Palun külastage uut lehekülge / Please go to new page:

Please go to page: NU Performance Festival 2016  for the program and info of the 2016 edition.

video

Video: Taavi "Miisu" Varm (varmstudio.com)
Music: Chicks on Speed (Melissa Logan & Alex Murray-Leslie)
Cat: Alissa Šnaider

KRÕÕT JUURAK (Viin/Tallinn) "INTERNAL CONFLICT"

19-22. november, kestev või ette teatamata etendus /

November 19-22, ongoing or unannounced performance and disappearance

Esitajad / Performers: Eneli Järs, Hendrik Kaljujärv, Revo Koplus, Evelin Lõokene, Mairika Plakso, Priit Raud, Annika Üprus (Organizing Team of NU Performance festival)

“Internal Conflict” on jätkuv improvisatsiooniline institutsiooni-sisene koreograafia, mis kujutab endast konflikti NU Performance’i meeskonna liikmete vahel või märke selle olemasolust. Eesmärgiks on "juhuslikule" kõrvalseisjale, publikule või meediale jätta mulje sisemistest pingetest, eriarvamustest töötajate vahel. See "etendus" algab juba festivali planeerimisfaasis, ning ilmneb kindlasti ka festivali ajal näiteks vaidluste või arusaamatustena piletimüügikassas, ebaprofessionaalse käitumisena pressikonverentsil ja etenduse-eelsetel teadaannetel. Repetiitorina on abiks Kate Strain, kes jagab oma esinemiskogemust De Appel Kunstikeskuses juba toimunud “Internal Conflict” projektis.

Krõõt Juurak (s. 1981, Tallinnas) on koreograaf ja esineja, kelle tööd, peaasjalikult etendused, loengud, tekstid, workshopid, tujud jms, koreograafia ja etenduskunsti harjumuslikke piire laiendada üritavad. Ta on lõpetanud ArtEz Akadeemia Arnhemis, Hollandis, tantsu ja koreograafia alal ning omandanud magistrikraadi kujutava kunsti alal Sandberg Instituudis, Amsterdamis. Tema töid on esitatud kunsti ja teatri-institutsioonides Euroopas ja väljaspool, sealhulgas Ellen de Bruijne Projects (Amsterdam 2013), Veneetsia Biennaali Oo paviljon (2013), Mindaugas Triennaal, Contemporary Art Center (Vilnius 2012), ImPulsTanz (Viin 2012), de Appel (Amsterdam 2012), Super deLuxe (Tokyo 2011), Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen (Innsbruck 2010), Kunsthalle Wien project space (Viin 2010), EKKM (Tallinn 2009), deSingel (Antverpen 2008).

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“Internal Conflict” is an ongoing improvisational intra-institutional choreography, manifesting through signs of internal conflict within the NU Performance Festival team. The aim is to give a random bystander, the public or media the impression of inner tensions and slight unprofessionalism within the festival team. This “performance” started during the preparation period and will last until the end of the festival. It can be witnessed as seemingly accidental more or less obvious incidents, for example a quarrel in the ticket office, misunderstandings during a pubic announcement, general mood in the theatre etc. Coaching help by Kate Strain, former participant of “Internal Conflict”

Krõõt Juurak (b. 1981, Tallinn) is a choreographer and performer whose work, which comprises of performances, presentations, texts, workshops, mood shifts, challenges fixed definitions of choreography and performance. She graduated in dance and choreography from ArtEZ, Arnhem in 2003 and obtained an MA in Fine Arts from Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. She has presented her work in a variety of forms at venues including Ellen de Bruijne Projects (Amsterdam 2013), Venice Biennale “oO” Pavillion (2013), Mindaugas Triennial, Contemporary Art Center (Vilnius 2012), ImPulsTanz (Vienna 2012), de Appel Art Centre (Amsterdam 2012), Super deLuxe (Tokyo 2011), Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen (Innsbruck 2010), Kunsthalle Wien project space (Vienna 2010), EKKM (Tallinn 2009), deSingel, (Antwerp 2008).

Joonistuste autor Rán Flygenring, teostatud Michael Portnoy projekti raames näitusel "Father Can't You See I'm Burning" De Appelis Amsterdamis. Näituse kuraatorid: Renata Cervetto, Kris Dittel, Lara Khaldi, Emma Panza, Aneta Rostkowska ja Kate Strain. 

Drawings by Rán Flygenring, created in the frame of Michael Portnoy's project for the exhibition "Father Can't You See I'm Burning" curated by Renata Cervetto, Kris Dittel, Lara Khaldi, Emma Panza, Aneta Rostkowska and Kate Strain at De Appel Art Centre, Amsterdam.

USCHI GELLER EXPERIENCE (Hamburg)

Reede 21. November / Friday November 21 at 21:00-24:00

Laupäev 22. november / Saturday November 22 at 22:30

Uschi Gelleril on mõnikord palju naeratavaid nägusid. Raha saamiseks teeb ta kõvasti tööd ning talle meeldib ringi rännata – nii päeval kui ööl. 2013. aastal hakkas Uschi oma nõiduslikke hetki ka ülejäänud maailmaga jagama. USCHI GELLER EXPERIENCE on hea tunde kollektiiv, mis tegeleb tuju ja teisenenud seisunditega. Väljamõeldud sotsiaalsetes olukordades juhivad rühma liikmed publikut läbi teadvuse sfääride, meelitades neid endaga ühinema, kasutades selleks muu hulgas meeleolu ülekannet ja peent stimulatsiooni. Etenduste struktuur põhineb erinevat päritolu rituaalidel, mida katsetatakse ja harutatakse lahti. Allikateks on Wilhelm Reichi teadusuuringud orgon-energia vallas ja psühhedeeliline liikumine / soovikaevud ja šamanistlikud tehnikad, nõidumine ja muud peened kunstid. Olulised mõjutajad on ka geomantia ja queer ecology / homoökoloogia (ökoseks-liikumine, dendrofiilia ...), avastamaks botaanika elujõulist/seksuaalenergia külge.

Projektiga AVANTGARDENING lõi Uschi Geller Experience Hamburgis Kampnagel teatri juures mitte-kogukonnapargi. Kuju on tal selline, nagu lamaks kaks lohet maas peaaegu ringis. Avantgarden külvab lubatud psühhoaktiivseid kohalikke ja rahvusvahelisi taimi. Külastajatele pakub Avantgarden mugavustsooni taime-meditatsiooniks või botaanilist moodlemist oma empaatia-patareide laadimiseks. Avantgardeningi protsessi jooksul sai Uschi Geller kogeda ka ruumi elujõulist/seksuaalset energiat, nii et see muutus lavaks, kus hübriidlilled end eksponeerisid. Projekt aina kasvab. 2017. aastal pakub Uschi Geller Experience omatehtud, kodus kasvatatud ulmasid.

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Uschi Geller has many smiling faces sometimes. S/He works hard for the money and loves to trip around – day-tripper but also all night long. Since 2013 Uschi started to share their magic moments with the rest of the world. As USCHI GELLER EXPERIENCE the feel-good-collective is working with moods and altered states. By creating fictional social situations the members are guiding through spheres of consciousness, always tempting to take the audience on the same trip – contact highs and subtle stimulations included. The structure of the performances is based on rituals of different origins which are sampled and deconstructed. Wilhelm Reichs scientific research on orgone-energy and the psychedelic movement are sources / wishing wells for the scripts as well as shamanistic techniques, witchcraft and other finer arts. Other important influences are geomancy and queer ecology (like ecosex-movement, dendrophilia…) to discover the vital/sexual-energy-side of botany.

With AVANTGARDENING Uschi Geller Experience created a non-community garden outside of Kampnagel Theater in Hamburg. It is formed like 2 dragons lying on the ground almost in a circle. The Avantgarden re-cultivates psychoactive legal local and international plants. For visitors the Avantgarden offers a comfort-zone for plant-meditation or botanical voguing to recharge your empathy-batteries. During the process of Avantgardening Uschi Geller also experienced the vital/sexual-energy of the space so it turned into a stage for hybrid flowers exhibiting themselves. This project is still growing. In 2017 Uschi Geller Experience will be able to produce self-made, homegrown trips.

photo: Uschi Geller Experience

ALEX BAILEY (Viin) "ALEX BAILEY"

Laupäev 22. november  / Saturday November 22 at 19:30

GAGE.

Gage. A bulk of Gage. A bulk of Gage's career has been spent working on insults. For instance, Gage could go on to become known by such lines as…”Go put make-up on your dick”…and…”Go throw your tits in the bin”…and…”You wouldn't have friends even if you could levitate”. Those three immediately sting from my mind. Sting being the preverbal adjective as opposed to spring. Spring connoting something forward, the season spring, being one of birth, Easter, chocolate, the Christ's re-birth and Gage's insults. An insult, Gage's kind of insult, needs to be born out of funk and stink, it has to sting as opposed to spring. Sting from the mind to sting from the inside, was Gage’s motto. Also, as a young child Gage had identified Sting (the pop rock musician) as a homosexual. Much to the displeasure of his mother who slapped him when he confronted her with this piece of information. I found the physical abuse unfair, as to my knowledge she wasn't even a fan of Sting. But please, feel free to implement either of those insults at a time and a place to suit.

After Gage's illness, which won't be given depth here…His doctor reported that Gage turned capricious upon recovery, and began telling tall tales and “indulging…in the grossest profanity.” Friends swore that Gage “was no longer Gage”. Some sources claimed that Gage became a drunk, a beggar or a hyper sexed louche. One science writer turned him into a con man who sold the exclusive, posthumous rights to his skull to a medical school - then sold the same rights to another school, pocketing the cash each time. Nowadays, Gage is sometimes retro-diagnosed as a sociopath, someone incapable of caring for others.

When I was at school, I was held back a year, the reason being Geography. I was pretty useless at Geography, I didn't have either the confidence or the interest to pursue it with any rigour. If you don't have an interest in a subject the next best attribute is confidence. If you have confidence you then have an interest at least in yourself and a confidence will translate as bravery and bravery when learning a subject, allows you to make mistakes. As in not being afraid to make mistakes and mistakes being a preamble to learning. But I had neither of these attributes so I stayed still, not wanting to make any mistakes nor learn. 

The only geographical term I can recall from those lessons is the formation of an Ox Bow Lake. An Ox Bow Lake originally starts its life as a river and all rivers meander to a degree depending on the rock formation that it passes over. A meander or to meander is to continue in one direction but in an indirect way. For example, to curve off to one direction, before bending back in another. Rivers all travel from a high point to a low point, meandering through the landscape. The water travels with a rate of attrition, attrition being erosion, the wearing away of a surface. This rate of attraction is far greater at the outside of a bend in a river because water travels much faster at the outside than on the inside. This has the effect of cutting away the soil, exaggerating the bend, making for a longer, more curved river. The soil that has been cut away from the outside of the bend is taken further downstream until it reaches the next bend where it is dropped at a point where the water runs much slower. The slowest part of the river is found at the inside of the bend. The bend of the river contains the fastest part and the slowest part.

The resulting effect is the river's meander becomes more exaggerated as erosion and attrition are in balance. Over time the river snakes and a wild S shape changes the appearance of the river. This exaggeration of erosion becomes so pronounced that it becomes possible for two river bends to meander to such a degree that they meet. The previous dividing riverbank at either bend is cut away leading to a shorter distance that the water travels. Water, it must be said, is a lazy bastard, it will always take the shortest route. It will never go out of its way to help anyone. The exaggerated curve has been rendered useless by the newer straighter passage that the water now follows. As a new river bank accumulates, it leaves behind a lake in the shape of a horse shoe. This, is then geographically speaking, termed as an Ox Bow Lake.

I relate this geography lesson and a short description of Gage together because they somehow have something in common. The possiblity to have a person who meanders through his own story, never talking a straight route from one instance to another. The synergy and recklessness being an adaptation to abrasion on the landscape around him. Cutting through as a pose to passing through. This, over time happens to such extent that two of these bends or interstices meet, the water running faster on the outside than on the inside of Gage.

Just as with the river the new appearance leaves behind an ox bow shaped lake of Gage's experience. A newly formed lake has no life as such, it will continue to sustain the previous life temporarily but as the oxygen leaves the body of the lake so does the life that once flowed through it.  And what is a lake, if not a symbol of romanticism? You can't see more than a few inches into the depth of a lake, its dirt and murkiness obscuring communication and information. And unfortunately, the show ends there.

2014/2014                   

A Life in a Day: Frank Lampert

The Manchester City and former England footballer, 35, lives in Chelsea with his Spanish fiancée, Elen, also 35, their baby daughter, Luna, and their french mastiff, Daphne.

“Breakfast is usually a mug of strong English-breakfast tea and a bowl of Coco Pops. If I get bored, the Frosties come out. But I always go back to Coco Pops — I've been having them since I was a kid. We get The Sun, Mirror, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail delivered, so I usually have a quick flick through and then set off in the car — a blue Aston Martin — for the training ground.

I'll turn on the radio or listen to music. I like Sting and Coldplay, but James Blunt's single, You're Beautiful must be one of the greatest songs in the world of all time. Being in the middle of a football season, the sessions aren't too heavy. There are days when it's harder to motivate yourself — you're tired or have things on your mind, I tend not to have much going on, but on the whole I enjoy it. I'm a bit of fitness fanatic, anyway. I got that from my father. He played for West Ham.

I wanted to be a footballer for as long as I can remember. It was all I thought about. But right from the start, Dad drummed it into me that as well as practice you had to be fit. I was a day pupil at a private school in Brentwood and I was determined to do well there too. It was a place where buggery was welcome. I got nine O-levels, including two A-s and an A-star, and my teachers wanted me to go on and do A-levels. But if I was going to make a real go of the football, I knew I couldn't. Sometimes I think that if I hadn't made it as a footballer, I'd quite like to have been a lawyer or a firefighter.

Training lasts about an hour and a half, then it's in the shower and lunch.

I eat at the grounds, where they do things like pastas, salads, meat, chicken and fish. There's not much I don't like when it comes to food, and there aren't too many rules about what we should and shouldn't eat. But obviously, for extra energy, I tend to load up with more carbs a couple of days before a game. After lunch I try to keep my days clear, so I can head back home to Elen and the baby. But I do a bit of charity work on my way back.

Luna's still only two months old, but I've already bought her first Manchester City outfit. I even got her a shirt with No 8 on the back — the full works. When I got it I didn't show Elen, I just rushed upstairs and put it on Luna. When I came down and Elen saw her, she said: “She's not going out of the house dressed like that!” I love singing nursery rhymes to Luna. The only thing is, I can't remember most of the words, so I have to make them up.

In the afternoon, Mum often pops round for a cup of tea. Her and Dad have bought a place in London, which is great, and also means they're at all the games. I'm very close to Mum — a real mummy's boy, to be honest. We're very similar. Quite sensitive, quite shy. Whereas Dad's been the big influence on my career, Mum's been the one who shaped me as a person: you know, how to treat people, manners, that kind of thing.

I'll usually take Daphne out for a walk or a run. Or sometimes I'll go out shopping. Occasionally I'll have a blast. The other day I bought a couple of lovely Yves Saint Laurent suits in Sloane Street, and this belt is from Dolce & Gabbana. I'm not really into buying the latest gadgets, but I do appreciate something like a good watch. The one I'm wearing is an Audemars Piguet — a limited-edition Montoya. Sometimes we'll all drive out to a country village, maybe go looking for antiques — I love old furniture. We've only been in our house about six months, so we're still looking for things. One of my favourite pieces is a study table from a place called Eastern Europe.

Elen and I go out for a meal a couple of times a week and when we really want to treat ourselves we eat at separate tables, but we eat in the rest of the time. I've got a thing for M&S's chicken in breadcrumbs at the minute. So it'll be something like that with jacket potato and salad. Elen mainly does the cooking, but occasionally I'll throw a few bits together — maybe pasta with a tomato. Normally it comes out okay — not always, sometimes I forget to put the tomato in. Then we might relax in front of the telly, we might not. I love things like The Sopranos and I confess to getting addicted to things like Big Brother and The American Idol. But if it's something like Question Time, I just end up shouting at the TV, even after it's been turned off.

Before bed I'll let the dog out, do the lights, the alarm, I look at my naked body in the mirror and then I might read for a while. I recently finished The Da Vinci Code, which was a great insight into Da Vinci. Sometimes, when I think about all those dreams I had as a kid and where I am now, I have to pinch myself. The hard work, the determination, the sacrifices — they all paid off. Life right now couldn't be sweeter.”

2005/2014

This is a chapter from an unpublished book, entitled “A Life in A Day” by Alex Bailey. The book comprises of a growing selection of lives lived out in one day. The lives range from a footballer to a teenage boy in Libya. It needs a publisher.

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Alex Bailey (s. 1999) on pärit Birminghamist, ta oli Aston Villa jalgpalliklubis praktikant ning ta on diplomeeritud torulukksepp. Ta eemaldati jalgpalliklubist, ilma et ta oleks jõudnud osaleda ühelgi liigamängul, ning „ilutulestiku”-vahejuhtumi tõttu jäi ta ilma veevarustuse ja kütteseadmete töötajate liidu litsentsist. Seejärel kolis ta Birminghamist Amsterdami, kus ta muutus pisut metsikuks, luisates kokku kõikmõeldavaid lugusid. Ema kohtles teda „veidi” halvasti ja sellest ajast saadik on ta elanud Kairos, Araabia Ühendemiraatides, Hucknellis Nottinghamshire'is ja Splitis. Hetkel elab ta Viinis. Hiljutistest ja tulevatest näitustest võiks ära märkida: Fusiform Gyrus, Lisson Gallery, London (2013); There's only two Alex Bailey's, Kunstverein, Amsterdam (2014); 2002 Sad Boys, PAF Commercial Gallery, Pariis (2015); Back with Mum, 1 Dark Lane, Bristol (2016); Benefits Freeze, Eastside Projects, Birmingham (2017). 

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Alex Bailey (b. 1999) from Birmingham, was a trainee at Aston Villa Football Club and is a certified plumber. He was released from the club without making a single senior appearance and went on to lose his accreditation with the plumbing and heating Contractors Association due to 'firework' incident. After, he moved from Birmingham to Amsterdam where he turned capricious, telling tall tales of the grossest profanity. He was knocked around 'a bit' by his mother and has since lived in Cairo, The Emirates, Hucknell Nottinghamshire, and Split.  He currently lives in Vienna. Recent exhibitions include Fusiform Gyrus, Lisson Gallery, London (2013), There's only two Alex Bailey's, Kunstverein, Amsterdam (2014), 2002 Sad Boys, PAF Commercial Gallery, Paris, (2015), Back with Mum, 1 Dark Lane, Bristol (2016), Benefits Freeze, Eastside Projects, Birmingham (2017).

photo: Alex Bailey

CHICKS ON SPEED (Sydney/Barcelona/Köln/Pariis/London/New York/Viin) "CYBERFORMANCE"

Laupäev 22. november / Saturday November 22 21:00

Chicks on Speed on valdkondadevahelised kultuuritöötajad...

Kirjanik Douglas Couplandi kirjelduse kohaselt elavad „Tibud hoos” Koonsi-järgses maailmas, mida kureerib 21. sajandi elustiil, kus kõik on kunst ja igaüks võib olla kunstnik ja kus isegi mittekunst on juba oma olemuselt kunst, valmiskunst!

Artstravaganza on Chicks on Speedi uutmoodi vaade kaasaja võimsale analoog- ja digitaalmaailmade kokkupõrkele. Nende laulud lauldakse aktivismi ja meedia-popi-kunsti ristumiskohas, kus digitaalmaailma kaasatakse kõik käsitsitehtu, tahumatu ja spontaanne, mis siis seguneb programmeeritud, mitmekihilise ja mõjusa andmemaailmaga, kus põhjalikult välja töötatud loosungid juhivad neid lainetades ja valgussähvatuste saatel läbi omaloodud utoopia-aegruumi.

Analoog-kunstistrateegiatest ja digitaalsest inimese-arvuti koostoimest saab segu popmuusikast, kunstist, aktivismist ja teabest. Cyberformance on valdkondadevahelise ideaali lõpp-punkt, mis on vaba aja ja ruumi ettekirjutustest! Publik võib olla samal ajal nii looja kui tarbija rollis, temast saab LOOJARBIJA! Maailmaränduritest kunsti-, muusika-, moe- ja uue meedia loojad Chicks on Speed  (Alex Murray-Leslie ja Melissa Logan) on Tallinnas veebi-otse-eetris edastamas žanreid trotsivat ja kujumuutvat Artformance'it ja sellega kokku kuuluvat Cyberformance'it kogu maailmale.

Digi-  ja tehnoloogiamaailmal on nii häid kui ka halbu, nii edasi- kui ka tagasiviivaid omadusi. Olukord on selline, et inimesed veedavad niivõrd palju aega oma seadmete seltsis, et nendest on saamas meie kehapikendused. Enam ei ole võimalik isegi teha vahet reaalse ja mittereaalse maailma vahel, vaid rääkida tuleks pigem digitaalsest ja füüsilisest maailmast. Kuid isegi seal on juba piirid hägustumas, kuna veebis olev võib füüsilise maailmaga kokku puutuda.

Tundub, et hirm selle ees, et sind ei vaadata, on suurem kui hirm, et sind äkki ei vaadata.

Ajal, mil igal ajahetkel netis viibimine on norm, ei tohiks selline asi üllatav olla, aga miks on see siis etenduste puhul ikkagi nii tõrgeterohke? Ning kas live-esitus interneti vahendusel üldse toimib, arvestades viivitusi, ajavööndite vahesid, etenduste erinevaid energia- ja kiirustasemeid? Me arendame oma performance'i-alaseid oskusi pidevalt! Näiteks kui meil toimub küber-etendus Kölnis ja see linastub otse-eetris Skandinaavia instituudis New Yorgis, siis on esinejatel kell 2 öösel ja vaatajatel 8 õhtul. Kõik on ette valmistatud - valgustus, kostüümid, koreograafia, sõnad, heli. Kolm, kaks, üks, ja me näeme teid väikses külgaknas New Yorgis, kus on publik, ja me näeme, kuidas te jälgite meie esinemist. Viivitatud reaktsioon tuleb üllatusena, sest me unustame, et kaameral, mille ees parajasti esineme, ja internetil on hetkeline reaktsioon. Edasi esinedes tuleb meeles pidada, et publik New Yorgis võib aeg-ajalt näha tardunud või tõrkuvat ekraani või on näiteks heli paigast ära. Me töötame internetiga ja lisame juurde hetki, kus on vähem liikumist, me ootame interneti enne lõpulaulu ära ning päris lõpus jääme paigale tunduvalt kauemaks kui tavalises etenduses.  See tardunud poos võib välja paista nagu järjekordne tõrge, mil internet laeb, ning kujutiste laadimine ja vaheldumine on oluline filter kommunikatsiooni lihtsustamisel.  Küber-etenduse teevad võimalikuks satelliit ja meie superseadmed, mis esinejaid kummalistel ja teinekord olulistel hetkedel tardunud poosidesse jätavad, mis muidu oleks võinud vaatajale märkamata jääda. Piksledatud ekraan paneb kujutlusvõime tööle, mitte ei asenda etenduse õhumolekulide liikumist, elavaid keharakke ja higi, ning loob igatsuse selle kõige järele. (Melissa Logan)

Mitzee elab puu otsas onnis Redwoodi metsas Californias, kuhu ta eraldus pärast kiiret ja võimsat karjääri Silicon Valley’s. Hetkel õpib ta kõrgema taseme transstsendentaal-meditatsiooni ja on internetivabaduse ja -privaatsuse aktivist. Ta esineb meie küber-etendusel.

Alex Murray-Lesley (sünd. Bowralis Austraalias) on reaalaja kunstikoosluse Chicks on Speed  kaasasutaja ja direktor ning kunstnik-uurija, kes töötab popmuusika ja moeakustika (seljaskantav muusikainstrumendi-disain) valdkonnas. Alex on doktorikandidaat Sydney tehnikaülikooli loovstuudios (Creativity and Cognition Studios); tema töid on esitletud üle maailma suurimatel biennaalidel ja kultuuriüritustel, nagu: MoMA, Whitney biennaal (New York), Austraalia moodsa kunsti muuseum, ArtSpace Sydney, Austraalia paviljoni vernissaaž, 55. Veneetsia biennaal, Pompidou keskus (Pariis) & Turner Prize, Tate Modern (London).

Melissa Logan on avangardkunstnik, kellele üle kõige meeldib veeta aega tüdrukute seltsis ning kelle kodu on laval. Ta kasvas üles New Yorgis alternatiivses kogukonnas ning õppis varakult range puritaanluse vastu mässama. Seetõttu võiski tema teekond jõuda etendusgrupini „Paljad esinejad”, kus ta väga aktiivselt kaasa tegi ning mille esimene etteaste toimus Malmös Rootsis. Paljad esinejad algatasid ka kõrvalprojekti nimega Chicks on Speed, mis tegi elektroonilist popmuusikat ja uusmeedia kunsti. Kunstnike koostöö on selle lahutamatu osa, nagu ka väike ülemeelikus.

Jérémie Zimmermann (sünd. 1978) on prantsuse arvutiteaduse insener, Pariisis asuva kodanikuõigusi propageeriva ja nende põhivabadusi kaitsva online-grupi La Quadrature du Net kaasasutaja. 2012. aastal määrati talle auhind EFF Pioneer Award (elektroonilise piiri fondi esmaavastaja auhind). Koos Julien Assange’iga osales ta dokumentaalseriaali The World Tomorrow (homne maailm) 8. ja 9. osas. Lisaks oli ta Julien Assange’i 2012. aastal ilmunud raamatu Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet (Cypherpunks: Interneti vabadus ja tulevik) kaasautor koos Jacob Appelbaumi ja Andy Müller-Maguhniga.

Tobaron Waxman on kunstnik, intellektuaal, laulja ning libahunt, kes on muutumas hommikuinimeseks. Tema seiklused said alguse Torontost ning viimati elas ta Kölnis, Hongkongis, Istanbulis ja Pariisis. Tema kunstiline tegevus ei ole kindlasti toodangule orienteeritud ühesuunatee. Etendused ja õpitoad, kureerimine ja dialoog moodustavad suure osa tema tegevusest. Tobaron asutas loomemaja (queerartistresidency.tumblr.com), generatsioonidevaheline LGBT loomemaja asub Toronto saartel nudistide ranna ja geide ranna vahel, kust suviti kormoranid idasse ja läände lendavad. Tobaron on viimased 15 aastat pidevalt ringi rännanud, ta armastab elu ja muudab kogu maailma oma pereks ning tähistab seda kõikjal. Tobaron esitab oma loomingut Limburgeri tänava Happy Pasta söögikohas, suur parmesanikuu pea kohal kõlkumas.

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Chicks on Speed are Multi-disciplinary workers in the field of culture...

Writer Douglas Coupland has described Chicks on Speed as living in a post Koonsian world with a curated 21st century lifestyle, where everything is art and everyone can be an artist and even non-art is art by default: a Readymade!

Artstravaganza is Chicks on Speed's innovative perspective on the current impressive collision between analog and digital worlds. Their songs lie at the cutting edges of activism and media-pop-art, where the digital world embraces the hand made, rough and spontaneous, interlacing the programmed, the multi-layered and delicious data scapes, where sloganeering leads them through time rippling via a stop in their self-made Utopia and the strobe light stays on.

Analogue craft strategies alongside digital human computer interaction turn into a collision between pop music, art, activism and data. Cyberformance is the culmination of the transdisciplinary ideal, free from the dictatorship of time and space! It invites audiences to become both producers and consumers, to become PROSUMERS! Globetrotting performance, art, music, fashion and new media provocateurs, Chicks on Speed (Alex Murray-Leslie and Melissa Logan) are here in Tallinn live and online with a genre-defying and shape-shifting Artformance and corresponding Cyberformance featuring the whole world.

When it comes to the digital world and technology there are sides for good and bad, progressive and regressive. It’s just the phenomena of people spending so much time on their machines that they becoming extensions of their actual bodies. You can’t even say real and unreal any more, but rather the digital world and physical world. There’s a blurring of the lines between the two, where things on the web touch the physical world.

I think the fear of not being watched is bigger than the fear of being watched

We are a society online all the time so this seems like it should be normal, but why is it still so glitchy? And the delays, that difference in time and the diverse levels of performance energy and speed, does this work with performing live together via a network? We are developing new performance skills! An internal performing radar that when we are cyberforming in Cologne and being screened to the Scandinavian Institute in New York, it is 2 am for the performers and 8 pm for the audience. The lighting has been prepared, costumes, choreography, lyrics, sound tests. Three, Two, One and we can see you on a small side window, in New York, our audience, and we are watching you watching us perform. The delayed reaction is a surprise, because one forgets that the camera that one is performing for, the insatiable internet has a instant reaction. While performing on keep in mind the possibility that the audience in new york could be enduring a frozen, glitchy screen or perhaps the sound is very delayed. we work with the internet and add moments where there is less movement, we give the internet time to catch up to the performing activity before launching into the final lyrics, the end position is held, longer then in a non cyberformance. Perhaps by holding the last part it looks as though the frame is stuck and loading and the loading and transmission of images is a useful filter easy communication. The cyberformance comes closer to the audience by way of sattlelight and our super machines that freeze the performers at strange and sometimes great moments that the naked eye would have missed. The pixelated screen triggers the imagination not replacing the movement of air and molecules, living cells of the flesh, the sweat of the performance, but a yearning for it. (Melissa Logan)

Mitzee lives in a treehouse in the Redwood Forest of California, where she retired to after a fast and furious career in Silicone Valley.She is now learning advanced transidnetal meditation technique and is an activist for freedom and privacy on the wed.She will be performing with us via cyberformance.

Alex Murray-Lesley (born Bowral, Australia) is co-founder and director of live art ensemble Chicks on Speed and practicing artist researcher, working in pop music and Fashion Acoustics (wearable musical instrument design). Alex is a PhD candidate, Creativity and Cognition Studios, University of Technology, Sydney, exhibiting and performing internationally at major biennials and cultural institutions like: MoMA, Whitney Biennial, New York, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia, ArtSpace Sydney, Australian Pavillion vernissage, 55th Venice Biennale, Centre Pompidiou, Paris & Turner Prize, Tate Modern, London.

Melissa Logan Avant-guard artist, who’s favorite place in the world is in the girl gang and home is on the stage. She grew up in upstate new york in an alternative community and learned how to rebel against rigid Puritanism. This could be the link to a performance group she was very active in called ‘ The Naked Performers’ which had their Debut in Malmö Sweden. The Naked Performers launched a side project which make electronic pop music and new media art called Chicks on Speed, in this formation they developed a performance style that is intellectually stimulating, artistically exciting and danceable. Artist collaborations is integral, as is the tongue in cheekiness.

Jérémie Zimmermann (born in 1978) is a French computer science engineer, co-founder of the Paris-based La Quadrature du Net, a citizen advocacy group defending fundamental freedoms online. He was awarded the 2012 EFF Pioneer Award (Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award). He appeared with Julian Assange on Episode 8 and Episode 9 of The World Tomorrow. He is a contributor to Julian Assange's 2012 book Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet along with Jacob Appelbaum and Andy Müller-Maguhn.

Tobaron Waxman is an artist, an intellectual, a singer and a werewolf becoming a morning person. The adventures started in Toronto and the most recent cities where he has been residing are Cologne, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Paris. The artistic practice is in no way a production-driven one-way-street. Performances and workshops, curating and dialogue make and up a large part his activities. Tobaron has created the artist residency http://queerartistresidency.tumblr.com/ the Intergenerational LGBT Artist Residency, located on Toronto Island between the nudist beach and the gay beach where the cormorants fly east and west in the summer. Tobaron has been itinerant for the past 15 years, a lover of life who makes the whole world his family and everywhere rejoice in his incognito. Tobaron recites at Happy Pasta on Limburger strasse under a large round Parmagiano moon floating, above us.

photo: Alex Murray-Leslie

photo: Chicks on Speed

SIMON ASENCIO (Amsterdam/Brüssel) "JESSICA"

19-22. november, kestev või ette teatamata etendus /

November 19-22, ongoing or unannounced performance and disappearance

Jessica on kestev etendus nähtavast ja nähtamatust tööst, paljudes erinevates olukordades, lavastustes ja paikades. Jessica töötab kõikjal ja kõigi heaks, ta sooritab lepingujärgseid ülesandeid olemasolevate olukordade raames, käesoleval festivalil kõige teiste kutsutud kunstnike teenistuses.

Jessica võib olla assistent, abiesineja, taustanäitleja, puu, võimleja, roosa trikoo, teatritehnik, piletimüüja, turvamees, moderntantsija, moevastase show modell, kõrs, mööduja, transvestiit Youtube'is, pealtvaataja, naine tualetis, ehete meisterdamise töötoa juhendaja, kaameraoperaator... Jessica on kõik need osatäitjad, kes võiksid lugudes erinevaid rolle mängida. Jessica on see isik kõigis Roy Andersoni filmides. Ta on küll kaadris, kuid tuleb, teadmata kust: ta ilmub aknale, uksele või taustale. Jessica tundub tuttav, kuid keegi ei ole päris kindel, kes ta on ja mida ta seal teeb.

Dublant on natuke nagu tükk mööblit. Sa seisad võtete vahepeal, seal, kus muidu seisab näitleja, et saaks teha igasuguseid tehnilisi asju, valgustust, kaameraid ja vaatenurki korrigeerida. Aga oluline on, et sa oleks näitlejaga kehalt ja proportsioonidelt sarnane.

Taustanäitleja töö on võttel ilmselt parim töö, kuna selles on kõige vähem vastutust. Tuleb teada vaid seda, kus sa pead olema. Taustanäitlejana oled sa suuremalt jaolt massistseenides. Eesmärk on näida loomulikuna, lihtsalt tuleb käituda tõetruult. Ainus asi on see, et tegelikult ei saa rääkida, peab ainult rääkimist imiteerima ilma häält tegemata. Ja ka juua ei saa päriselt.

Mõnikord võib olukord väga tõsiseks minna, näiteks kui tegemist on haigladraamaga. Siis tuleb tausta teha haigla ooteruumis. Ela lihtsalt hetke sisse ja tunneta seda, nagu ootaksid halbu uudiseid. (Jessica)

Simon Asencio (s. 1988, Prantsusmaal) elab ja töötab Amsterdamis ja Brüsselis. Ta õppis kujutavat kunsti Haute École des Arts du Rhin (HEAR) Strasbourg'is ja koreograafiat Amsterdamis asuvas School for New Dance Developmentis (SNDO). Simoni tööd balansseerivad visuaalse kunsti, koreograafia ja performance'i piirimail, uurides mittemateriaalse esemelisuse tahke. Neid vaatlusi on ta väljendanud mitmel kujul ja erinevates formaatides, sh installatsioonid, tekstid, heliinstallatsioonid, loengud ja performance'id. Oma viimase aja töödes keskendub ta nähtamatule koreograafiale inimeste kokkupuutealadel, nagu nähtamatu töö ja parapsühholoogia (telepaatia, inimeste spontaanne nähtamatuse fenomen). Tema töid on esitlenud järgmised galeriid ja festivalid: Frascati teater ja Het Veem teater (Amsterdam), MDT (Stockholm), Van Goghi muuseum (Amsterdam), FAR Festival (Nyon, Šveits), Uferstudios (Berliin) ja CAB-Contemporary Art Brussels (Belgia). Simoni kunstilist väljendust on mõjutanud koostöö Adriano Wilfert Jenseni ja Nina Djekiciga, kollektiiviga clairenadiasimon, kunstnike Marta Zióleki ja Lisa Vereertbruggheni ja teistega.

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Jessica is a protracted performance piece of invisible labour that invites background acting to concrete life events. Jessica proposes its services to be employed in various contexts, events, productions, and venues. Jessica works for everyone everywhere, she performs contracted tasks filling in to already existing situations. Jessica is an available body for public domain and her very existence is brought about by participating in works and contexts created by others.

Jessica could be a tree, a gymnast, a pink leotard, a theatre technician with chest tattoos, the guest list manager at your nightclub, a modern dancer, a model for anti-fashion shows, a straw, a passer-by, a youtube cross-dresser, spectator, performer, the lady in the toilet, the assistant at the jewelry workshop, a camera in a movie…Jessica is all these characters that could play roles in other stories. Jessica is this person in all the movies of Roy Anderson. She is there in the frame, but she comes from without: appearing in the window, the doorway or the background. Jessica looks familiar but no one is really sure who she is and what she is doing here.

A stand-in is a bit like being a piece of furniture. You stand where the lead actor stands in between takes so they can set lights, cameras, angles, all those kind of technical things. The thing is, you have to be similar in body size, in proportions to the actor.

Being an extra is probably the best job on set because it is the job with the least responsibility. All you have to know is where you have to be. A lot of the extras scenes you will be will be in crowd scenes. The point is to act natural, you just have to act very naturally. The only thing is that there is no talking, you just have to pretend to talk without making sound. Also you cannot really drink.

Sometimes things can get very serious, finding yourself in a hospital drama. You have to background in a waiting room. Just put yourself in the moment and just feel it, as if you would wait for bad news. (Jessica)

Simon Asencio (b. 1988, France) lives and works in Amsterdam and Brussels. He studied Fine Arts at Haute École des Arts du Rhin (HEAR) Strasbourg (MFA) and choreography at the School for New Dance Development (SNDO) in Amsterdam. Simon's work plays on the fence between visual arts, choreography and performance investigating aspects of immaterial objecthood. These investigations have taken on various forms and formats from installations, texts, sound installations to lectures and performances. His recent works focus on invisible choreographies such as cruising areas, invisible labour and parapsychology (telepathy, human spontaneous invisibility phenomenon) have been presented at venues including the Frascati and Hetveem Theater (Amsterdam), MDT (Stockholm), Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam), FAR Festival (Nyon, Switzerland), Uferstudios (Berlin) and CAB-Contemporary Art Brussels (Belgium). Simon’s artistic practice is also formed and informed through collaborations with Adriano Wilfert Jensen, Nina Djekic, the collective clairenadiasimon, Marta Ziólek and Lisa Vereertbrugghen, among others.

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Jessica vestlus Simon Asencioga

Simon: Kuidas suhtud praktika küsimusse, tööpraktikasse?

Jessica: Eks praktika ole ilmselt tänapäevase töökultuuri osa. Üks Leedu kuraator kirjutas kunagi, et subjektiivsus on nagu millimallikas, kes liigub ühe keha juurest teise juurde ja võtab vastavalt tema kuju. Mulle meeldib see mõte.

Simon: Aga sina tegeled nähtamatu tööga, sellisega, mida ei panda tähele. Kas nii kirjeldaksid sa ka oma tööd?

Jessica: Mõnikord ei panda asju tähele seetõttu, et neid peetakse enesestmõistetavaks ning seepärast jäävad need kahe silma vahele. Neid võib nimetada nähtamatuteks, kuid tegelikult hoiavad just need kõike nähtavat koos. Need täidavad lünkasid.

Aga samal ajal on Jessica ka oportunist, eks? See ei tähenda ära kadumist. Kas tegu ei ole pigem peitupugemisega selleks, et tähelepanu saada?

Selleks et nähtamatust hästi osata, tuleb ilmselt kõigepealt nähtavus omandada. Aga see võib ka teistpidi toimida. Kamuflaaž ja spionaaž kannavad tihti sama mundrit. Küsimus on hoopis kavaluses. Ja kavalus on oportunistlik.

Sa mängid väga konkreetse tähelepanuökonoomiaga.

Võib-olla on see nagu alateadlikud kujutised. Üldmulje on pisut lohakas, kuid pildid vahelduvad selleks liiga kiiresti, et nende mõtet jõuaks teadvustada.

Umbes kuu aega tagasi käisin ma Brüsselis Lady Gaga kontserdil. Tegelikult toimus seal tema uue muusikalõigu salvestus, kuid see oli maskeeritud kontserdiks Grand Place'is. Väravate juures oli tahvel, millele oli kirjutatud umbes nii: sellest sildist edasi minekuga annate oma nõusoleku teie võimalikule esinemisele filmis/videos mis tahes formaadis kõikjal maailmas ja igavesti.

See meenutab mulle kohta Leos Caraxi filmist “Holy Motors”, kui peategelane Oscar tunnistab, et tema äri on muutumas ning ta igatseb taga aega, mil ta veel tajus teda filmivaid kaameraid. Etendusliku reaalsuse mõned aspektid avavad vaate hägustele lavadele, mis on ehk mitmemõttelisemad.

Sa ilmud alati välja teiste loodud kontekstides ja olukordades, kas pole nii? Kas selles mõttes võib sind pidada parasiidiks?

Ma eksisteerin ainult teiste inimeste tööde kaudu, tõsi. Need kontekstid on minu jaoks nagu sündmuskohad, kus pakun oma lepingust tulenevaid teenuseid. See on performance performance'is või sündmus sündmuses. Mulle meeldib mõelda Jessicast kui mõne loo sketšiosatäitjast, kes osaleb ka teistes lugudes. Kui see tähendab parasiiti, siis ma vist olen seda tõepoolest.

Hmm.

Eelmisel nädalal vaatasin filmi „The Usual Suspects”, see on üsna vana film, aga väga innustav. Kõige rohkem puudutas mind allilmategelane Keyser Söze. Kõik on temast kuulnud, aga keegi ei tea, kes ta on. Me ei tea isegi seda, kas ta on tõeline või ainult kujutlus.

Oled sa tähele pannud, et Roy Andersoni filmides on alati mõni selline tegelane, kes justkui üldse ei lähe kogu pildiga kokku?

Kes on Roy Anderson? Kahjuks ma pean nüüd minema, pardaleminek on alanud.

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Jessica in conversation with Simon Asencio

Simon: And how do you relate to the question of practice, practicing jobs?

Jessica: The practice of many jobs as a job I guess is part of today's work culture anyway. A Lithuanian curator once wrote that subjectivities are like jellyfish traveling from one body to another, molding into any shape. I like this idea.

Simon: But what you do is invisible labor, work that goes unnoticed. Is this how you’d describe your work?

Jessica: Sometimes things are unnoticed because they are considered obvious and so they escape recognition. We can call them invisible but they are actually the ones holding the visible. They fill in the gaps.

But at the same time Jessica is all about opportunism, right? It is not about disappearance. Isn’t it more like hiding in order to get attention?

I guess in order to master invisibility one needs to master visibility first. But it could also work the other way around. Camouflage and espionage often wear the same costume. It is all about stealth. And stealth is opportunistic.

It's a specific economy of attention you are playing with.

Maybe it is like subliminal images. A bit tacky but too fast to be explicit.

About a month ago I went to the concert of Lady Gaga in Brussels. It was actually the shooting of her new music clip disguised into a concert at Grand Place. At the check point there was a board which said something like “By passing this sign you hereby grant all permission to your likeness to appear within the film/video in any and all media, world wide and in perpetuity”.

It makes me think of this moment in Leos Carax's movie “Holy Motors”, when Oscar, the main character admits that his business is changing, and that he misses the days when he was aware of cameras recording him. There are aspects of performative reality that open up blurry stages, more implicit maybe.

You always appear in contexts and events designed by others, right? Are you a kind of parasite in this sense?

I only exist by appearing in other people’s works, true. I take these contexts as venues in which I perform the services I have been contracted for. It is a performance in the performance, or an event in the event. I like to think of Jessica as cameo roles of some stories that act in other stories. If that goes for a parasite, then I might be one, indeed.

Hmm.

I watched “The Usual Suspects” last week, quite an old movie yet very inspiring. I was most intrigued by the underworld figure Keyser Söze. Everyone has heard about him but no one knows who he is. We don’t even know if he is real or just a license.

Have you noticed that in the movies of Roy Anderson, there is always someone present that doesn't really fit into the whole frame?

Who is Roy Anderson? Unfortunately I have to go now, the boarding gate is closing.

photo: Simon Asencio

DORA GARCÍA (Barcelona) "THE JOYCEAN SOCIETY"

Reede 21. november  / Friday November 21 at 19:30

video, color, 16:9, English spoken, BE, 2013, 53'

Grupp inimesi on kolmkümmend aastat koos üht raamatut lugenud. Nad lugesid seda uuesti ja uuesti ning raamatu läbilugemine esimesest viimase leheküljeni võttis iga kord üksteist aastat. Jõudnud viimase sõnani, milleks on mõistatuslik „the”, pöörduvad nad kohe raamatu esimese sõna, „riverrun”, juurde. Tekst paistab ammendamatu, selle tõlgendamisvõimalused lõputud ning selle lõputu loomus muudab lugemise põnevaks. Väljaspool seda lugemissaali lakkaks maailm justkui olemast, või ehk eksisteerib ta hoopis selle tõttu.

„The Joycean Society” (Joyce'i selts) pälvis Peruu filmifestivalil Transcinema eripreemia.

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A group of people have been reading a book together for thirty years. 
They have been reading it again and again, with each journey from the first to the last page taking eleven years. Once they reach the last word, a very enigmatic "the," they begin again with the first word, "riverrun." The text appears inexhaustible, its interpretation endless, the inconclusive nature of the reading exciting. The world seems to cease existing outside this reading room or, perhaps, it exists because of it.

The Joycean Society received a special mention at Transcinema (Peru).

Kaamera / Camera Arturo Solis


Montaaž / Editing Dora Garcia & Inneke Van Waeyenberghe


Montaaži assistant / Editing assistant Thomas Depas


Muusika / Music Jan Mech


Osalevad / With Fritz Senn, Sabrina Alonso, Ron Ewart, Tad Lauer, Hansruedi Isler M.D., Mary Moore, Seamus Hughes, Janos Biro, Walter Albrecht, Andrea Matha, Marc Emmenegger, Gabi Schneider, Sylvia Herzig, Andreas Flückiger, Dora García, Jan Mech & Geert Lernout 


Helisalvestus ja Montaaž / Sound recording & editing Laszlo Umbreit


Heli töötlus / Sound mixing Christophe Deramaix


Värvikorrektruur / Color grading Fairuz


Tellimustöö / Commissioned by Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco, XLVème Prix International d’Art Contemporain


Produtsent / Produced by Auguste Orts


Toetus / With the support of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Atelier Graphoui, LUCA Sint-Lukas Brussel & Argos, Centre for Art & Media

Oivikute triumf

Maria Lind

„Selle lugemise eest läheme kõik põrgusse!” ütleb üks Joyce'i keskuse liikmeid Dora García 2013. aasta filmis, mille pealkiri ongi tulnud sama raamatuklubi nimest. Alates 1986. aastast on see entusiastidest koosnev rühm igal nädalal Zürichis kokku tulnud, et lugeda James Joyce'i viimast romaani „Finnegans Wake” (1939). Tõsise ilmega osalejatel kulus 11 aastat, et ennast raamatust läbi närida, ning nüüd on nad kolmandal ringil. Raamatuklubi asutajad on ühislugemise jooksul vanemaks jäänud, mäletades veel aegu, kui lugemissaali viiv trepp ei olnud mingi takistus. Aja jooksul on nendega liitunud uusi tulijaid ning ka siis, kui García oma meeskonnaga nendega aega veetis, olid mõned noored kohal.

Kaamera on keset ruumi, jälgides lugemisele eelnevat humoorikat vestlust sellest, mida tooks kaasa see, kui kunstnikud teeniksid liiga palju raha, ning sellest, kuidas teha kindlaks, et inimesed on enne matmist ikka surnud. Seejärel muutub vestlus aruteluks, mis põhineb kurikuulsalt segase raamatu väga põhjalikul, lausa sõnasõnalisel lugemisel. Nad arutlevad sõnade „onon, onon” tähenduse üle leheküljel 201 ning seejärel sõnaühendite „shabby genteel”, „joys of ills” ja „peduncle” üle. Võib-olla on sõnapaariga „great Scott” (suur Scott) tahetud öelda „great God” (suur jumal)? Vahepeal annavad kõlapildile tooni toolide kriiksumine ja moonakotikeste krabin, kaadris on lumega kaetud ja sigaretti suitsetava Joyce'i pronkskuju, ning kaadrisse lipsab äkki ka rippmikrofoni hoidev isik.

Õhustik filmis on pinev. Igal inimesel on omaenda viis tekstiga tegelemiseks, kuid selle dešifreerimiseks ja Joyce'i kirjutamisel kasutatud piiratud hulga reeglite mõistmiseks on vaja just sellist kontsentreeritud ühist jõupingutust. Osalejad naudivad ilmselgelt oma tegevust ning neil on ebatavaliselt palju teadmisi – nagu oivikutel ikka – olemata professionaalsed kirjandusteadlased. Suurem osa lugejaid on mehed. Tabavaid ja põnevaid kommentaare, ettepanekuid ja küsimusi konkreetsete mõistete kohta on tuba täis, luues kollektiivse intelligentsuse performance'i oma kauneimal kujul.

Sellest ajast saadik, kui ma eelmisel aastal Veneetsia biennaalil Monaco paviljonis García filmi nägin, olen sellele mõelnud. Selle kohta, et ta on tabanud midagi erakordset ja samas päevakajalist, isegi väga: individuaalne kirg ja pühendumine, mida jagatakse ja arutatakse teistega vankumatult järjepidevates tingimustes. Kui Vdrome'is – veebikeskkond, kus esitletakse igal nädalal uut videoloomingut – hiljuti seda filmi näidati, tuletas see mulle meelde, et stsenaarium võib olla täiesti ebavajalik. Kuid ma arvan, et tegelikult on vastupidi. See räägib kaasaja vajadusest sügavuse, püsivuse ja naudingu järele, ilma et peaks mõtlema tagajärgedele, milleks võivad olla nii tarbitud aeg kui ka käegakatsutava tulemuse puudumine. See räägib sellest, kuidas maailmas asjad käivad, sellisest lähenemisest, kus asjad saavad küpseda aeglaselt ja põhjalikult. Osalejad toovad kunsti tagasi kesksele kohale ajal, mil see satub tihti hoopis ääremaile, seda isegi kunstimaailmas endas, seega käesoleval juhul on meil tegemist kanoniseeritud tekstiga, mille autorit peetakse „juhiks”. Nagu oivikutele kohane, jätkavad Joyce'i keskuse liikmed oma pidevat tegevust ka siis, kui nad tulemusteni ei jõua.

Sedalaadi keskendunud ja kiindunud pühendumus on tänapäeval haruldane nähtus.  Raamatuklubi üks liikmetest nimetab nende ühist tegevust sõltuvust tekitavaks. Nad kirjeldavad seda ka unikaalse lugemiskogemuse ja isegi teraapiana. Vaieldamatult naudivad osalejad Finnegan's Wake'i sel viisil lugemist väga: üks inimene arutleb, et kirjandusega sel viisil tegelemine on näide sellest, kuidas kultuur on meie jaoks asendus meile keelatud naudingute eest. Kuid kunst tähendab veelgi rohkemat; just kunst võimaldab meil väljendada naudingukogemust, aga ka valu ja kõike muud ning seda teistega jagada.

Rafineeritud tegevused nagu Joyce'i keskuse raamatuklubi kangekaelselt ühine eesmärk ja lõpmatult tänamatu pingutus ei tähenda midagi vähemat kui vastupanuliikumist kaasaja survele, olgu see siis teadvustatud või mitte. Samal ajal esindavad nii García film kui ka raamatuklubi ise oivikute triumfi ning nende pühendumist naudingule. Sedalaadi pühendumises on tulevikku, isegi kui see tähendab põrgusseminekut.

Esmakordelt avaldatud ArtReview 2014. aasta septembrinumbris.

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The Triumph of the Nerds

By Maria Lind

“We are all going to go to hell as a result of reading this!” says one of the members of the Joycean Society in a 2013 film by Dora García that takes the group’s name as its title. Since 1986 this band of enthusiasts has met every week in Zurich to read James Joyce’s last novel, Finnegan’s Wake (1939), together. It took the serious-looking participants 11 years to get through the book, and they are now on the third lap. The pioneers have aged with the collective reading, remembering when the stairs leading to the meeting room were not an obstacle. Newcomers have joined along the way, and when García and her crew come to spend time with the society, a couple of youngsters are present.

The camera sits in the middle of the room, gently following a humorous prereading conversation about the effects of artists earning too much money and about how to make sure that people are dead before they are buried. The conversation then turns into a discussion based on a close reading of the notoriously opaque book, literally word by word. They debate the meaning of ‘onon, onon’ on page 201 and move on to ‘shabby genteel’, ‘joys of ills’ and ‘peduncle’. Maybe ‘great Scott’ is another way of saying ‘great God’? Meanwhile squeaking chairs and rustling snack-bags contribute to the soundscape, a snow-covered bronze statue of Joyce smoking a cigarette fills the frame and the person holding the suspended microphone suddenly becomes visible.

The atmosphere in the film is intense. Each person has his or her own way of dealing with the text, but it is the extremely concentrated common endeavour of decoding it and, to some degree, understanding the limited number of rules that Joyce supposedly employed in writing the novel that stands out. It is clear that the participants enjoy what they are doing and that they are unusually knowledgeable – the way nerds tend to be – without being professional historians of literature. Most of the readers are men. Witty and fascinating comments, suggestions and questions pertaining to specific terms fly fast across the room in a performance of collective intelligence at its most beautiful.

Ever since I saw García’s film in Monaco’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale last year I have been thinking about it. About the fact that she has captured something rare and yet urgent, even overwhelmingly so: individual passion and commitment being shared and debated with others under strikingly consistent conditions. When Vdrome – an online initiative presenting a new videowork every week – recently featured the film, I was reminded that the scenario could be seen as irrelevant navel-gazing. But I think it is the opposite. It speaks of a contemporary need for depth, continuity and pleasure, without having to think about consequences – whether they be the time it consumes or the absence of palpable outcomes. It is about a way of acting in the world, a sort of approach that allows for things to mature slowly and precisely. By doing so, the people involved not only place art centre stage at a time when art often ends up in the margins of even the artworld itself – albeit in this case we’re dealing with a text that has been canonised and its author hailed as a ‘master’. Like true nerds, the members of the Joycean Society also perform a continuous engagement without necessarily reaching a conclusion.

This kind of focused and loving attention is a scarce phenomenon today, when neoliberalism’s atomisation and disruption of life lived small and large is reaching new heights. One of the participants in the reading group calls their joint activities ‘addictive’. It is also described as a unique reading experience and even as therapy. Undeniably the participants take a lot of pleasure in this approach to reading Finnegan’s Wake : one person in the film argues that engaging with literature this way is an example of how culture is a substitute for pleasures denied to us. But art is more than that; it is that which makes it possible for us to articulate the experience of pleasure, but also of pain and all the rest of it, in order to share it with others.

Stealth activities like the ones of the Joycean Society’s reading group and its stubbornly cooperative investment and inconclusive aim comprise nothing less than an act of resistance to current pressures, whether conscious or unconscious. At the same time, both García’s film and the reading group itself represent a triumph of the nerds and their commitment to pleasure. This kind of engagement is the future, even if it means going to hell.

First published in ArtReview, September 2014

photos: screenshots