Kein schlechter Umgang

Bild 1 Kind vor Fotografie Klara Lidén (* 1979, SE), Self Portrait with the Keys to the City (2005). Bild 2 Installationsansicht der Ausstellung in den KW 2026. Klara Lidén praktiziert Kindererziehung für Erwachsene als kognitive Flexibilität. Umgehe nicht auf erlernten Wegen die Strukturen, sondern geh mit ihnen nach Deinen Bedürfnissen und Interessen um. Oder geh. Geh weiter. Fall hin. Steh auf. Kletter hoch. Bau es ab. Nimm es mit. Mal es an. Mach mit. Mach. "Warum macht Klara das?" "Weil es sie interessiert." "Und weil sie es kann!" "Genau."

studies

This is the beginning of the new outfitpost blog series "studies".
The first study was made by Guy Mees (1935 - 2003), a leading figure of the art scene of the Belgium Avantgarde. His work "Niveauverschillen" ("Height differences") took place in the 60s with different people in different backgrounds, outside and inside, on those two Ytong bricks. He also took videos of the people standing and changing the places after a while. I love his very important and basic study series about hirarchy and relations. It was on show at Kunsthalle Wien, Guy Mees, "Das Wetter ist ruhig, kühl und mild"

Brus

Günther Brus "Das schlaue Füchslein", Kostümentwürfe und Farbfotografien, 1994, belvedere 21 "Günter Brus Unruhe nach dem Sturm" , 2.2.-12.8.2010

""The Cunning Little Vixen" is a fable-like opera by the Czech Composer Leos Janacek. One day the little vixen, who is growing up imprisoned by a forester, manages to escape and hide in a badger´s lair. In her newly found freedom the vixen soon makes the acquaintane of a fox, and together they start a family. But family happiness comes to an abrupt end when a cruel poacher shoots the vixen."

The brown dog affair

Visiting the fine and smart exhibition „animal lovers“ on the topic of human-animal relationships in the nGbK (neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst) I first learned about the „brown dog affair“.

Between 1903 and 1910, anti-vivisectionists and feminists fought side by side for animal rights against medical students and the use of animals in experiments. The brown dog affair first arised because of the death of a brown Terrier in animal tests in front of medical students and made it up to the royal court of justice, accompanied by battles and street fights remebered as "the brown dog riots".

This brown dog is my animal of the day.

I do highly recommend to go see the exhibition and rethink your personal attitude torwards animal rights in general! 

 Picture taken at the exhibition "animal lovers"

Lizzy Lind-af-Hageby (1878-1963) and Leisa K. Schartau ( 1876-1962 ) knew eych other since they were children. After a visit of the "Institute Pasteur Paris", a center for animal testing around 1900, they founded the "Anti-Vivisection Society of Sweden" in 1902. Lind-af-Hageby was Cofounder of the "Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society" in 1906 and led an animal sanctuary togther with the Duchess of Hamilton. She was as well active in the "Womens´s Freedom League" and the "London Vegetarian Society". As a feminist she thematized the close connection between political claims of feminists and animal rights activists.

I NEED A PAUSE TO CHOOSE

I NEED A PAUSE TO CHOOSE WHAT PATH TO TAKE, Manal Al Dowayan, 2011
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art:
"I Need a Pause to choose What Path to Take" involves (...) an authentic emotion in an artist who is struggling both with her self-image and with society´s image of woman."

I AM A PROBLEM

"I AM A PROBLEM", Will Benenedict, 2016, Berlin Biennale 9
Extract of the music video for the Detroit-based noise band Wolf Eyes:
An alien discusses issues surrounding assimilation in an extra global context with television talk show host Charlie Rose

After having visited this biennale at the different playgrounds for the last weeks, I can hardly tell what I received in daily media or at the exhibition any more. It all became a gross collage of society.
I wish there would be less collage and more fusion in my head.

Panamarenko

Intrigued I inspected the heavyset Panamarenko Exhibition in Antwerpens MUHKA. What is it about those sixties/seventies artists, that mesmerizes my mind ever so often in these times?
Is it the longing for visions, the dilettantism in execution, the poetry of the outcome, the stranding as a discourse? Is it the ideas, which are larger than the results, or the results, that narrate about the most alluring ideas, ideas with the grace of sketches, which can be nurtured to proper utopia, without the torture of undergoing megalomaniacal utopia?
In between the numerous airplanes, diving bells, zeppelins, gliders, magnetic vehicles, space shuttles, ufos, submarines, racing cars, pin up girls larger than life and robot chickens I lost any dread of upcoming audacious projects.
According to Panamarenko there are some especially strong and fast ones beyond the locomotion objects, not tested yet.
Exceptionally happy he seems to be with his robot chickens: 
"If you are making a robot that actually has to work, I think you´ll soon be saying: "I´ll make my own coffee after all!" But that problem didn´t occur with these chickens, because all they had to do was walk around and just be a chicken..."

Wegweiser

"Haus Rucker" were the cool cats amongst the architects of the seventies. I mean, which architect invented a flying-middle-finger-rocket, seriously? Or a huge (14 meters high) middle-finger rising out of a landscape, called "Wegweiser"? And was respected for their consciousness-expanding theories about landscape and human beeings in the same time? To me, it seems, that only Austrians are able to combine this very special humour with serious artworks. Best-known for their Capsules, who hang out of the windows of existing houses to create "Enclaves" in the city or their "Soziale Plastiken", where they wrapped human-beeings, atmospheres or even a piece of a river in, yes, plastic, to sharpen the consciousness for the alienation and pollution of the environment, they definitly had some hard facts to tell. They deconstructed the borders of nature and building and fullfilled the forecast of their chosen name: "Haus Rucker" means to push away the old buildings to generate space for something new.
Laurids Ortner, Günter Zamp Kelp und Klaus Pinter were the founders 1967 in Vienna.
Go see a nicely curated exhibition by Zamp himself in lovely "Haus am Waldsee" until the 22nd of february.

Harun Farocki - Serious games

Harun Farockis (1944-2014) four-part series ERNSTE SPIELE (SERIOUS GAMES) shows how american soldiers are trained for war with videogames, especially created to simulate their military services during war in Afghanistan and Iraq. In advance, they sit in a classroom like situation, everybody in front of his screen, and drive through the desert in expectation of difficulties like bombs or iraqis or all together to solve the upcoming problem whilest permanently communicating to each other. The animated pictures have the quality of the contemporary gaming industry (Call of duty). The group makes some mistakes and suddenly "Watson is down". The reaction is quite indifferent, the tension disappears, they stay cool and will start the next try to complete their missoin. On another screen we see a soldier who came home from war, traumatised, sitting with virtual glasses with similar videogames to recapitulate the situations that he can´t get rid of. A therapist forces him to go as far as possible. Allthough the computer animations are much worse than the ones to prepare for war (they are less detailed and there are no shadows in the desert), the soldier is suffering and deeply experiencing the situation.

In the end of the session the camera shows an applauding audience, the whole situation was a marketing arrangement for videogame therapy. 

The installation gives the impression of a circle which has been closed. The humans are embedded in techniques, their experiences beeing part of the warproduction. In a shocking and morally reprehensible way the business of killing and playing are combined. Emotions are sucked up by the routine games and in the end spit out again. Questions like "what is real","what is virtual reality", "who creates our reality" and "who is responsible for the actions in reality/composed reality" evoke. 

Amongst other works of Harun Farocki debating the topic of the power of moving imgages and terror the series is shown in Hamburger Bahnhof till the 18th of january. In memoriam and deep respect for Harun Farocki, who dissected with his camera like no one else.

O

Charlotte Posenenske

"The Square Tube Series D", 1967, Charlotte Posenenske (1930 - 1985), Tate Modern, London

"The things I make / are variable / as simple as possible / reproducible. They are Components of space, since they are like / building elements, / they can always be rearranged into new combinations or positions / thus, they alter the space. / I leave this alteration to the consumer who thereby again and anew participates in the creation."

Charlotte Posenenske published this Text in Art International, 1968, befor she gave up her art practice to study sociology.

"Sasha Waltz - Installationen Objekte Performances"

Sasha Waltz shows off her art at  ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie.
For this exhibition she chose to present scenes of some of her Perfomances. The fragments are strong, they stand alone. It is clear to me that the Choreographer Sasha Waltz is an artist. Her craft of choice is the human body. And everything that embodies, like the wooden dancing floor in "Gezeiten". Common Berliner Dielen slowly start to move in a room, then they get crazy, terrify the viewer, they really make some noise. There is no earthquake going on, the floor itself is trying to send its opinion to you. It dominates the scene. It is present as dancers are present on a floor.

Take some of the last chances and go see the exhibition at the great ZKM till the beginning of february.

Kurze Ode an das HKW

Es war so gut bei "Böse Musik".

Vortrag über Forschung an Sound als Kriegsmittel gefolgt von Märschen, gespielt vom Bundespolizeiorchester, gefolgt von Drogenkartell-verherrlichender Musik von "Polka Hurricane - Corridos Prohibidos" (siehe Bild), begleitet von einer Ausstellung über Mafiamusik... das waren nur Auszüge vom Samstag. Hat 10 Euro gekostet.

Alle Protagonisten und Details hier.

Sehr inspirierend das HKW, immer. Und der Ort. Eine Insel in Berlin, einsam und frei.

Don`t do it yourself

"A plague veiled in the ideal of empowerment is sweeping our nation, leaving in its wake neighborhoods scarred by crappy home improvement, families destroyed by badly cooked gourmet meals, and scores and heaps of barely used tools, leftover supplies, and unfinished projects. This particular affliction goes by the familiar initials D.I.Y., which stands for “Do It Yourself.” The idea is rooted in positivity, but the reality is sinister."

Lisa Anne Auerbach, "don´t do it yourself"

A text about how the industry uses D.I.Y. to hoax the consumer, and what D.I.Y. was originally supposed to mean. Reading the text was big fun and a relief for me while preparing Christmas. 
Read the whole text or buy the small book. 
Lisa Anne Auerbach lives in Los Angeles. As an artist she is working in various ways to tidy up and manifest opinions in her environment, from knitting pullovers to writing, from "torn porn" to photography.

Beautiful Absence

Sao Paulo is wild, growing, moving, coulourful, dangerous, flourishing, broken, noisy, huge, chaotic. The colours are overwhelming. The earth, breaking out on building sites, ranges from bright orange to deep red, green is growing everywhere out of the narrowest gap, bringing life to flowers every size and shape and grey is the concrete, grey is the dust, glowing in the burning yellow of the sun. The houses and streets are like nature, spreading all over in every dimension, fighting each other for light.
Allthough all the impressions were so dense, they didn`t overwhelme me.
I wandered through the city, enjoying and seeing so many people, architecture and details in such relaxation, that I started asking myself why this special awareness I gain in foreign places was so much stronger as usual.
As I talked to a local artist, he asked me about my opinion about the total absence of advertisement in public. Suddenly I knew, where my free mind, my ability to concentrate on faces and to be aware of structures and life, came from.
Nothing washed my brain with short texts and screaming colours, symbols and pictures all the time. Advertisement must have been a battlefield in Sao Paulo, since there are so many building sites and shopping streets which all were covered by products, available in this booming country.
In 2006 the mayor decided to fight the pollution of the city.
He defined the visual pollution as one of the most bothering ones and decided to ban it, 70 percent of Sao Paulos inhabitants behind him.
As the ads disappeared, the people started to realize how grey and broken the facades were. How parts of the city were lacking proper care. There had to be street lights installed, buildings restored and signs made. But after all, they started to see the city and care for it again. The reference system sorrounding everyone wasn´t well produced fiction anymore.
Naive, who thinks that doesn´t change thinking.
This step seemed to be easy to take. The next steps, fighting the pollution of air, the housing shortage, the poverty and the crime will be much higher for the gouvernment.
"I would like to adopt this idea for the whole wide world", was my answer to the artist.
He, by the way, made a wonderful piece of art out of this happening.
As a collage he replaced all the empty billboards and walls of the city with his paintings.

animals of the day

Pierre Huyghe at dOCUMENTA (13), Untilled (2012)

Porträte

There is an exhibition in the cellar of Eckkneipe Cafe Warschau, Sonnenallee 27: "Porträte" by K. Näslund. The owner, who works at the bar, too, hides Portraits of herself in the cellar. One for every year. Ask her for entrance.
Very interesting. I think everyone should have a cellar with Portraits of every year. In fact we have.

bonfire and beersculptures

Party around the bonfire. Defined center of social activities to happen. Campfire comparable to Bierpyramide.  Alcohol is appropriate to warm. If there would be more campfires in the city, maybe less beersculptures would have been created. Would be too bad for Michael Sailstorfers Hangover. Beersculptures plus fires, fuck yeah.

Do good

What looks like a weird animal is the MRI of Ai Weiweis brain after been beaten up by the chinese police. By buying this shirt I supported some human right action or similar.
Usually I prefer not to combine buying and supporting, because you can easily loose the power of your values on the way. That is pretty personal, I don´t like to mix my lust for shopping, which is questionable,  and the necessity to work on the society, which is unquestionable.
Another interesting mixture of charities and somehing else, lets call it social networking, is online since about a month. A website called doonited.com offers you one "DailyGood" a day which you are free to do, click the done button afterwards and talk about what you did if you want to. Every drop you gain by dooing good will be sponsored by companies which support charities. A typical "DailyGood": "Read the news and share a good article with others." It is fun, easy to do, has a pretty apple-style user interface and leaves you with an optimistic feeling. You get loves and comment support by others for simple actions, in the best case you also discuss about the sense of what you did. Well, and again it feels wrong to sceptical me to take awards for dooing good instead of leaving the sense of the action untouchable. BUT. It doesn`t hurt anyone, no crap consumption included, it supports good tendencies, it can still evolve (beta version so far) and no one knows how much power a big network with the aim of dooing good can evolve.
Anyways, it is always better to try your best.
So I recommend to become a member, make up your own opinion and meet me there!

take me for a ride

Peter Sutherland