The Scandal in "Poetics of Encryption" and the Problem of Hyper-Moralism in the Art Field.
Report ABR24 by m4n0 >>> NID.0 --- [ENG Version]
[Read original text in Spanish here]
In times of post-meta-post-post-ironies—post-post, especially among the young generations, progressivism ridicules itself with literal interpretations, acting against its own function and becoming conservative of outdated ways of talking. Old readings of new languages are made. Combined with perspectives of moral superiority—often from positions of power—it seems to become the wind that strikes the sails of the fascist ship.
The exhibition 'Poetics of Encryption' functions like a machine, spanning from a book publication written by curator Nadin Samman to a four-floor exhibition in Mitte, Berlin. It also features a specific website with net-art works, and activations such as talks, performances, and concerts. I find it interesting that, in a context of fast consumption, visiting KW requires time, especially for those interested in the subject. The exhibition, part of the KW Digital Program, presents itself as a geography that sometimes seems boundless. Those intrigued by the topics discussed might experience a certain anguish, the abyss one, when diving into a territory of multiple paths and wishing to take one road without giving up another. I remember the first time I played 'Oblivion;' it triggered the feeling of navigating an open space, which could become distressing. The feeling of anxiety that something immense can produce is the same that many of us experienced when discovering the internet. At times, the impulse to seek the margins arises, as Harun Farocki exhibits in 'Parallel I-IV'.
Parallel III (2014) dir. Harun Farocki
As part of the exploration, on Thursday April 11, I participated in the activation at Panke.gallery titled “Poetics of Encryption x panke.gallery Conversation and Live Set Neo Biedermeier: AI and the Contemporary Aesthetic Landscape” with Luzius Bernhardt, Liz Haas ( UBERMORGEN) and Sakrowski, moderated by Noemi Garay. The conversation aimed to address the concept of Neo-Biedermeier, but it led to a series of inquisitive questions directed at the artist duo.
https://www.pmcwagner.art/
The work of UBERMORGEN, key agents in net-art and hack-art, is developed online and presents a series of indexed pages as an introduction. This work could be framed within the 'Irony-corps' universe; through these links, users access information about a new art foundation called 'PMC Wagner Arts,' referencing the Russian paramilitary organization. In this piece, they employ a variety of contemporary languages, such as those of online mega-platforms, artistic institutions, and the arms market, including Russian and Chinese symbolism, among others. In this way, they offer an interactive and performative panorama that, using satire, acutely reflects several current problems.
Returning to Panke.Gallery, when opening space for questions, two members immediately joined in with criticism of the work from a literal interpretation. These people understood that the work defended the Wagner group, without perceiving the satirical and performative nature of the piece. Criticism had already spread in chats and social networks, seeking the cancellation of the duo, the institution and his curator, even going so far as to disconnect the computer that provided access to the website at the exhibition. It is shocking how superficially the work is analyzed when making these accusations. While I was writing this report, an article written by Karyna Lazaruk, one of the people who participated in the Panke accusation, was shared with me, in addition to easily classifying the KW institution within what she calls “Neo-fascism”, the author took a quote from Hans Bernard out of context, suggesting that the artists created the work to provide content that could be used in defense of the Wagner group at the International Court in The Hague. On the contrary, the work actually seeks to critically highlight how mega-corporations operate, an area in which the duo has frequently worked critically. At the start of the talk at Panke, Luzius Bernard said, 'We are not moral, we are ethical.'
We must not forget that most massacres have been perpetrated under the motto of morality.
Art needs to be a space that transcends the moral. It helps to moderate behavioral and mental health problems by offering alternative expressions. To do this, it is crucial to provide spaces free from the falsely objective judgment of morality. Morality must, in any case, be applied to the political, scientific, and religious fields. On the other hand, the artistic field must encourage reflections that question what is established in a subversive way. We must be able to discuss all aspects of reality; For this, it is necessary not to sweep problems under the carpet, because what is hidden becomes stronger.
Only by exposing our weaknesses can we work on improving them.
The discussion leads me to other aspects that I would like to highlight. Firstly, the phenomenon of tokenizing personalities through political militancy, especially in Berlin where I live. We see shifts from 'Black Lives Matter' to issues like the invasions of Ukraine and Palestine, treated as if they were mere scrolls on Instagram or fashion items. This behavior raises two important concerns: on the one hand, individuals gain value from their 'followers,' commodifying political militancy and transforming it into a tool for self-tokenization. On the other hand, it becomes clear how modes of capitalist consumption have infiltrated militancy, primarily affecting grassroots movements.
fast-food >>> fast-fashion >>> fast-politics
Returning to the field of art, in recent years there has been an expansion of spaces and budgets for projects related to decolonial practices, as well as other counter-hegemonic struggles, such as gender and identity issues. I had experience working on such projects until I began to notice how institutionalization can distort the original objectives of these practices. We have moved from César Aimé's subversive lecture 'Discourse on Colonialism' to diluted practices that seem to benefit the very powers they aim to challenge. Too many institutions appear to have embraced the cause of decolonization merely to wash away their white guilt.
Art is fundamental to community health, providing elements of catharsis that, sometimes unconsciously, are expressed by artists from their subjective life contexts and subsequently become representative of society. This mechanism turns art into a symptom, which is why it must arise genuinely, from the inside out and the bottom up. It should be the institutions that ask themselves what is happening, and not the opposite, that the artists ask themselves what the institutions want. are artists, with their capacity for social transversality, who often emerge from the most remote places of society and explore its dimensions. However, increasingly, institutions define topics and styles through topic-specific funding. This is how one of the fundamental roles of art begins to be lost: its function as a social mirror. By closing this functionality, we lose contact with reality and feed on a false construction of our present.
At the same time, artists are forced to work under canons of what the institution expects of them, the indigenous have to talk about their indigeneity, queers about their queerness, the refugee from their trauma, reducing their political identity to a minimum category. Is there space for indigenous who want to make electronic art?
Essay, concept and maps - Vladan Joler Animation - Živa Stanojević and Aleksandar Ilić Music - Igor Lečić. 2021
Returning to the criticism and censorship of UBERMORGEN's work, like if by standing in front of the video 'New Extractivism' (also part of the exhibition), Vladan Joler was accused of revealing a reality where we are part of a panoptic extractivist machinery. I wonder if what affects the audience is the comedic aspect of UBERMORGEN's work. However, I believe that Charles Chaplin's characterization in 'Modern Times' offended no worker. We are becoming flat. There are numerous examples where humor has served as a functional tool in times of crisis, war, and violence. Irony has the ability to layer reality, uncovering many messages that hegemonies fail to perceive. In response to the scrutinizing participants at the Panke event, Curator Nadim Samman said, 'I understand and respect that you don't like the work, but I don't think that's a reason for it to be censored.
I believe that we are living in complex times that require us to choose our battles wisely and find the largest number of people with whom, despite some differences, we can discover common ground. I recall the scene from 'The Caracol Strategy' (1993, Colombia) where Jacinto, a devout anarchist, must react to the supposed appearance of the Virgin's image on a wall. Although he does not believe it to be a miracle, when a neighbor asks everyone to kneel, Jacinto complies, recognizing that they are united in a shared struggle against eviction. We must make an effort to understand the contexts to collectively engage in truly worthwhile battles.
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Bonus track: The activation at Panke closed with a Cybermission set, an artist from Argentina based in Berlin, highly recommended /// Check >>>