instant theory
Die M-Fotoserie des Merve Verlags
22 May - 03 Aug 2020
instant theory. Die M-Fotoserie des Merve Verlags
The 1980s saw the emergence of a boundless interest in philosophical, aesthetic and emancipatory theory. At this time, the West Berlin publisher Merve was a meeting place for intellectual and artistic exchange. This network was documented by the publishers Heidi Paris and Peter Gente in many spontaneous photographs.
The exhibition shows images from this archive – portraits of figures from the Berlin scene and the world of publishing, and of artists and experimental musicians. By retrospectively mapping their relationships and connections, the zeitgeist of the period and alternative modes of production are examined from today’s perspective. Contextualizing texts, video interviews and accompanying events deal with questions like: What are the vectors of alternative knowledge dissemination? What, in this context, are the functions of collectivity, seriality, chaos and friendship? What is the difference between a collective and a network, and what danger lies in their respective openness to neoliberal co-opting? Why have visibilities like that of women or of the work of translating in (independent) text production often been unequally distributed (something that continues to be the case) and which shifts in value are needed here? The exhibition pursues these questions and asserts their ongoing relevance in the present.
A booklet was published to accompany the exhibition. (de ISBN 978-3-938515-84-6 / en ISBN 978-3-938515-85-3)
nGbK project group: Elisa Barth, Felipe Campos, Dominique Guglieri, Yayla Höpfl, Kai Wisotzky
The 1980s saw the emergence of a boundless interest in philosophical, aesthetic and emancipatory theory. At this time, the West Berlin publisher Merve was a meeting place for intellectual and artistic exchange. This network was documented by the publishers Heidi Paris and Peter Gente in many spontaneous photographs.
The exhibition shows images from this archive – portraits of figures from the Berlin scene and the world of publishing, and of artists and experimental musicians. By retrospectively mapping their relationships and connections, the zeitgeist of the period and alternative modes of production are examined from today’s perspective. Contextualizing texts, video interviews and accompanying events deal with questions like: What are the vectors of alternative knowledge dissemination? What, in this context, are the functions of collectivity, seriality, chaos and friendship? What is the difference between a collective and a network, and what danger lies in their respective openness to neoliberal co-opting? Why have visibilities like that of women or of the work of translating in (independent) text production often been unequally distributed (something that continues to be the case) and which shifts in value are needed here? The exhibition pursues these questions and asserts their ongoing relevance in the present.
A booklet was published to accompany the exhibition. (de ISBN 978-3-938515-84-6 / en ISBN 978-3-938515-85-3)
nGbK project group: Elisa Barth, Felipe Campos, Dominique Guglieri, Yayla Höpfl, Kai Wisotzky