This is the blog / recent activities of Kilian Jörg, a philosopher and artist mainly working on the ecological catastrophe and how we can culturally work with it. Find more on my homepage www.kilianj.org
The somewhat infamous NON has published an article of mine. It is called "Ecological Art and the Resilience of Modernism" and is a follow up to "be part of the problem, not the solution", both of which emerged from my research around the installation "the lure of modernism".
In this text, I am trying to argue that our classical understand of "ecological art" is naive and counterproductive in any ecological sense. I am proposing to regard genres like Industrial Music or Electronic Music as much more worthwhile for any serious ecological purpose than easily-marketable, green-washed camouflages.
The
installation the
lure of modernism creates
an experimental setting in which the visitor can experience and
research the narrow border between fear and ecstasy, adrenaline and
endorphins, toxicity and intoxication.
In this, it tries to find a metaphor for our global ecological
situation, which can be described like this: although we live in the
constant fear that our machine-dependent lifestyles will be - in the
long run - deadly for most of us (humanity as we know it), we still
seem to be stuck with it. We know of its danger, but we are
mesmerized by it. We are hooked on what will
eventually kill us.
In the setting of the installation, the potentially lethal gas is
Carbon Monoxide (CO), emitted from a combustion engine producing
electricity for the other necessary machines: a leafs blower and an
LED-board.
The
level of CO inside the installation ranges from 150 to 500 ppm.
Given that the legal limit for an 8 hours working day in Austria and
Germany is 35 ppm, the level is 5 to 15 times higher than the
permitted maximum. If the visitor would stay inside for 2 to 3 hours,
s/he would get a headache and nausea. However, nobody is allowed to
stay in longer than for an absolute maximum of 10 minutes.
Before entering (maximum 3 people at a time) the visitor(s) are told,
that inside the room they will encounter a very messy entanglement
of nature (as leafs) and culture (as plastic garbage). As
machine-optimistic environmentalists (as we all are) our task is to
separate the two neatly. For this purpose, machines have been
provided. The visitor is asked to blow the plastic garbage out of the
window (this is how we deal with ecological problems: we get them out
of sight) using the leafs blower. However s/he is also warned, that
the more use of the machines are made, the more toxic the room will
get.
Most visitors stay in for the maximum of the time, resulting in the
need to ask them out. They enjoy the task of "cleaning up
nature" with the loud and smelly machinery and fall prey to the
lure of modernism. It is not by accident that the leafs blower
is a very phallic machine. In entering, most people's bodies go into
some "danger mode", their blood's adrenaline level rises and
they are increasingly alert. However, when they take up the phallus,
they become subjects, degrading the environment to a passive
assemblage of objects. Out of this results a certain feeling of power
and ecstasy. The toxic gases and the loud noise becomes an anthem and
further stimuli to their agency as powerful humans, dominating
nature. In this feeling, which the installation allures us into,
we become unaware of our ecological situation and fall in love with the highly dangerous status quo of the environment.
The installation was the diploma work of my MA in Arts&Science at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and has been awarded with the recognition price of the city of Vienna. It has been on display from 15th to 22nd of June 2017 at Expositur Hohenstaufengasse in Vienna. Further exhibits are planed (if you are interested, do not hesitate to contact me).
This Saturday, Philosophy Unbound will examine the vast realms of bullshit, gibberish and non-sense!
Sehr geehrte Forschungsgemeinde, liebe Bullshitologinnen und
Bullshitologen, wir laden zum ersten internationalen
Bullshitologiekongress! / Dear scientific community, most honoured
fellow bullshitologists, we are very pleased to invite you to the first
international congress on Bullshitology!
Contributions by (all in German this time)
Sebastian Lederle
Monsterfrau & Herbert Lacina
Mae Lune
Claudia Ungersbäck
Walter Ego
Yasmin Ritschl & Sandro Huber The afterparty will take place at Wiener Freiheit!
Entry: Free Donation - Suggestion 5€ (we are a No-Budget Organisation: everything will go to the performers)
24th of June 2017 - 20h (sharp) at Spektakel Wien, Hamburger Straße 14, 1050 Vienna
In his installation the lure of modernism, Kilian Jörg explores the blurry border between fear and ecstasy, adrenaline and endorphins and finds a sensual metaphor for our contemporary situation. Although we know that our frantic machine of permanent progress will most likely end up being lethal for most of humanity, we still stick with it. We know we have to change, but we cannot. To better understand this dangerous standstill, the installation invites the spectator to inhale the dirt of the machine with joy."
From 15th to 22nd of June I am presenting my installation the lure of modernism at Expositur Hohenstaufengasse 9, SR 94 on the fifth floor. The main actor of the installation will be Carbon Monoxide, accompanied by a power engine, a leaves blower, an LED board and loads of garbage. I cordially invite you to visit the exhibition and to feel the lure of modernism with your own body*.
The installation will be open from
15th to 22nd of June from 16-18h (or by appointment: kilian[at]jorg[dot]at)
at Expositur Hohenstaufengasse 9, 1010 Vienna, 5th floor, Seminarraum 94
*In the installation, controlled levels of the poisonous gas
Carbon Monoxide will be emitted. You will be asked to sign a letter of
informed consent for entering and are strongly dis-encouraged to enter
if you are pregnant or have a heart condition. If this is not the case,
the effects of the gas for the maximum stay of 10 minuted should have no
negative effects.
B Ajay Sharma: Holding your breath is equal to protest
On Sunday, 18th of June, Indian
performance artist B Ajay Sharma will do a guest performance inside
the installation. He will do an
interactive piece on Yogic breathing techniques and air pollution. The
Delhi - one of the most polluted cities of the world - resident is
examining Swar Yoga to hold you breath in toxic environments.This
training is a cynical reference to survival for in times of political
turmoil, where people are suggested to buy oxygen masks and air filters
to survive. The performance will take place three times this
Sunday, the 18th of June 2017. At 13h, 15h and 17h (duration 1.5 hours).
Since there is limited capacity, it would be nice if you could
pre-register to kilian[at]jorg[dot]at Few general instructions: 1) Please do not drink alcohol on that that. 2) Please do not eat anything heavy for 2 hours prior to the performance. 3) Please bring a bottle of water. *The installation the lure of modernism can also be seen during the breaks.
On Friday I will have a talk on the role of technology together with Johannes Wittman, Clemens Rettenbacher, Johanna Folkmann and Rosie Benn. It will take place at Das Weiße Haus (Hegelgasse 14, 1010 Vienna) at around 15h this Friday, 9/7/17. Find the entire program of the day below:
Circuit Training - Accompanying program on 9/7/17:
An afternoon of talks and performancesreflecting on questions concerning the exhibited projects. Chaired by Brishty Alam and
Valerie Deifel.
Session I 14:00–17:00
Chronicae Aetatis Hominum Physicorum Reading. Introduction of the science-fiction book by Júlia Mag. On the road to supersymmetry Lecture by Helmut Eberl (particle physicist, HEPHY). Organised by Andrea Vezga. An introduction to supersymmetry topics picked out by Eberl from the exhibited projects.
How real is real – What ophthalmology tells us Presentation by Christoph Mitsch (ophthalmologist, Medical University Vienna). In relation to 'Reality' by Denise Schellmann. How
much of what we see is real and how much is constructed? A talk on the
anatomical, biological, neurological and pathological
aspects that have
significant influence on our visual perception of reality. Different perspectives on materials Talks by Johannes Wittman (engineer, HEPHY), Kilian Jörg (philosopher/artist) and Clemens Rettenbacher (TBA21). A reflection on the research film 'The State of The Observer' by Johanna Folkmann and Rosie Benn. A discussion exploring different perspectives on the ethics of technology, materiality and the entanglement of a globalised
world system.
Session II 17:30–19:30
Broadening the horizons of 'extra dimensions' Talks by Eni Brandner (animator), Gregor Schwellenbach (musician) and Matthias Fink (architect). In relation to 'Umkehren um 180 oder 360 Grad!!' by Golnaz Bashiri. Everyday experiences of 'extra-dimensions' across different locations.
Thinking about sound-image relations in film through Vlado Kristl Lecture performance by Marina Rebhandl and Valerie Deifel (film theorist). In relation to 'All Beginnings from Before' by Marina Rebhandl. A collage of theoretical notions on sound-image relations presented alongside a film from Vlado Kristl, a Croatian experimental
filmmaker working between the 1950s and 2000s. Accelerating Silence Live sound set by Masha Dabelka (sound artist) in response to 'Circuit Game' by Natalia Gurova. Musical performance based on processed abstracts of recorded interviews with CERN scientists taken by Natalia Gurova. Drinks & Performances 19:30
Circuit game-play tour (20-30 min) by Natalia Gurova. Pic du Pursuit (Until closing) One-to-one performance by Lala Nomada. More Information here and here.
I have contributed with a text on political and ecological art to the
current Enkunstung Journal. It is explaining why - in days of
inflationary conspiracy theories and right wing populism - it might be
more productive to examine the problem more closely, rather than
denouncing it. For this purpose, I am discussing the works of Hito Steyerl, Adam Curtis and Mikka Rottenberg. You can find the text here.
*I do not own the rights of the images re-posted here.
Technological infrastructures developed in wealthier parts of the world are products of accumulation based on asymmetric global flows of biophysical resources from less affluent areas. Technological progress, in this view, is not so much a matter of ingenious and innocent breakthroughs in engineering as of devising new and profitable systems for displacing work and environmental pressures to other populations and geographical areas. This, I argue, is the essential rationale of globalized technological systems: rather than an index of generalized human progress – the pure, transcendent knowledge epitomized by the myth of Prometheus – technology since the Industrial Revolution is fundamentally an arrangement for redistributing resources in global society. Modern technology requires not just ingenuity and specialized knowledge, but also global discrepancies in market prices. It is thus as inextricably connected to societal injustices as slavery or serfdom.
Alf Hornborg is Professor of Human Ecology at Lund University since 1993. He received his Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Uppsala in 1986 and has taught at Uppsala and at the University of Gothenburg. He has done field research in Peru, Nova Scotia, the Kingdom of Tonga, and Brazil. His primary research interest is the cultural and political dimensions of human-environmental relations in past and present societies, particularly from the perspective of world-system analysis. This has led him to explore various perspectives not only from anthropology but also from trans-disciplinary fields such as environmental history, ecological economics, political ecology, and development studies. The central ambition has been to examine how specific cultural assumptions constrain human approaches to economics, technology, and ecology, and how such assumptions tend to serve as ideologies that reproduce social relations of power.
Lecture held on 24th of April 2017 at Depot Vienna, Workshop on the 25th of April 2017 at imflieger Vienna
Chair: Kilian Jörg, Bernd Kraeftner
Invitation by the Art & Science master’s programme, University of Applied Arts Vienna, in context of the lecture series “Natura Naturans: In the woods” (http://artscience.uni-ak.ac.at/);
In cooperation with Im_flieger/Vienna, in context of the transmedia research project STOFFWECHSEL – Ecologies of Collaboration,
with differently involved artists and theoreticians, experimenting with structural and artistic entanglements. www.stffwchsl.net
