David Jablonowski
30 Apr - 05 Jun 2010
DAVID JABLONOWSKI
"Perfection Simple Way"
April 30 - June 5, 2010
Opening April 30, 2010, 19-21 h
Two years after his death, the school formerly called “Städtische Gymnasium Oerlinghausen” was renamed “Niklas-Luhmann-Gymnasium.” Since 2004, a foundation set up by the savings and loan Sparkasse Bielefeld has given a € 25,000 grant for the sciences every two years in memory of Niklas Luhmann. In 2008, the Hanseatic city Lüneburg, the city of Niklas Luhmann’s birth, named a street in his honour in a newly-built district in the west of the city.
—
The royal Persian city of Persepolis is to this day a place that many Iranians identify with even though, or maybe because its history traces back to pre-Islamic times. After existing for 200 years, the city was set ablaze by Alexander the Great’s troops. People have wondered ever since if Alexander initiated the plundering and burning. The fire was good for one thing, though: 30,000 clay tablets were hardened by the flames and have remained intact and in excellent condition for over 2,500 years. Archaeologists can read about many details of life in the city, including the bookkeeping of the city’s administration. Additionally, the clay tablets have proven that Persepolis was not built by slave labour. Many of the clay tablets contain notes about food rations and compensation for the workers, who had come from every corner of the country for this enormous project. The basic pay consisted of 30 litres of barley a month, which is enough to bake one pound of bread per day.
Additional rations in the form of small amounts of meat or wine were distributed on special occasions or for doing exceptionally good work. The last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had parts of Persepolis restored in 1971 with an infrastructure for tourism complete with parking lots and shops to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the Iranian monarchy. The Islamic Revolution followed 8 years later, causing the number of visitors to sink to one tenth (a few hundred per day) of the original size.
—
He was born on June 21st, 1905, he died on April 15th, 1980: this year France is celebrating Jean-Paul Sartre for two reasons. One thing is certain: he would have hated it. Jean-Paul Sartre didn’t want his work to be published as one of the famous slim editions in the Pléiade series because he saw it as a kind of gravestone burying him during his own lifetime. In 1964 he turned down the Nobel Prize in literature for the same reason. At least according to the official version, it was because he didn’t want to be made into a monument.
A large exhibition titled only “Sartre” opened in the Parisian Bibliothèque National last week. In view of the old conflict between Sartre-phobes and Sartre hagiographers, the extensive exhibition in the Bibliothèque National has a soothing effect because it avoids ideological trench warfare and puts Sartre the writer at the forefront. Over 400 items are exhibited, mainly manuscripts, some never-before-published letters, diaries, first editions and densely written journals that give an idea of Sartre’s obsessions:
he wanted, by his own accounts, to be Spinoza and Stendhal at the same time, philosopher and writer. The exhibition bears witness to a man who consumed books with a phenomenal bulimia and with spit them out again with an even more phenomenal productivity.
Also on a formal level the exhibition adheres classically to the chronology and chronicles Sartre’s life and work at every stage. That is admittedly not very exciting, yet it has one great advantage: the century of Sartre, as Bernard-Henri Lévy titled his biography, published in 2000, comes to life. It takes the form of recordings, photos and newspaper articles. Even younger visitors will be able to understand how this rather small man came to play such a large role.
The silent film of his funeral, shown on an endless loop at the end of the exhibition, makes this unmistakably clear. Tens of thousands assembled in order to pay their last respects on the way to the cemetery Montparnasse. We watch as an automobile with a mountain of flowers followed by the hearse slowly make their way through the dense crowds: that day, April 20th, 1980, a symbolic figure, if not THE symbolic figure of the 20th century was laid to rest.
—
I am the daughter of Hossein Amanat, the architect of the Freedom Monument [Azadi Tower] in Tehran. As a young graduate, he won a nationwide competition for its design, and since that time, the Freedom Monument has become a symbol of modern Iran. It is also the venue for the protests and demonstrations that are currently taking place.
Thirty years ago, my parents fled Iran when the Shah was overthrown by the very regime that is being opposed by the Iranian people today. Since he was not Muslim and had designed this monument for the Shah, my father was blacklisted by the Islamic regime. The Freedom Monument, also known as the Shahyad or Azadi Monument, was designed in 1966 when my father was a 24 year-old graduate.
It was completed in 1971. The structure has had little maintenance done to it over the past 30 years, but seems to have stood the test of time. More importantly, the symbolism of this monument refers to all the eras of Iranian history, including the pre-Islamic glories of the Persian Empire, which all Iranians, regardless of creed or religion, are proud of. My father is thrilled that the Azadi Monument has found its place in the hearts of the people as a symbol of their national identity. He always believed in a glorious future for Iran and is humbled that this monument has witnessed major events in the past and continues to do so. It is moving for all of us to see the crowds rally around it during these momentous times.
After leaving Iran because of the persecution of the Baha’is, he continued his practice working on international projects, first in London, England and then in Vancouver. These projects include buildings in Israel, China, Samoa, and the United States. In Vancouver, he has recently completed two thirty storey condominium towers, and other projects as well. He is not retired. He would love to return to visit Iran one day, when the conditions allow. The beauty and wealth of Iranian architecture have always been a source of inspiration for not only my father, but for many architects such as Arthur Erickson. To go back to this source is his dream.
—
For the 60th anniversary of his death, a greatgranddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) scattered the Indian independence leader’s ashes in the sea by the metropolis Mumbai (Bombay). In memory of Gandhi, his followers carried his ashes through the city streets to the beach.
An Indian businessman who donated them to a museum in Mumbai last year had kept the ashes.
The museum wanted to publicly exhibit the ashes. Gandhi’s family objected, however, that Mahatma Gandhi himself had wanted to be buried at sea.
After Gandhi’s death on January 30th, 1948 and his cremation, the ashes had been put in urns and sent to numerous cities and villages throughout India for memorial ceremonies. How many urns still exist is unknown.
—
Luhmann’s system theory is currently one of the most popular and successful theories in the German language, not only in sociology, but also in diverse fields such as psychology, management theory or literary theory. Also internationally it has influenced the socio-philosophical discourse, with significant Luhmann-movements in Germany, the USA, Japan, Italy and Scandinavia. Luhmann died in 1998. Not long before that, in January 1997, I visited him in his house in Oerlinghausen near Bielefeld and interviewed him about his book “The Realities of Mass Media,” which had just been published. I encountered an aging man who displayed polite consideration and – as goes without saying – a stunning intellect in a house that could only put you into a deeply sad mood, because it seemed lifeless. Luhmann had been living there alone since the death of his wife. He himself was suffering from a rare form of blood cancer.
„Current technical innovations like the Internet or individually customized information will have little impact on the mass media itself,” he told me. “They will become another mass media alongside the newspaper or the television, they won’t replace these. The Internet with its possibilities for communications, although it is used by masses of people as a medium, is still not a mass media because it is not a one-sided technical communication but can be used individually.
The concern that new media will replace traditional media is as old as it is unfounded: writing did not replace oral communication and the press did not replace the letter.” Then he turned almost pleadingly to me: “If you apply the differentiation between information and entertainment to a mass media, that does not mean that information cannot be presented in an entertaining way. It just cannot be fictional.” Towards the end of our talk on the terrace in the cold winter sun there remained a sombre atmosphere.
“When a medium leaves the realm of information it becomes a narrative medium, like the novel or, in its modern form, the feature film.”
—
The Hague’s most famous Jewish resident is buried on Christian ground. In the garden of the Nieuwe Kerk in the city centre rests “Benedictus de Spinoza,” as the gravestone reads. Benedictus, which means blessing in English, is Baruch in Hebrew. Yet the Dutch Jews no longer saw the philosopher as one of their own ever since he was kicked out of the Jewish community in Amsterdam because of his supposedly blasphemous writings – Spinoza was forced to leave the city of his birth. He found asylum in 1669 in The Hague. There, at Paviljoensgracht 74, he wrote his major theological/ philosophical work “Ethica.” A statue and a plaque commemorate the famous citizen, who died in 1677.
There is even a Spinoza restaurant. The menu includes döner kebab and lahmacun. The former Jewish quarter is now mainly Muslim and Asian. Many of the street signs are bilingual – in Dutch and Chinese. Almost no Jews live there anymore.
Effect: As Stendhal predicted, his works, which were seen as immoral and cynical by his contemporaries, first got the recognition they deserved after his death.
"Perfection Simple Way"
April 30 - June 5, 2010
Opening April 30, 2010, 19-21 h
Two years after his death, the school formerly called “Städtische Gymnasium Oerlinghausen” was renamed “Niklas-Luhmann-Gymnasium.” Since 2004, a foundation set up by the savings and loan Sparkasse Bielefeld has given a € 25,000 grant for the sciences every two years in memory of Niklas Luhmann. In 2008, the Hanseatic city Lüneburg, the city of Niklas Luhmann’s birth, named a street in his honour in a newly-built district in the west of the city.
—
The royal Persian city of Persepolis is to this day a place that many Iranians identify with even though, or maybe because its history traces back to pre-Islamic times. After existing for 200 years, the city was set ablaze by Alexander the Great’s troops. People have wondered ever since if Alexander initiated the plundering and burning. The fire was good for one thing, though: 30,000 clay tablets were hardened by the flames and have remained intact and in excellent condition for over 2,500 years. Archaeologists can read about many details of life in the city, including the bookkeeping of the city’s administration. Additionally, the clay tablets have proven that Persepolis was not built by slave labour. Many of the clay tablets contain notes about food rations and compensation for the workers, who had come from every corner of the country for this enormous project. The basic pay consisted of 30 litres of barley a month, which is enough to bake one pound of bread per day.
Additional rations in the form of small amounts of meat or wine were distributed on special occasions or for doing exceptionally good work. The last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had parts of Persepolis restored in 1971 with an infrastructure for tourism complete with parking lots and shops to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the Iranian monarchy. The Islamic Revolution followed 8 years later, causing the number of visitors to sink to one tenth (a few hundred per day) of the original size.
—
He was born on June 21st, 1905, he died on April 15th, 1980: this year France is celebrating Jean-Paul Sartre for two reasons. One thing is certain: he would have hated it. Jean-Paul Sartre didn’t want his work to be published as one of the famous slim editions in the Pléiade series because he saw it as a kind of gravestone burying him during his own lifetime. In 1964 he turned down the Nobel Prize in literature for the same reason. At least according to the official version, it was because he didn’t want to be made into a monument.
A large exhibition titled only “Sartre” opened in the Parisian Bibliothèque National last week. In view of the old conflict between Sartre-phobes and Sartre hagiographers, the extensive exhibition in the Bibliothèque National has a soothing effect because it avoids ideological trench warfare and puts Sartre the writer at the forefront. Over 400 items are exhibited, mainly manuscripts, some never-before-published letters, diaries, first editions and densely written journals that give an idea of Sartre’s obsessions:
he wanted, by his own accounts, to be Spinoza and Stendhal at the same time, philosopher and writer. The exhibition bears witness to a man who consumed books with a phenomenal bulimia and with spit them out again with an even more phenomenal productivity.
Also on a formal level the exhibition adheres classically to the chronology and chronicles Sartre’s life and work at every stage. That is admittedly not very exciting, yet it has one great advantage: the century of Sartre, as Bernard-Henri Lévy titled his biography, published in 2000, comes to life. It takes the form of recordings, photos and newspaper articles. Even younger visitors will be able to understand how this rather small man came to play such a large role.
The silent film of his funeral, shown on an endless loop at the end of the exhibition, makes this unmistakably clear. Tens of thousands assembled in order to pay their last respects on the way to the cemetery Montparnasse. We watch as an automobile with a mountain of flowers followed by the hearse slowly make their way through the dense crowds: that day, April 20th, 1980, a symbolic figure, if not THE symbolic figure of the 20th century was laid to rest.
—
I am the daughter of Hossein Amanat, the architect of the Freedom Monument [Azadi Tower] in Tehran. As a young graduate, he won a nationwide competition for its design, and since that time, the Freedom Monument has become a symbol of modern Iran. It is also the venue for the protests and demonstrations that are currently taking place.
Thirty years ago, my parents fled Iran when the Shah was overthrown by the very regime that is being opposed by the Iranian people today. Since he was not Muslim and had designed this monument for the Shah, my father was blacklisted by the Islamic regime. The Freedom Monument, also known as the Shahyad or Azadi Monument, was designed in 1966 when my father was a 24 year-old graduate.
It was completed in 1971. The structure has had little maintenance done to it over the past 30 years, but seems to have stood the test of time. More importantly, the symbolism of this monument refers to all the eras of Iranian history, including the pre-Islamic glories of the Persian Empire, which all Iranians, regardless of creed or religion, are proud of. My father is thrilled that the Azadi Monument has found its place in the hearts of the people as a symbol of their national identity. He always believed in a glorious future for Iran and is humbled that this monument has witnessed major events in the past and continues to do so. It is moving for all of us to see the crowds rally around it during these momentous times.
After leaving Iran because of the persecution of the Baha’is, he continued his practice working on international projects, first in London, England and then in Vancouver. These projects include buildings in Israel, China, Samoa, and the United States. In Vancouver, he has recently completed two thirty storey condominium towers, and other projects as well. He is not retired. He would love to return to visit Iran one day, when the conditions allow. The beauty and wealth of Iranian architecture have always been a source of inspiration for not only my father, but for many architects such as Arthur Erickson. To go back to this source is his dream.
—
For the 60th anniversary of his death, a greatgranddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) scattered the Indian independence leader’s ashes in the sea by the metropolis Mumbai (Bombay). In memory of Gandhi, his followers carried his ashes through the city streets to the beach.
An Indian businessman who donated them to a museum in Mumbai last year had kept the ashes.
The museum wanted to publicly exhibit the ashes. Gandhi’s family objected, however, that Mahatma Gandhi himself had wanted to be buried at sea.
After Gandhi’s death on January 30th, 1948 and his cremation, the ashes had been put in urns and sent to numerous cities and villages throughout India for memorial ceremonies. How many urns still exist is unknown.
—
Luhmann’s system theory is currently one of the most popular and successful theories in the German language, not only in sociology, but also in diverse fields such as psychology, management theory or literary theory. Also internationally it has influenced the socio-philosophical discourse, with significant Luhmann-movements in Germany, the USA, Japan, Italy and Scandinavia. Luhmann died in 1998. Not long before that, in January 1997, I visited him in his house in Oerlinghausen near Bielefeld and interviewed him about his book “The Realities of Mass Media,” which had just been published. I encountered an aging man who displayed polite consideration and – as goes without saying – a stunning intellect in a house that could only put you into a deeply sad mood, because it seemed lifeless. Luhmann had been living there alone since the death of his wife. He himself was suffering from a rare form of blood cancer.
„Current technical innovations like the Internet or individually customized information will have little impact on the mass media itself,” he told me. “They will become another mass media alongside the newspaper or the television, they won’t replace these. The Internet with its possibilities for communications, although it is used by masses of people as a medium, is still not a mass media because it is not a one-sided technical communication but can be used individually.
The concern that new media will replace traditional media is as old as it is unfounded: writing did not replace oral communication and the press did not replace the letter.” Then he turned almost pleadingly to me: “If you apply the differentiation between information and entertainment to a mass media, that does not mean that information cannot be presented in an entertaining way. It just cannot be fictional.” Towards the end of our talk on the terrace in the cold winter sun there remained a sombre atmosphere.
“When a medium leaves the realm of information it becomes a narrative medium, like the novel or, in its modern form, the feature film.”
—
The Hague’s most famous Jewish resident is buried on Christian ground. In the garden of the Nieuwe Kerk in the city centre rests “Benedictus de Spinoza,” as the gravestone reads. Benedictus, which means blessing in English, is Baruch in Hebrew. Yet the Dutch Jews no longer saw the philosopher as one of their own ever since he was kicked out of the Jewish community in Amsterdam because of his supposedly blasphemous writings – Spinoza was forced to leave the city of his birth. He found asylum in 1669 in The Hague. There, at Paviljoensgracht 74, he wrote his major theological/ philosophical work “Ethica.” A statue and a plaque commemorate the famous citizen, who died in 1677.
There is even a Spinoza restaurant. The menu includes döner kebab and lahmacun. The former Jewish quarter is now mainly Muslim and Asian. Many of the street signs are bilingual – in Dutch and Chinese. Almost no Jews live there anymore.
Effect: As Stendhal predicted, his works, which were seen as immoral and cynical by his contemporaries, first got the recognition they deserved after his death.