documenta12

2007 is documenta-year! The documenta is one of the world‘s most important and interesting exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. It takes place only every five years in Kassel, Germany. This year we’ll have the 12th documenta from 16 June to 23 September.

I was at the documenta11 and was rather impressed, especially by some of the works of former documentas which are still present in the city of Kassel, e.g. the 7000 oaks by Joseph Beuys or the huge pickaxe by Claes Oldenburg.

The first issue of the documenta 12 Magazine was presented at the Wiener Secession on Feb 26. “Modernity?” addresses one of the three documenta 12 leitmotifs posed by Roger M. Buergel (the curator) and Ruth Noack: "Is modernity our antiquity?" and deals with the influence of modernity on artists and the question of modernity itself.

The other leitmotifs are: What is bare life? (and explores several dimensions of being), the third one: What is to be done? (this deals with the “educating part” - Artists educate themselves by working through form and subject matter; audiences educate themselves by experiencing things aesthetically; and it deals also with the question of mediating content without sacrificing their particularity).

In an interview in the Austrian daily newspaper “DerStandard” the curator of this year’s documenta, Roger M. Buergel talked today about the different kinds of modernity in different cultures and for fragmented groups in fragmented societies. He gave the example of Moroccan teens in Amsterdam who were excluded from the Anti-American protests because they wanted to burn the flag – on the other hand they are excluded from taking political influence within the structures.

Academy Awards

His birthplace might be in Cologne in Germany, but his passport is Austrian: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (in Austria: Florian Henckel-Donnersmarck), director and screenwriter who got the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for The Lives of Others", political thriller and human drama.

The Austrian connection: Henckel-Donnersmarck's uncle is the abbot of Heiligenkreuz, the abbey, where he retreated to write his script.

What else do I like about the Oscars?
That Martin Scorsese got it finally, even if it was for "Departed" and not for "Godfellas" or "Taxi Driver". And that Ennio Morricone, the great Italian composer, finally got a Honorary Oscar.

Centenary W.H. Auden

Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973, Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the great writers of the 20th century, who lived for some time in Austria and died here would be 100 today.

There's a post I wrote in May 2005 with reference to Auden.

A few lines from

Case Histories

I am beginning to lose patience
With my personal relations.
They are not deep
And they are not cheap.

* Written 1930, published in The English Auden

My favourite though, is, was and will always be Lullaby.

Gossip and Learning

There's an article by Kate Fox on "Evolution, Alienation and Gossip" - via the Social Issues Research Centre - in which the role of mobile telecommunications in the 21st century is explored.

Her summary: Gossip is not a trivial pastime: it is essential to human social, psychological and even physical well-being. The mobile phone, by facilitating therapeutic gossip in an alienating and fragmented modern world, has become a vital 'social lifeline', helping us to re-create the more natural communication patterns of pre-industrial times.


Some of the findings in short:

- Mobile gossip is good for us

- Mobile phones are the new garden fence

- Men gossip as much as women (Well, this was not exactly new :-))but, they tend to talk more about themselves. The study did find a sex difference in 'gossip partners', with men more likely to gossip with work colleagues, partners and female friends, while women gossip more with same-sex friends and family. Male and female gossip also sounds different, as women use more animated tones, more detail and more feedback.

- Texting helps teenagers (and some adult males) to overcome awkwardness and inhibitions and to develop social and communication skills – they communicate with more people, and more frequently, than they did before mobiles.


For keen learners:
Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better via Online Education Database.

Misunderstandings

Very funny clip on Youtube:
Misunderstandings between George Bush and Condoleeza Rice.

Some do it - some don't - Campaigning in the Internet

Some politicians make extended use of the internet and its possibilities for presenting themselves and their ideas.

Hillary Clinton for example addresses her supporters and the public in general via her website where you can read her political statements and see videos. Soon, there will be a blog, with the intention to invite people for guest-blog entries.

But she’s also on the go in other areas, such as yahoo.answers, where she asked: "Based on your own family's experience, what do you think we should do to improve health care in America?" There were thousands of answers.

On Barack Obamas websites there are podcasts and videos and also a group blog.

A real heavy internet-campaigner is the French socialist Ségolène Royal. On désirs d'avenir (wishes for the future) she presents her 100 suggestions for presidency and got allegedly hundreds of thousands of answers. Visitors of the website are invited to participate in the debates around current affairs, but also in the “blogosphere”, “segosphere” or in the forum. On a blog newcomers to the blogosphere get advice how to create supporting blogs.

There’s a discussion unter the heading of 2008:Who’s ahead Online, started by Micah L. Sifry where he contrasts the online campaigning of Republicans and Democats in the United States – based on his own research, which leads him to the conclusion: The Republican presidential candidates are almost invisible on the web.

Happy Birthday, Alexander Kluge!

"If we were to talk about something like Noah's ark today, where the best qualities are preserved, it would not be one ship, but a multitude of small boats".

"That's what we call the publisher's principle: the idea that the press knows responsible authors who are accountable for what they write".

Aren't these quotes metaphorical for the mediaworld of today, as regards independent and citizenship journalism and blogging?

They were made by Alexander Kluge, film director, author, and one of the most poignant German thinkers (especially with reference to the media) who celebrates his 75 birthday today. Congratulations!

His latest books are very good reading and thinking material. "The Devil's Blind Spot. Tales from the New Century" is available in English and told in the style of Nietzsche's aphorisms and based on anecdotes and events. He shows that the devil is not a single "being", but shows (himself) in the disasters of modernity such as 9/11.

His latest book was released only yesterday and is therefore only available in German: Geschichten vom Kino (Cinema Stories). I'm sure a translation will follow soon.

The Meaning of Barack

Just for the record: the big flu is over and done with, I can blog again!

Media scrutiny about Sen. Barack Obama's names: "Obama" evokes Osama, his middle name "Hussein" evokes Saddam, now the focus is on "Barack". Where does it come from and what does it mean?

Read more in the languagelog,by Benjamin Zimmer.


And here's the link to the winners' gallery of the world press photos of the year 2006.