Artist Research

Mark Fisher (talk)

• capitalism seen as the armchair at the end of history
• we interact with objects in a virtual way, reduce them to an ornamental status
• we are no longer subjects as spectators but part of a bigger spectacle
• reality t.v. needs a circuit to complete the reality becoming a participant in the reality by: phoning in, txting, tweets, emails
• capitalist realism means that we are all involved and integrated in the system
• critique rarification and subsumption of all life into the role of the aesthetic it becomes demythologised and has no function
• The role of culture is to produce new things and to create a reflection
• the end of history becomes more prone to pastiche, if nothing new happens then we are left with relics that can only be rearranged
• postmodernism has become so dominant that it can no longer be seen
• it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism
• failure of our imagination as we cannot imagine a world with no capitalism
• capitalism has its own subtle propaganda unlike socialism this is why capitalism is more effective
• capitalist realism claims to diminish illusions and myths that have dominated the past – this is part of the structure of capitalism: it de-functions artefacts
• capitalism destroys life worlds and reconstructs them as artefacts – we present life in the world as relics of times previous they are aesthetic and displaced – capitalism does this to itself and to us as subjects
• capitalism has no world of its own it reconstitutes itself in other life worlds
• history has a different reality but that is breaking down – captialism is not seen as underdeveloped
• subject reduced to a spectator with no belief: a cynical, disaffected and disconnected being who has superior awareness
• we live in a post-apocalyptic time therefore to create a new revelation we need an apocalypse
• excessive awareness creates hyper vigilance
• excessive unawareness is created by capitalism – this is why there is nothing new
• we are in nostalgia mode with our unwitting capitulation of forms of the past – the past conditions of the present means things can be repeated without being noticed
• alternative – reactivating lost futures we oppose capitalisms obsoleteness and reposition ourselves

Work photographed by Ed Jansen.

Wheel – Propeller and what follows

Our creation of form – our systems of motion

First state

The human being, walks, he strides. The movement is discontinuous, from point to point –

The whole soul must touch the ground.

The moving force – 

the organic energy of the human body.

The moving apparatus –

the systems of bones and muscles.

The Egyptian Pyramid: so that a point at a height of 150 metres could be reached, a stone ,ountain was piled up on top of a colossal foundation.

THAT IS THE FORMIN OF THE WALKING HUMAN BEING.

Second state

The first – invention – the WHEEL. The discontinuous walking changes into continuous rolling, the wheel touches the ground in one spot.

The moving force –

as in Sate 1, or steam, exploding gas, electricity.

The moving apparatus –

as in State 1, or the system of connecting-rod, cylinder, etc. of the machine.

Now systems of construction are being invented – not the piling up of material, but the arranging of it into supporting and separating agents. The Pantheon, the aqueducts, the great halls, the skyscrapers, the Eiffel Tower.

While buildings rise up and new energies are exploited, the speed of the rolling wheel increases and a new shape originates – MOVABLE ARCHITECTURE – the Pullman car, dining-car, ocean liner. The train – a rolling, collective dwelling.

THAT IS THE FORMING OF THE TRAVELLING HUMAN BEING.

Third state

The second invention – SCREW, PROPELLER. The continuous rolling changes into continuous gliding.

NAUEN Here the 250-metre aerial mastsstand in one spot. The Egyptian Pyramid is obsolete.

The flying human being is at the frontier – at the frontier of the old conceptions. A new energy must be released, which provides us with a system of movement (for example, a movement which is not based on friction, which offers the possibility of floating in space and remaining at rest). The new design must supersede the old machine, which is only an imitation of the human hand. Only inventions will determine design. Even for the revolutions new forms must be invented.

“The universe is something that is so big that you cannot even imagine. It is like a big black hole where you can travel forever and you do not know if you will ever reach an end. Nobody has ever reached an end before. There is no gravity so there would be no continuous falling, there would be a continuous spiraling.” Anna, 2014.

— 

Rules for Cosmic Tissue

1. Perform as slowly as possible.

2. Hold positions for as long as possible even if you feel unstable. Either grab the bar or fall. Do not turn it into another movement or trick.<br />

3. Keep in mind instability and balance.

4. Try not to look at me when I record you.

5. Position yourself so your face or movement is directed towards the camera.

6. “it can be much longer”

Powerful film that depicts the aftermath of the Recession in Detroit whilst simultaneously depicting the fading glory of the American Dream. It explores the complexity of the demise and rise of various middle classes and the various struggles and strength of the city citizens as they try to adapt to their ever shifting housing, political, economic and social environments.

TRAILER