Friday, November 5, 2010

Name- Readymade

Check this project out- it explores the use of the 'name' as a 'readymade'...
parallel worlds- parallel identities?

http://www.aksioma.org/name/

NAME Readymade is a "Name changing” gesture perpetrated by three Slovenian artists who, in 2007 officially changed their names to the Slovenia’s economic-liberal, conservative prime minister at the time, Janez Janša.

All three of the Janez Janšas’ private and public affairs, their performances, writings and exhibitions – in a word, their entire lives – have been conducted under this name ever since.  Janez Janša works through a series of artistic, political, administrative and mediatic actions performed by himself together with Janez Jansa and Janez Jansa. Works exhibited in this show (valid ID cards, passports, credit and bank cards, driving licences, birth and marriage certificates, and so on) are generated by the reality itself.

NAME Readymade - THE EXHIBITION
Curator: Zdenka Badovinac
Name as Readymade 
An interview with Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Janez Janša by Lev Kreft
NAME Readymade - THE BOOK
Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana, Oct. 2008

Friday, October 29, 2010


Here's a link to a text by Russell Means, it's from a speech he gave in 1980- Means speaks to the problem of indigenous cultures becoming "Europeanized."


Here's an excerpt-

"But each new piece of that “progress” ups the ante out in the real world. Take fuel for the industrial machine as an example. Little more than two centuries ago, nearly everyone used wood–a replenishable, natural item–as fuel for the very human needs of cooking and staying warm. Along came the Industrial Revolution and coal became the dominant fuel, as production became the social imperative for Europe. Pollution began to become a problem in the cities, and the earth was ripped open to provide coal whereas wood had always simply been gathered or harvested at no great expense to the environment. Later, oil became the major fuel, as the technology of production was perfected through a series of scientific “revolutions.” Pollution increased dramatically, and nobody yet knows what the environmental costs of pumping all that oil out of the ground will really be in the long run. "

Hi Everyone- Out of our Detroit discussions we see alternative and parallel strategies of land use and geographic narratives-


Here's a new project by artists Julieta Aranda and Anton Vidokle that proposes a parallel economy to our current neo-liberal model- it's called Time/Store... another utopian economic alternative to our 'morning after' hyper-capitalist collapse?

Time/Store on Essex Street follows the historic Cincinnati Time Store, opened by the American anarchist Josiah Warren in 1827 as a three-year experiment in alternative economics. Warren's idea was to develop an exchange system where the value assigned to commodities would come as close as possible to the amount of human labor necessary to produce them. For example: 8 hours of a carpenter’s labor could be exchanged for eight to twelve pounds of corn. This system eventually led to the creation of time currency, and to contemporary time banking—an international movement of alternative economics.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Through the Eye of the Sufi





Parallelism and intersection





parallel |ˈparəˌlel; -ləl|


adjective

  1. of lines, planes, surfaces, or objects) side by side and having the same distance continuously between them : parallel lines never meet
  2. occurring or existing at the same time or in a similar way;
  3. computing involving the simultaneous performance of operations.
  4. of or denoting electrical components or circuits connected to common points at each end, rather than one to another in sequence.
  5. the opposite of series.

noun

  1. a person or thing that is similar or analogous to another a similarity : e.g. he points to a parallel between biological evolution and cognitive development.
  2. a comparison : e.g. he draws a parallel between personal destiny and social forces.

phrases

[in parallel]occurring at the same time and having some connection.



Orig

mid 16th cent. : from French parallèle,

via Latin from Greek parallēlos,

from para- ‘alongside’ + allēlos ‘one another.’

(fig.1)



After a brief analysis of the above terminology a curious conflict arises, pertaining to wether parallel can include points of intersection pertaining to the subject being addressed in any specific context. (fig.1) Basic perspectives on this issue vary, ranging from basic geometry where parallel lines don’t meet, and more mystical perspective believing that two parallel line in fact meet - same as any other aspect of creation.




Sufism & Parallel Lives


(fig.2)


Here, applying the basic principles of Quantum physics and application of the behavior of atoms to the human condition, it is believed that all forms of creation, at their very core are in fact created from nothing but wave structures. When these waves cross at specific points and frequencies, they manifest in material forms - ones that we refer to as tangible, materiality, etc. - while at all other times these wave forms are non-tangible (such as spirituality, sound, gamma rays, etc.) (fig.2)



(fig.3) Isfahan Mosque (Dome), Iran


Bringing forth the idea that parallel applies to intersecting as well co-existence, we can conclude the from the Sufism existential perspective, that we - s well as all forms of creation - are created by waves, that at times manifest as bodies. Hence we do in-fact live “parallel lives” at every moment of our existence. This is belief is reflected in various Islamic Sufism art forms throughout time, but more specifically the Tazhib form. (fig.3)



Notes:

• Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter.


• Sufism is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ṣūfī (صُوفِيّ) or a Dervish. Most consider themselves to be in search, and hence "students" of Sufism. Traditional books or conventional methods are discarded in search of a direct relationship with one's god.

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but the one and only creator (also known as God).



Pierre Huyghe's Carpenter Center Project

Thanks everyone for a great class- all of your comments, posts and questions were wonderfully challenging and insightful!

... and thanks to Larissa James for sharing her work- here's a link to Larissa's site-


...and thanks to Amy for sharing her project at the Carpenter Center- here's a link to the Pierre Huyghe's Le Corbusier/Carpenter Center project that I mentioned-


...and here's a link to some recent images of Las Vegas- a portrait in parallel-- economic collapse embedded in a desert landscape of casino capitalism-