is a new company dedicated to the research and development of new editorial transmedia solutions.
Linda Bilda (ArtFan, Vienna): Shaping the future by means of analyzing the present as an editor
Eine Meinung zu haben bedeutet auch, sie zu sagen – Informationen zu bekommen bedeutet auch, sie zunächst weiterzugeben d. h. zu publizieren. Der Kunstsektor ist aufgeladen mit Bedeutungen wie geistige Avantgarde, Autonomie der KünstlerInnen und anderen Begriffen, die den Zusammenhang von Kunst mit der Banalität von Geld und Macht unsichtbar machen. Kunst ist jedoch, wie jeder anderer Teil der Gesellschaft auch, ein Raum, in dem sich Marktmechanismen, Erzeugung von Autorität und Hierarchien herausbilden und walten. Die Fiktion, die von Macht und Geld erzeugt wird, soll immer wieder von Neuem untersucht werden, um ihr die Wirklichkeit entgegenzuhalten – Ziel und Aufgabe auch der Publikationen, an denen ich arbeite. Damit versuche/n ich /wir, Informationen anzubieten, die die Wirklichkeit in diesem Bereich beschreiben und analysieren, und folglich kritische Interventionen erlauben.