Fundação Orgasmo Carlos - Sala do Veado Lisbon "

“A FUNDAÇÃO ORGASMO CARLOS APRESENTA:
“NÃO SOU VEADO NÃO!”
SALA DO VEADO
DE 6 (2100H) A 29 DE NOV. 2009
RUA DA ESCOLA POLITÉCNICA 56-58, LISBOA
3A A 6A DAS 1000H ÀS 1700H - SÁB. E DOM. DAS 1100H ÀS 1800H
- O QUE É A FUNDAÇÃO ORGASMO CARLOS?
- É MUITO SIMPLES. A FUNDAÇÃO ORGASMO CARLOS É NA REALIDADE A CONHECIDA CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTION DA ORGASMO CARLOS FOUNDATION, MAS COM O NOME EM PORTUGUÊS E POSTO DE UMA MANEIRA MAIS SIMPLES.
- QUEM É ORGASMO CARLOS?
- ORGASMO CARLOS É O FUNDADOR DA FUNDAÇÃO ORGASMO CARLOS.
ESTAS SÃO AS PERGUNTAS E AS RESPOSTAS QUE PROBLEMATIZAM A FUNÇÃO DA INSTITUIÇÃO ARTÍSTICA CONTEMPORÂNEA E A POSIÇÃO DE QUALQUER ARTISTA QUE QUEIRA PERTENCER À CONTEMPORANEIDADE.
O QUE É PRODUZIDO, PARA LÁ DO QUE É VEICULADO PELOS GRANDES SABICHÕES MARÔTOS QUE DIRIGEM AS ARQUIMERDAS ONDE SÃO APRESENTADAS A SOMA DAS PERVERSÕES DO ZEITGEIST ARTÍSTICO, REPRESENTA O QUÊ?
AS PERVERSÕES DO DIRECTOR DO MUSEU X SÃO STANDARDS PARA QUEM? A PORNOFILIA DA ADMINISTRAÇÃO DA FUNDAÇÃO Z É COMPREENDIDA POR QUEM?
ORGASMO CARLOS APRESENTA-SE COMO A ENTIDADE QUE MEDIA O FOSSO QUE FOI ARTIFICIALMENTE CRIADO ENTRE O PÚBLICO E A PRODUÇÃO DE OBJECTOS DE “ARTE”. ORGASMO ESTÁ PARA LÁ DA AUTORIA E DOS STARTISTS. ORGASMO ESTÁ À FRENTE DAS ABJECÇÕES QUE INFORMAM A MAIORIA DAQUELES (POSSUIDORES DE PÉNIS NÃO SÓ PEQUENOS MAS TAMBÉM FLÁCIDOS) QUE DIRIGEM AS INSTITUIÇÕES ARTÍSTICAS E QUE DEFECAM IDEIAS CADA VEZ MAIS ESCATOLÓGICAS PARA JUSTIFICAREM A SECULARIZAÇÃO DO MOMENTO ARTÍSTICO.
OVOS ESTRELADOS NO LUGAR DAS MAMAS E UM FRANGO DEPENADO NO SÍTIO DA VULVA É UM CLÁSSICO DESTE STATUS. ORGASMO CARLOS TEVE ESSA IDEIA MUITO ANTES DE SER FEITA (UM OVO ESTRELADO NO SÍTIO DA VULVA E DOIS FRANGOS NO SÍTIO DAS MAMAS). SÓ NÃO A FEZ PORQUE HOUVE UM MUSEU QUE A QUIS COMPRAR.
E AS RAMEIRAS VINGATIVAS QUE ESCREVEM NA IMPRENSA? PSEUDOVAGINANTES MAL VESTIDAS E TRAVESTIS SEM EDUCAÇÃO! QUAL É FIABILIDADE QUE PODE TER O PÚBLICO DESTAS ATROCIDADES INFORMATIVAS ACEITES POR PERVERSAS DIRECÇÕES DE ORGÃOS DE COMUNICAÇÃO?
MAS NÃO PRECISA MAIS DE SE PREOCUPAR!
AGORA ESTÁ DISPONIVEL A “CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTION DA ORGASMO CARLOS FUNDATION”!
O DIRECTOR-CURADOR-ARTISTA-CRÍTICO REUNE EM SI OS PODERES DE QUATRO SUPER-HERÓIS DA ARTE CONTEMPORÂNEA NUM SÓ, FACILITANDO TODO O PROCESSO, DESDE A CRIAÇÃO ATÉ AO CONSUMIDOR FINAL, EVITANDO TODOS ESSES ERROS DO PASSADO QUE APENAS PROCURAVAM CRIAR UM FENÓMENO E UM MERCADO ARTÍSTICO DE UMA FORMA ARTIFICIAL PARA ENRIQUECER OS VENDILHÕES DE TEMPLOS SEM DEUSES.
AGORA, O PÚBLICO VOCÊ PODE IR A UMA FUNDAÇÃO (OU À GALERIA PORTÁTIL ORGASMO CARLOS) E VER OU ADQUIRIR, COM A CONSCIÊNCIA DO DEVER CUMPRIDO, A OBRA DE ARTE DE QUE TANTO PRECISA, LEGITIMADA COM O CARIMBO DE QUALIDADE DA FUNDAÇÃO ORGASMO CARLOS E AINDA SEM TÊR QUE LÊR ARTIGOS DE CHACHA FEITOS DE ENCOMENDA E SABENDO QUE O CIRCUITO NÃO É MACULADO POR CIRCUITOS ANAIS DE INTERESSE.”

Why the german SPD party (since 1998) lost it almost all with Gerhard Schröder, Hartz II, Agenda 2010 and the consequent foundation of "Die Linke"

Verlorene Illusionen

Rudolf Stumberger 01.10.2009

Die Schröder-Ära als Weg in Richtung neue Klassengesellschaft
from the online journal: Telepolis

Das Wahldesaster der SPD bei den Bundestagswahlen 2009 und die einige Jahre zuvor geschehene Neugründung der Linkspartei ist in der Parteiengeschichte der Sozialdemokraten vom Muster her keine neue historische Erscheinung. Wann immer Parteichef Franz Müntefering in der Berliner Parteizentrale seine Berührungsverbote gegenüber der Linken verkündete, stand die Bronzebüste des "Parteiheiligen" Willy Brandt nicht weit. Wie kleinkariert sich die SPD-Führung in dieser Frage verhielt, wird deutlich, wenn man weiß, dass Brandt selbst einmal einer linken Abspaltung der SPD angehörte.

Derartige Abspaltungen sind also prinzipiell nicht neu, neu aber sind die gesellschaftspolitischen Konstellationen, die aktuell zur Gründung der Linkspartei und der Krise der SPD führte. Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts war es die Zustimmung zu den Kriegskrediten 1914 durch die SPD-Fraktion im Reichstag, warum sich mehr als ein Dutzend SPD-Abgeordnete von der Mutterpartei abwandten. Sie wurden aus der Partei ausgeschlossen und gründeten daraufhin 1917 die Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (USPD). Links sein, das bedeutete damals sich gegen den Ersten Weltkrieg zu wenden.

Rund 14 Jahre später wiederholte sich der Vorgang der linken Abspaltung. Diesmal waren es sechs Mitglieder der SPD-Reichtagsfraktion, die von der Mutterpartei ausgeschlossen wurden und daraufhin im Herbst 1931 die Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (SAP) gründeten. Die SAP kritisierte die zögerliche und unentschlossene Haltung der SPD gegenüber der aufkommenden faschistischen Gefahr durch die NSDAP und setzte sich für eine Einheitsfront von SPD, KPD und Gewerkschaften ein. Auch Willy Brandt trat in seiner Heimatstadt Lübeck der SAP bei. Nach ihrer letzten Regierungsbeteiligung 1928 wurde die SPD in der Opposition angesichts der sich verschärfenden Wirtschaftskrise zwischen KPD und NSDAP zerrieben und kam im März 1933 nur noch auf 18,3 Prozent der Stimmen.

Die jüngste linke Abspaltung der SPD begann mit dem Partei-Ausschluss von regierungskritischen Gewerkschaftern in Nürnberg, was im Januar 2005 zur Gründung der Partei "Wahlalternative Arbeit und Soziale Gerechtigkeit" führte, die sich 2007 mit der "Partei des demokratischen Sozialismus" (PDS) zur Linkspartei verband.

Im historischen Rückblick ist zu konstatieren, dass die Abspaltungen durch den Gang der Geschichte quasi "legitimiert" wurden, berücksichtigt man, dass der Weg der Mehrheits-SPD die sich abzeichnenden Katastrophen nicht verhindern konnte: Weder ab 1914 das unsägliche Gemetzel in den Schützengräben des Ersten Weltkrieges noch 1933 die Machtergreifung der Nationalsozialisten. Gegenüber diesen historischen Katastrophen ist das jetzige Wahldesaster der SPD natürlich nicht vergleichbar (auch wenn wir nicht wissen, wie die Geschichte weitergeht). Die jeweiligen Abspaltungen aber können auch als ein politisches Sensorium gegenüber gesellschaftspolitischen Entwicklungen gesehen werden, als kleine Schnellboote, die dem großen Tanker der Mutterpartei die Richtung vorzugeben versuchten, ohne dass dieser freilich seinen Kurs änderte. Wir können somit Mutterpartei und Abspaltungen als einen Ausdruck von sozialen Kämpfen und des Ringens um politische Vertretung ansehen. Und wir können analysieren, was für eine Politik und welches Problem zur aktuellen Abspaltung und dem aktuellen Niedergang der Mutterpartei führte.

Mittlerweile sind sich die meisten intelligenten Kommentatoren einig, dass die Regierungspolitik des SPD-Bundeskanzlers Gerhard Schröder von 1998 bis 2005 den Anfang des Niedergangs der SPD darstellte und dass dabei die Agenda 2010 und Hartz IV im Mittelpunkt standen. 1998 hatte sich nach den langen Jahren der konservativen Regierung von Helmut Kohl die Mehrheit der Wähler für eine rot-grüne Regierung unter Gerhard Schröder und Josef Fischer (Grüne) entschieden. In sie wurden große Hoffnungen auf eine Politik für die Arbeitnehmer, für den Atomausstieg, für Frieden und eine öko-soziale Erneuerung der Gesellschaft gesetzt. Der erste große Schock für die Wähler dieser Koalition kam mit der Beteiligung Deutschlands am Nato-Krieg gegen Jugoslawien 1999. Die zweite Schockwelle verbreitete sich 2003, als Bundeskanzler Schröder in seiner Regierungserklärung den Deutschen harte Zeiten voraussagte. Das stimmte nicht ganz: Hart wurden die Zeiten nur für die von Hartz IV Betroffenen und die Arbeitnehmer, während die Kapitalbesitzer zumindest bis zur weltweiten Finanzkrise 2008 üppige Gewinne einstrichen.


Labour-Partei lieferte Blaupause für die Schröder-Regierung

Dabei bildeten die von der Schröder-Fischer-Regierung zu verantwortenden politischen Entscheidungen wie die Deregulierung der Finanzmärkte und Hartz IV nur die Oberfläche eines tiefer gehenden, ernsthaften ideologischen Problems: Der Kapitulation vor der Dominanz des ungebändigten Kapitals und die Unterwerfung unter die Hegemonie des Neoliberalismus. Die deutsche Sozialdemokratie folgte damit dem Weg der britischen Sozialdemokraten, der Labour-Partei, was sich auch in einem gemeinsamen Manifest über einen angeblichen "Dritten Weg" zeigte. Ähnlich wie die SPD steht auch die Labour-Partei heute vor einem Scherbenhaufen und ihr einstiges politisches Wunderkind Tony Blair ist heute eine der "meistgehassten" Politiker in Großbritannien, wie eine dortige Zeitung schrieb (was auch mit seinem Kurs im Irak-Krieg zu tun hat). Und ähnlich wie Schröder hatte Blair die politische Macht nach langen Jahren der Opposition übernommen und stand für die Hoffnungen der Wähler auf eine neue und gerechtere Politik.

Der Weg der britischen Sozialdemokraten ist deshalb hier interessant, weil er das Vorbild für die Schröder-SPD wurde. Als Tony Blair Ende der 1990er Jahre in einem erdrutschartigen Wahlsieg die 18-jährige Regierungszeit der britischen Konservativen beendete, hatte Großbritannien bereits einen radikalen gesellschaftlichen Wandel hinter sich. "Maggy" Thatcher hatte ab 1979 die Macht der Gewerkschaften massiv beschnitten, die Steuern gesenkt, die Rolle des Staates zurückgedrängt, Staatsunternehmen privatisiert und das Arbeitslosengeld sowie Sozialprogramme gekürzt. Sie lieferte damit die Blaupausen für ein neoliberales Gesellschaftsmodell, das kurz darauf in den USA, aber erst sehr viel später in Deutschland durchgesetzt wurde: Dort pikanterweise nicht unter der Kohl-Regierung, sondern eben unter Rot-Grün.

Bei den Wahlen 1997 erlebte die Labour-Partei unter Tony Blair ihren bis dahin gewaltigsten Wahl-Sieg seit 1945. Doch die Partei, die auch 2001 erneut an den Wahlurnen unter dem Label "Labour" gewann, war längst eine Partei geworden, die mit der alten englischen Sozialdemokratie nichts mehr gemein hatte. Der "Thatcherismus" hatte innerhalb von rund 20 Jahren das politische Koordinatensystem deutlich nach rechts verschoben. Diese Verschiebung hatte auch die Labour-Partei erfasst. Stand die Partei von 1985 noch selbstbewusst für die Politik der sozialintegrativen Regulierung des Marktes bzw. des Kapitalismus, so von 1997 unter Blair für die "Dynamisierung" des Kapitalismus.

Die Politik der englischen Sozialdemokratie war seit Blair getragen von der Überzeugung, dass aus den großen ideologischen Kämpfen des 20. Jahrhunderts der Kapitalismus als Sieger hervorgegangen ist, mit ihrer Politik der "neuen Mitte" wandte sie sich ab von der verbleibenden Arbeiterklasse und den Gewerkschaften. Damit verbunden wurde das "Soziale" neu definiert. Aus dem Wohlfahrtsstaat wurde eine Restgröße, die gerade noch eine Grundsicherung für die Ärmsten bereitstellte. Der Staat habe die Aufgabe, Rahmenbedingungen für die Entfaltung der Möglichkeiten des Einzelnen zu schaffen. Wohlfahrt wurde als Mittel zur Befähigung der Individuen auf flexibilisierten Arbeitsmärkten und zur Entwicklung einer wettbewerbsfähigen Wirtschaft im globalen Kontext gesehen.

Nicht mehr die Überwindung oder Eindämmung des real existierenden Kapitalismus war das Ziel dieser Labour-Politik, sondern gerade die Förderung dieser Wirtschaftsform. Und das war die Blaupause für das Vorgehen der Schröder-Regierung. Auch hier stand die prinzipielle Kapitulation vor kapitalgetriebenen Märkten und einer marktradikalen Ideologie im Mittelpunkt. Erneut wie schon oft in der Geschichte gab sich die SPD-Führung staatsmännischer als der Staat und übernahm die Aufgabe, um "Deutschland fit für die Zukunft zu machen", die – wie Kritiker es formulierten – "sozialpolitische Drecksarbeit" zu machen. Der passende Mann dafür war Arbeitsminister Wolfgang Clement (SPD), der am liebsten eigenhändig die "Sozialschmarotzer" aus der sozialen Hängematte geworfen hätte. Er wirbt heute für die FDP und an seiner Person lässt sich auch – ähnlich wie bei der Labour-Party - der Wandel festmachen, den die SPD in ihrer 16-jährigen Oppositionszeit unterlag.


Agenda 2010: Beispiel für blinden Aktionismus

Im Mittelpunkt der Schröderschen "Reformen" stand der Arbeitsmarkt. Der ursprüngliche Auftrag an die von dem ehemaligen VW-Manager Peter Hartz geführte und nach ihm benannte Kommission lautete, die Arbeitsämter zu modernisieren, um die Vermittlung von Arbeitslosen in Arbeit zu beschleunigen. Als Hartz im August 2002 seinen Bericht der Bundesregierung übergab, war daraus ein Werk mit umfangreichen Reformvorschlägen geworden. Mit zahlreichen Neuerungen wie "Ich-AG" oder der Erleichterung von Leiharbeit wollte man die steigende Arbeitslosigkeit in den Griff bekommen. Die Redlichkeit dieser Absicht ist sicherlich der Grund, warum Sozialdemokraten auch heute noch an der Agenda 2010 festhalten wollen, dabei aber die Augen vor den gravierenden gesellschaftlichen Folgen verschließen.

Denn das den Reformen zugrundeliegende Paradigma, dass Maßnahmen am Arbeitsmarkt der Schlüssel zu mehr Beschäftigung sind, ist in höchster Linie fragwürdig. Wer ein Auto besitzt, kauft nicht deshalb 200 Reifen, weil die momentan günstig zu haben sind. Auch ein Unternehmer ohne Aufträge stellt nicht deshalb neue Mitarbeiter ein, weil sie gerade ihre Arbeitskraft für billiges Geld zu Markte tragen müssen. Sondern wegen gestiegener Nachfrage nach seinen Produkten. Aus diesem Grund gibt es auch keinen Wissenschaftler auf diesen Planeten, der einen kausalen Zusammenhang von Arbeitsmarktreformen und mehr Arbeitsplätzen nachweisen kann. Es ist die anspringende Konjunktur oder oder es sind Investitionsprogramme, die neue Arbeitsplätze schaffen und nicht die Absenkung des Arbeitslosengeldes auf Sozialhilfeniveau.

So gesehen ist die Agenda 2010 ein gigantisches Beispiel für einen blinden Aktivismus, bei dem umgebaut und reformiert und erneuert wird, ohne dass eine wirkliche Lösung des Problems in Sicht käme. Hauptsache ist, dass so getan wird, als würde man politisch etwas anpacken. Die SPD-Führung wurde nicht müde, jeden leichten Rückgang der Arbeitslosigkeit auf ihre Arbeitsmarkt-Reformen zurückzuführen, freilich ohne jemals einen Beweis zu liefern. Hinter diesem regierungsamtlichen Schein aber wurde die Agenda 2010 von den Betroffenen völlig anders wahrgenommen: Als gigantische Disziplinierungsmaßnahme für die Arbeitnehmer bis hin zum Erleben von nackter Existenzangst, wenn wegen Sanktionen das Arbeitslosengeld II völlig gekürzt wurde. Und durch die Förderung von Niedriglöhnen und Zwangsarbeitsformen wie die Ein-Euro-Jobs wurde die ohnehin im vergangenen Jahrzehnt zunehmend geschwächte Position der Arbeitnehmer noch weiter geschwächt.

Die SPD unter Schröder hatte ebenso wie Blair keine andere Antwort auf die Zumutungen des Kapitalismus des 21. Jahrhunderts, als die Ratschläge aus dem Wahngebilde des Neoliberalismus aufzunehmen: Dass man den Standort Deutschland mit Deregulierung und Privatisierung so fit für den Weltmarkt machen müsse, dass alle Konkurrenz niedergebügelt werden könne. Dies schaffe dann Arbeitsplätze. Soziale Gerechtigkeit hat in diesem Turbokapitalismus keinen Platz mehr und wurde zur sozialen Restkategorie "Chancengleichheit" umbenannt: Für den großen Lebenslauf sollte jeder zumindest mit den gleichen Turnschuhen starten können, was er dann daraus mache, bleibe jedem selbst überlassen. Das war nur noch ein erbärmlicher Schatten bisheriger sozialdemokratischer Gerechtigkeitsvorstellungen.

Die Arbeitnehmer und die von Hartz IV-Betroffenen fanden diese Politik der Schröder- und Müntefering-SPD immer mehr gegen ihre Interessen gerichtet und stimmten mit ihren Füßen ab, als sie die Partei verließen und den Wahlurnen fernblieben. 1998 erreichte die SPD 40,9 Prozent der Stimmen, zusammen mit den Grünen eine Mehrheit von 47,6 Prozent. Am Ende der Periode Schröder, zu der auch die Amtszeit Franz-Walter Steinmeiers in der Großen Koalition gehört, war die SPD auf das historische Tief von 23 Prozent gesunken.

Die Partei der Agenda 2010 hatte innerlich vor dem Neoliberalismus kapituliert und es versäumt, Konzepte für eine soziale Politik im 21. Jahrhundert zu entwickeln. Schröder steht damit für den Übergang von der alten Bundesrepublik der sozialen Sicherheit und des Klassenkompromisses zur Bundesrepublik der sozialen Spaltung und prekärer Lebensverhältnisse. Mit dem "Dritten Weg" ging die SPD ebenso wie die Labour Party einen Weg fort von den Interessen ihrer traditionellen Klientel und der arbeitnehmerischen Mitte. Es war ein Weg, der in die soziale Kälte und in Richtung einer neuen Klassengesellschaft führte - und an dem die Partei nun schließlich fast zerbrochen ist."

Telepolis Artikel-URL: http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/31/31232/1.html

New treatment of Malaria ahead?

Scientists at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência demonstrate naturally-occurring protection against severe malaria

13 August 2009 Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC)

* Under embargo until 17 August 2009 20:00 GMT

In a study to be published in the next issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, in Portugal, show that an anti-oxidant drug can protect against the development of deadly forms of malaria. These findings have direct implications for the treatment of this devastating disease, caused by the parasite Plasmodium, and still one of the main causes of death worldwide.

The team lead by Miguel Soares had previously shown that, when Plasmodium multiplies inside red blood cells (the cells that transport oxygen from the lungs into tissues) it causes these cells to burst and to release hemoglobin (the protein to which oxygen binds inside red blood cells) into the blood stream. Once outside the red blood cells, hemoglobin itself can release its heme groups (the four iron centres through which oxygen binds to hemoglobin), which leads to the severe symptoms of malaria and eventually to death.

Now, the researchers found that once infected by Plasmodium, mice express high levels of heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an enzyme that degrades heme and thus protects the infected mice from developing severe forms of malaria. Furthermore, an anti-oxidant drug, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), has the same affect as HO-1, when given to Plasmodium-infected mice.

Miguel Soares explains, ‘The antioxidant action of HO-1 is part of the host’s natural defence strategy against the malaria parasite. It affords a potent protective effect against malaria but, astonishingly, does not seem to directly affect the parasite. In some cases the reaction of the host against the parasite can lead to death of the infected host. The protective mechanism afforded by HO-1 allows this host response to kill the parasite without compromising its own survival. This finding suggest that there might be alternative therapeutic approaches to treat malaria, which, unlike the current ones would not aim at killing the parasite directly, but rather at strengthening the health status of the host, so that the host could kill parasite and survive. This type therapeutic approach should provide potent protection against severe forms of malaria and thus save lives without favouring the appearance of resistant strains of Plasmodium.

‘Moreover, one might be able to apply the same strategy to a range of other infectious diseases and impact on the treatment of not only malaria but a variety of other infectious diseases, a line of research we are actively pursuing at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência.’

This study was elicited by a Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ‘Projecto Tranversal’ (Cross-disciplinary Award) in Malaria, and further supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal as well as by the European Community, 6th Framework Xenome (LSH-2005-1.2.5-1) and the Gemi Fund (Linde Healthcare).

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/recent
from: http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=60153&CultureCode=en

see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria

On “My Paradoxical Knives” by Ali Moini

On “My Paradoxical Knives” (Ali Moini)

by Alexander Gerner

What is a safe distance between the audience and a performer? In which proximity of possible danger one has to get in to transform the situation between the one who acts and the one who just “watches”? Where the poetry of getting closer, the curiosity of getting to know something that you don´t know, something that profoundly makes you curious, is cut and may get dangerous? How close can you get to someone that comes from another culture? And how is this possible to be close although you always be a stranger within your own body? The skin is the ultimate frontier of your life? How close is the right distance to something you need to discover in order to live more profoundly? If getting too close this might hurt you and leave you bleeding as there is no nurse no doctor no social web, no country no language, no translation possible to make the scares heel afterwards?...

These are some of the questions that while watching Ali Moinis performance in progress “my paradoxical knives” stirr up in me. As Ali Moini states:
“The work evolved from the image of a man hanging knives on his body. Then my mind went further, considering geography, holiness, danger, softness, communication, verticality and horizontality, the past and now.”
When asking more on his performance, the text he uses, he kindly responds in a description:
“the text which is writen on the floor( in the middle) which is the text that i am singing is a part of a poem from Rumi ( mowlana, an iranian poet, living 800 years ago) it says:
“Hey sky! Do not turn without me”
(as you can imagine at that time the people were thinking its the sky that turns around us, not the earth)
“Hey moon do not shine without me/
Hey earth do not grow without me/
Hey time do not pass without me.”
While I turn I erase the writen text on the floor, by my feet.
The words that I m saying while I add the knives, is the place that I will put them
( left hearth up .... right hearth up... left hearth back.... neck down right .....)


About the movement:
"I do not know if you know the concept of dervishes dance
their issue of moving is so vertical
the palm of their right hand is facing the ceiling and the palm of their left hand facing the floor, which means they take from the sky and give it to the ground( life... people or environment)
but I changed this:
My hands are facing myself and the audiance (first part of rearrangement) then the first line to take the movement form a vertical position to horizental position"

About the dress:
"The traditional Sufi-dress represent safety, smoothness and equality, which I changed to danger, unsafty ( for myself and also the others) an non-iguality ( even not balanced, if you take a look at the small ribbons on my legs, down, which can not turn properly) and another thing that i was very surprised by: without wanting it in the begining of the project , I found out:
I´m taking the audience´s attention and make them defend themselves at the same time. Then there is a direction ( horizental, if you wish) between me and them, bouncing back and forth: coriousity, exotic movement, my presence, and ... the defence strategy at the same time because of feeling of danger, the knives imply for me as a performer and for them as the audience."


About the number of the knives :
I would like them to be as many as possible, but if adding them to my body takes more time, i think is useless, and yes they are specific knives, i chose them because of their sound, and some of them because of their shape, they are not all the same, shape and sound the movement except changing from vertical to horizontal, is from their movement, with a little adjustment.


I met Ali Moini in the flesh in Lisbon at Príncipe Real Café, after wanting to know more on what happens in Iran at the moment, asking him to become my virtual friend on facebook, that he accepted immediatly. After a chat on facebook we decide to meet. Curious on getting better information from iranian people on this very strange time of the “fake” iranian re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the implicit danger of a supposed “democratic election”, that turned out to be a fraud, the inherent danger that the western world sees in the iranian regime having the atomic bomb, the danger that the complex islamic regime of Iran faces, if it suppresses free speach, opposition, demonstrations, and if it kills and emprisons and folters oppositors of the "re-elected" government all this is vert present at the moment I talk with Ali Moini.There is a strong urge of the iranian people of self-determination, freedom of expression(including contemporary dance that is forbidden in Iran), all these topics are not explicit in Ali Moini´s performance, but implicit in the play with danger and curiosity, the transformation of religious traditions of Sufi dance, revisted in the 21st century by Ali Moini, the longing for proximity to an open minded spectator and the implicit danger of getting too close, involving, the mental possibility of cutting yourself, if you involve in a fragile and poetic encounter with Ali Moini´s “my paradoxical knives” performance in progress... These are all too many good reasons to support this performance as one of the most interesting expressions of actual Iranian international contemporary dance, as "my paradoxical knives" is a highly complex piece of art in all its poetic simplicity of action, dance, musicality, sound and concept, it is a very actual play with milenar traditions of poetry, dance and music that calls our attention in a contemporary way to topics of danger, curiosity, intimacy, experience and exploring borders beyond the actual political situation of Iran, and thus longs for a bigger international audience and the support of any structure interested in contemporary performance art that deals with reality in a paradoxical way.
"My paradoxical knives" shows the expression of one of the most rich and old nations of dance and poetry incorporated by Ali Moini, that makes you curious of watching again and again to understand more each time about the complexity of our interconnected world, the implicit dangers of ignoring this fact. The situation of the iranian people today, the creative and paradoxical play with traditions that this performance expresses, is an advantage and a possibility for all of us to get a deeper understanding of the plurality of cultures, as well as starting point to get a deeper insight in the fragility, danger and opportunities in each and every encounter between the presence of an actor and an emancipated spectator, creating courage and trust to act as well as a healty distance to watch, way beyond a closed fake safty in theatre, dance and political life.
Alexander Gerner
Lisbon August 2009

Fotos from the performance in progress "my paradoxical knives" French-Portuguese Culture Institute 23/12/2008 (courtesy: Ali Moini/Forum Dança)

Censura na praça de São Carlos por 24horas e um "fim feliz"?

1. Uma notícia:

http://jornal.publico.clix.pt/magoo/noticias.asp?a=2009&m=07&d=20&uid=&id=314385&sid=59702

"PUBLICO.PT

PÚBLICO: Edição Impressa Versão para cegos
21 de Julho de 2009 - 12h43

São Carlos cancelou espectáculo por ser "inadequado" mas recuou 20 horas depois

Lucinda Canelas e Natália Faria

Decisão de cancelar a peça Amor já tinha motivado acusações de censura e a convocação de um protesto

A A peça Amor, um espectáculo encenado por Marcos Barbosa a partir de um texto do escritor brasileiro André Sant'Anna, que deveria ter sido apresentado ontem, às 22h00, no Largo de S. Carlos, em Lisboa, esteve cancelado durante 20 horas.
O espectáculo foi considerado "inadequado" para uma apresentação no Festival ao Largo, ao ar livre. Mas, depois de muitos e-mails trocados pelo potencial público e até da convocação de uma demonstração de desagrado pela atitude de "censura" imputada ao Opart, o presidente desta entidade que gere o São Carlos, Pedro Moreira, voltou atrás e decidiu que Amor será hoje levado à cena.
O espectáculo estava programado há mês e meio por Diogo Infante, que foi convidado a fazer três escolhas para o festival. Há 1h00 da manhã de ontem, o director do Teatro Nacional D. Maria II recebeu um telefonema em que Pedro Moreira lhe comunicou que o Opart decidira cancelar a apresentação de Amor. "Informou-me simplesmente que o espectáculo era desadequado ao perfil do festival e que, por isso, ia ser cancelado", disse ontem Diogo Infante ao PÚBLICO.
Cerca de 20 horas mais tarde, Infante recebeu novo telefonema em que foi informado de que, afinal, a peça não fora cancelada, mas adiada para hoje, protelando-se assim por mais um dia o encerramento do festival, que já levou mais de 25 mil pessoas ao largo do teatro nacional.
Para colmatar o buraco de ontem na programação, a organização do festival antecipou para as 22h00 o concerto do Quarteto Vianna da Motta que, nos termos da programação original, deveria ter encerrado ontem o festival, às 24h00.
Pedro Moreira não esteve disponível para falar com o PÚBLICO. Mas fonte do Teatro Nacional de São Carlos atribuiu o sucedido a "problemas internos da produção". "Em 18 espectáculos, foi o único cancelado", sublinhou a mesma fonte, recusando adiantar mais pormenores.
Diogo Infante, que se mostrara "surpreendido" com o cancelamento, está agora "feliz" por saber que "há pessoas que têm a capacidade de reconsiderar", corrigindo um erro.
Para Infante, o monólogo de André Sant'Anna (um original de 1998), interpretado por Flávia Gusmão, é um texto "exigente", "provocador" e tem "momentos agressivos". Mas "é muito contemporâneo e desafia com inteligência os estereótipos relacionados com a masculinidade e a feminilidade". Proibir a sua apresentação, diz, era "emitir juízos morais em relação às capacidades do público que tem assistido ao festival".
André Sant'Anna é considerado um dos mais promissores novos escritores brasileiros. Em Abril, o jornal A Folha de S. Paulo referia-se ao autor como "a melhor coisa que poderia ter acontecido à literatura brasileira nos últimos anos". Em Amor, de que o autor leu extractos quando, no ano passado, participou no encontro Correntes d'Escritas, na Póvoa de Varzim, sobressaem expressões como "o sol secando o fedor do povo" e "o pau do ayatollah do Irão".
O espectáculo foi programado por Diogo Infante, "feliz" por saber que "há pessoas que têm a capacidade de reconsiderar"


2.
O espectáculo "Amor" ficou cancelado 20horas e ficou reposto por "reconsideração" "feliz" do director do festival que "telefonou duas vezes" ao director do Teatro Nacional D Maria II - primeiro para informar lhe do cancelamento e depois para o informar da sua reposição em cena 24h mais tarde...
Fica uma barulhente confusão de hipóteses no clarificados pelas entidades públicas involvidas acerca das acontecimentos que levaram a esse "cancelamento" e a reposição
-problemas de produção(técnicas)
- problemas do entendimento do director do festival com o elenco da peça
-problemas do director do festival não ter lido o texto e basicamente não ter a minima ideia que estava promover até mesmo ver um ensaio técnico(!) um dia antes da peça acontecer
- problemas dos juizos morais e por consequência a resposta do director do festival que achou o texto e a peça "inadequado" para o público visado de verão
- depois do facto assumido do "cancelamento" de "Amor" há os problemas da acusação de uma massa crítica, seja pequena mas ainda assim existente em Portugal, de "censura", algumas pressões diplomáticas e de repente:
- já não há problema de por a peça na praça pública de S. Carlos para o director e supostamente telefona a segunda vez ao director do TN DMaria II à explicar, que cometeu um erro , já não há os mesmos juizos morais acerca desse texto??



Facto é que a peça ficou censurado 24horas por juizes morais(ou outras?), e por pressões de cidadania e de diplomacia (não cai bem Portugal ser visto como país aonde há censura, depois do 25 de Abril) e outras(?) foi reposto um dia depois.Como se nada em especial tinha acontecido.

Quais as razões que levaram Pedro Moreira "felizmente" reconsiderar" o "cancelamento" à boca da cena? Uma é que uma massa crítico de actores, intervenientes do espectáculo, um diplomata português e uma funcionária no parlamento Europeu entre outros protestaram públicamente contra esse acto de censura(que demorou 24horas), baseado num juízo moral acerca do texto "Amor" de André Sant'Anna.
Portugal precisa mais dessa massa crítica e civica, que não deixa cala se e limitar a sua livre expressão artistica como outras liberdades de expressão(veja a ideia de Jardim tentar prohibir a CDU), e precisa de viver com o facto (novo?)que responsáveis (directores de entidades públicas) tem que tirar as suas deviadas consequencias de actos de irresponsábilidade perante o público potentialmente interessado e perante dos dinheiros públicos envolvidos (cancelamento à boca da cena), tirar consequencias da incompetência em lugares de destaque( o director não sabendo o que esta em palco) e da passividade de um director de um teatro nacional que "foi informado" duas vezes. E depois do cancelamento fez o que, Diogo Infante? Esperar que tudo corre bem na mesma ou esperar pela segunda chamada? Não me parece. Diogo Infante têm que explicar melhor o que succedeu e não focar num "fim feliz" da situação ( a reposição da peça 24h depois).
Alexander Gerner

Querem nos afastar do "mal" do mundo? Criancinhas "sem sangue" nós querem, rebeldes nos terão! Sobre o cancelamento do espectáculo "Amor"

Amanha dia 20 de Julho as 22h a peça "Amor" vai estar em cena na praça pública do S. Carlos fora do festival por iniciativa própria do elenco...
o espaço é público e ninguém têm o direito de limitar o direito da expressão artística ...

Querem nos afastar do "mal" do mundo? Criancinhas "sem sangue" nós querem, rebeldes nos terão!

"A entidade pública promotora do festival ao ar livre no Teatro São Carlos, OPART, cancelou o espectáculo “Amor”, previsto para as 22 horas deste domingo 19 de Julho de 2009. Vinte e Quatro horas antes aquela entidade pública comunicou ao produtor que a peça, um monologo de 50 minutos seguindo um conto do escritor brasileiro André Sant`Anna, “ não se adequaria ao conteúdo previsto para o ciclo de promoção ao ar livre”.
Estranha-se antes de mais que uma decisão de programação, envolvendo desde o momento da sua adopção custos públicos, estabelecendo legítimas expectativas entre o público potencialmente interessado e comprometendo antecipadamente os profissionais envolvidos na preparação do espectáculo, seja adoptada em termos práticos à boca de cena.
Esta tarde o site de São Carlos ainda anuncia o espectáculo para as 22 horas.
O texto original de André Sant` Anna está publicado em Portugal há oito anos, permanecendo acessível em qualquer livraria de referencia. Inquieta-nos que a entidade pública promotora do festival ao ar livre esteja desatenta ou ignorante quanto aos conteúdos das obras artísticas que inscreve na sua programação, dado que é evidente que toda a decisão de escolha envolve a ponderação de riscos, que merecem ser devidamente considerados. Tal ponderação aplica-se mesmo a obras de maior dimensão universal como a Carmina Burana, companheira de programação do monologo “Amor”.
Inquieta-nos ainda mais que esta retirada de cena de “Amor”, seja determinada por razões de texto, por “todas aquelas palavras derramadas sobre o sangue das criancinhas esguichando sangue”, e o director de programação comprometido com um publico esguichando sangue, e a teoria de relatividade de tudo isto explicada pelo director de programação, ao público, que ouviu a Carmina Burana, a Menina Júlia e as Produções Fícticias e agora não assistirá ao monologo “Amor”, apenas por uma palavra, das mais obscenas quando praticadas sobre um acto artístico, que é censura. E não por todas as palavras, portuguesas do Brasil e de Portugal, que estão no monologo e nos falam de todas aquelas imagens, que estão no texto e na vida real de todas as pessoas, incluindo o director de programação.
Censura reagindo a palavras ali colocadas, que não nomeamos porque todas as palavras merecem ser cultivadas num texto literário. A obscenidade da censura supera toda a crueza das palavras que se ouviriam no Monologo, porque nenhuma entidade pública responsável por programação cultural pode julgar a adequação de um texto por um juízo de adequação entendido como moral, que cala por hoje o Monologo ao ar livre no Largo de São Carlos para empobrecimento do público.
E imperativo esconjurar a sombra de Censura em todos aqueles que estão em lugares públicos de programação gerindo dinheiros públicos e dinheiros do mecenato que chegam ao Público por virtude de leis que visam o Enriquecimento cultural.
Uma última referencia. o texto de Sant`Anna , embora completamente original, é impulsionado por uma referência ao filosofo – antropólogo Ernest Becker, prematuramente falecido no já distante ano do 25 de Abril e inspirador de alguns diálogos no filme Annie Hall, em 1977."

Ana Toivola Câmara Leme (Funcionária do Parlamento Europeu)
Jorge Lobo Mesquita (Diplomata)


Sobre os leitores jovens do "Amor"
André Sant` Anna:
A.S. - Eu senti que desde Amor, os adolescentes são um tipo de leitor que eu conquisto com certa facilidade. Até porque eles não têm esse vício de um formato padronizado sobre o conceito do que é boa literatura. Possuem abertura para conhecer. Não estão questionando se estou inovando ou não, se o Machado de Assis é velho e eu sou novo. Eles têm essa abertura para ler coisas diferentes. Amor, por exemplo, é um livro difícil, mas o adolescente tem essa coisa de ler em voz alta. Eu acho tão legal isso. Em sala de aula mesmo, em faculdade, sempre fui muito bem recebido, o pessoal gostava. Já vi muita gente que, na primeira página do Amor, por exemplo, tinha uma certa rejeição, mas depois começava a ler em voz alta e ficava... Já ouvi relato de gente
que ficou raciocinando o que é o amor por vários dias. Juventude sempre é bom nesse sentido. Ainda se está aberto.

nesta fotografia: Flavia Gusmão

“Amor”: Este é um espectáculo onde uma mulher transforma um texto furiosamente masculino e “brasileiramente” português, numa fuga que faz desta literatura teatro, e do fazer dizer, para um encontro com as palavras que dizem o amor.
Sobre o texto da peça, Bernardo Carvalho, crítico literário, escreveu: «”Amor” pode ser lido como uma visão planetária, simultaneamente religiosa (no sentido de “religar” todas as coisas, nem que seja pelo sangue que está por trás de tudo) e anti-religiosa (contra toda a hipocrisia das igrejas, sejam elas quais forem, a começar pelos media).»
André Sant’Anna nasceu em 1964, em Belo Horizonte. Morou no Rio de Janeiro, tocou no grupo Tao e Qual de 1980 a 1990, vive actualmente em São Paulo e trabalha como redactor de publicidade. É autor de Amor (1998) e Sexo (2000). Foi incluído um conto seu (“O importado vermelho de Noé”) na edição Cem Melhores Contos Brasileiros do Século, publicado pela editora Objectiva. É considerado pelo escritor brasileiro Bernardo Carvalho o mais promissor dos novos escritores brasileiros.

Texto André Sant’Anna

Encenação Marcos Barbosa

Assistência de encenação Leonor Zertuche
Interpretação Flávia Gusmão

Iluminação Pedro Carvalho

Produção Teatro Oficina

on little things, mistrust & war

Another note on Berlin: Göran´s Döner Imbiss

the little turkish Döner place in Kreuzberg with Göran as its king, standing there full of shyness and a big smile, just at the end of the night he refuses costumers with the mask of a strong emperor, giving back orders:" No! No more french fries! No more pizza,tonight! No!" he doesn´t look into the people´s eyes, when he says “No”, like the way I didn´t look to the eyes of the actor who yesterday lied at me about a stupid little thing, I could not look into his face- “No!”, “No more salads! No!”.
Göran never eats and is always hungry, while selling `his´ fast food. “Now”, he says hastily like a secret, “Now I always eat Hamburger, at night before I clean up and shut down the shop. I eat hamburger for two weeks now, before it was salad, I ate salad for a month always the same, before it was Pizza- why should I change? Why I don´t change?- because I don´t like so many things that I sell here. It takes me away my doubts.”
He tells me, that when he leaves the Döner place and heads home, that he drinks three beers, before falling asleep. I think its a beautiful lie, to make me feel comfortable, because I talk with him drinking beer and it´s Ramadan now. Of course he is not drinking alcohol...
Suddenly a young guy puts me an old filthy paper in front of my eyes pushing me,
-“Did you read this?"
-" What?"
I ask hastily to kill the agressive conversation:
- "What?"
He insists:
- "Did you read about the Social Democratic Politician who wants to build a big big Mosque in the middle of Berlin, right in the center?"
I ask in return in order not to answer:
- "But what do you think?”
- "I think..." he makes a big pause-" I think- ",
he continues after his important cheap rhetoric pause:
“I think that´s crazy!!”
He´s in Ramadan too and I drink beer, and I defend nothing and he defends his way of living, calling people crazy,
- "That´s how it can be, just like that,"
he says, and I don´t understand a word, and then I say, I think there is nothing good coming from a top-down approach towards culture and religion, and then I try to explain him my theory:
- "You know this last conference on Islam, that the interior minister of the german government Schäuble put forward two days ago, that the main thing was all about "Toleranz---"
I cannot finish my thought. He hears this word and it falls before his head onto the floor, somewhere near the door, where he stands,
- “yeah yeah”,
the young guy replies,
- “I know the thing about ´Aufklärung´, ´Enlightenment´",
he says this word in disgust, as if he had to throw up something, like these birds that feed their children throwing up food, but here it was about giving something out, that made you sick, something that had no meaning and that he had been fed too long at school:
- “Enlightenment, I know”,
his voice gets more sad, then he speaks without any emotion:
- "Forget it, it will not happen."

His voice gets inaudible and I don´t quite understand his cold voice, but prefer not to ask more.
Then Göran interrupts:
-“I´m fed up with all the food”.
-“Why don´t you bring some kurdish things and sell other stuff that you like, why don´t you sell some stuff of your own ..." I ask to cheer him up.
- “It´s too complicated, no time, no too much stress, I´m working...-“
Göran replies without loosing his time.
Then people pass, ask him if he had had some free time lately,
- “oh yes last week I went out," Göran´s eyes start to become alive, "once, the first time in 6 months.” He smiles again.

*

Göran is always there at the same spot, when noone enters, he stands in between the kitchen area and the costumers place, on the limit, as if he would still think about, if it would be better to leave this place or go on working or maybe better to go away: run to a better place, but back to Iraque there is no way, even that his family is not in a bad situation up in the kurdish area,
- “they are in the north, and since the border is closed and controlled there are no bombs up north”
he´s putting his hands on his stomach, touching his hunger and his slim body with carress, then people pass by on the street and he smiles and waves with his hand with quick big gestures, or says "Salam", as the place is “halal”, but still I don´t get this: they sell me alcohol there.
Always that I enter there, there is someone looking at the newspaper, everyday I meet Iraqui people there, that intervene, they don´t let you alone, Göran explains to me:
- "I don´t like that, they see that you are with a friend that you talk about your own things, maybe you haven´t seen this friend for a long time and they, they always make trouble, they interrupt, they go between you and your friend and disturb, you see, I don´t like that."

But all are costumers, and even more than just costumers, so they all know Göran well, so he has to talk to all, so they come to see him, so they talk, so much smalltalk normally and then suddenly political things, but Göran prefers not to talk about politics, better let the people´s mind stray, let them mind their own business and hang around for a while in this fast food place in between Kreuzberg and Neukölln, Berlin...
the newspaper her that alwazs someone reads, the tabloid BILDZEITUNG or the BZ, has usually fat spots on the front page, it was read by all the people waiting for their Döner, one long day of waiting with the newspaper for 90 Döner, 70 pizzas, small ones big ones double cheesburgers and so on, chicken burgers, all touched that paper with the oily stuff they don´t get away with nappkins, and when there is an Iraqui there, he will talk to me, it´s them that have the urge to say something about Islam, about the terror, about the cultural gaps and the trouble their country is in now for a long time.
When I passed at Göran´s Imbiss with T. there was a guy packed with war trauma from the 1st Gulf war, and during the talk it just flashed inside my memory, that I did co-organize a peace-demonstration at that time in Munich for the innocent Iraqui civilians, tried to make the philsopher Habermas speak on the Marienplatz, but he cancelled me down on the phone, "No! I´m not a market place preacher!, he said back then. "No! No more french fries todaz, no more pizza, no more talking in public, no!" At the time 1991 noone talked about the 100000 civilians killed in the news, and I don´t tell anything about that, it feels so insignificant, inexistent, unreal in comparison to the crazyness of that guy in front of me, that rescued himself into a small little Berlin-crazyness, that noone can stand here, even here at Göran´s place, but at least he can be here in Berlin where noone wants to be too close to him. The wartrauma makes him talk to much, he just talkes about his new family, his little child about how much he works. "I cannot stand him anymore", says Göran, "he just talks about himself, always the same stories, about how his child will have the best of all lifes,how his children will make it here and will become a judge or whatever, all this power he wants for his son to judge people, to redeem the unjustice with a strong hand, he actually wanted to become one, but now it must be his son to become a judge and to have power to decide over other people´s life´s- I don´t like that", Göran repeats and turns to the next customer:
- “Was kriegen Sie, bitte?”
But the traumatized guy continues to speak:
- “I saved a man´s life yesterday, here in Berlin, a big black guy, who wanted to jump in front of a car, and all that, because he didn´t have the money to buy some food, so I gave him 10 Euros and said go buy some food”.

That´s the story the Iraqui guy tells, nothing is true about nothing, all is trust, war, and the difficulty to understand who is your friend, who he can trust and the rest is survival and then again: mistrust all over.
This guy just tells me, that he is a workaholic, work work work work to create the condition of a better future for his recently born baby, and then goes on, that his family in Iraque were all killed, except one brother, “but the big thing is”, he says “the big thing is, that I don´t know where are the dead ones, they are all somewhere, somewhere in the sand, and I don´t know where they were burried, if they where burried, where they went when they died, that hurts…”

Then he sees in my eyes that I have warstories in my family and he finally looks up into my eyes and confronts me:
- "But did you write them? Did you write them?
- “No”, I get embarrassed, “no, but I can, I mean I am able to write, I have the capacity. O.K?”
He pushes me. He´s not satisfied, so I give up and have to lie a promise:
- “ I will write them.”

2.
On that day the big news was that the woman that is the director of the Berlin Operahouse, had canceled the "Idomena" opera encenation of Neuenfels, a great director and filmmaker that did a lots of great Kleist films. She cancelled it, because she got political pressure of the cultural senator of Berlin, that the security of the people, of the operagoers, was not secured, and that the police of Berlin could not secure this opera, because bomb attacks were expected.
Wow! I started to like opera again.
But what a mess, Ossama Bin Laden will blow up the Berlin opera, and Berlin theatergoers are not safe??
This is one of the strangest things I ever heard in my life… In the opera piece, I think it is the main character, that proposes to live without religion, because he doesn´t wants to sacrifice his son... A story enough to be canceled today. At least good old Merkel was shoked by this panik attack, and this "falta de coragem e falta da liberdade das artes", but if you see in the eyes of the Iraquis when talking about this, they are afraid, like I don´t want my son to live in this crazy trauma and fear- Then suddenly a old blond toned whore comes in with all her long legs "a vista" and her slightly fucked up face and sad "Verwirrtheit" in her eyes, asking for a small Tunna pizza to take away. Then suddenly she goes to the icebox, and opens one of the glass windows with a real big bang, so that Göran and the other Iraquis that are present, put automatically their heads down. She moves on, says “Bye!” and Göran smiles and seighs: “I thought it was an explosion.”

3.
The actor passed yesterday at Göran´s place, he is strange to me - I think, he thinks I´m a spy , he must have things to hide, I´m such an open book in all my weary looks and this feeling of disequallity of life stories, and that we´ll all die and have difficulties to let go of what we fought for in our all different lifes. Small creatures of love, we are creatures of love, from the sleep of reason life is born, sing TalkingHeads, like all other creatures we don´t wana let go... just the memory of others stay, just a handfull of images a couple of books, some objects we found, just the words written in stone, just the stones on the tomb, and Vicente saying " you have to tell me where you go when you die, where it is, you have to tell me, so that I can visit you, if you are dead and I´m still alive, father”, only these gestures count, I swallow something down with my dry falafel for now, the actor enters with his more or less girlfriend, a nice Berlin girl, that said on this day "Fuck u all " to her boss, fed up of her precarious job and the slimy boss that threated her like shit, where she was working as a bartender. She fired herself today, onlz possible act of freedom in a precarious world. Göran asked her in bad german:
- "Bist du frei?" (Are you free?) instead of "Hast du frei", and she askes back
- "What?"
I try to translate to her:
- "He askes if you are on vacation, if you have a day off? Hast du, Hast du frei?"
and she says
- "I quit today", and we laugh,
- "So you are free!"
She talks and probably she talks way too much to me, the stranger, at least the actor, she is with gives me strange looks.
The actor, that is what he sazs he was back in Iraque, that will open a new music bar next week is getting nervous and starts to pack his things nervously to go, but she still has her pizza to eat, as she starts to talk about her relationship she has with her Iraqui boyfriend, the actor, and how the people in the house whisper in her back and tell her openly that they think that she is a whore, "but I´m well educated" she tries to defend herself. And then she throws a cigarette over from one of the high tables to mine, which falls and I have to pick it from the filthy floor,
- "In this shitwhole I worked, they talked so badly to me and to the customers, and then they told so many lies, I could not stand it anymore."
I said that it would fall back on the people that say so many stupid things, that one should not worry about bad tongues, but then I ask the actor where it was that the new music bar would open.
- "Bergmannstrasse" is his reply. He doesn´t look to me.
- "Which number?" I insist.
- " 55 " he says, then his girlfriend looks up surprised:
- "Bergmannstrasse?" She almost starts laughing with her pizza in her mouth: "55?"
I understand, he didn´t want to tell me, I´m an alien, a nosey observer, way too well dressed and still prefering to drink a beer in this place, I must have second thoughts, I must have something to hide, I must not be trusted,
- "I´m a sailor", Göran always says, "but you are looking for a place to stay without contract?", and when the girlfriend of the actor says, that she knows something cheap, Göran repeats raising his voice:
- "HE DOESN`T WANT TO HAVE A CONTRACT!!!" like I had an disease or something. He is on the way trough. People have to be carefull.
I trz again to explain myself
- I tell you that I don´t want to say to people, that I will stay longer, if I don´t know, but this seems a wrong thought, a wrong openness. People here don´t like this frank style, then the girlfriend says, when Göran tries to make her understand about “Hast du frei?”, “Bist du frei?”, she understands:
- “Hast du was frei?” which means: Do you have a free room? She must have understood this, because later on she says almost on the leave,
- “I could have offered you a room, but you know, I don´t know you.”
I look at her a bit worried about all this mess and confusion lost in sematics, this confusion between open thoughts and mistrust and the only possibility I have: to talk to the strangers I meet at this place, and say
- “Of course, I understand” and, of course, I don´t.
- “Because I´m a man and-“ I want to build up mz thought, but she interrupts,
- “No! it´s not that, it´s simply because I don´t know you.”
- “Yes, it´s true.” I still am confused.
- “The thing is”, she continues, that here is like Istanbul, no Germans, and the understanding is so fuckin difficult, noone understands my language, even him,”
again she talks too much, pointing to her boyfriend,
- “Look, he just understands when he wants, and in any official things he is just a stranger without german, but he knows perfectly well german.”

I again try to explain myself and the situation gets more strange, why I prefer X-Berg, Neukölln than Prenzlberg, because Prenzlauerberg I say is like Munich, rich, just the same kind of people, a virtual fucking golden ghetto, now all with little kids trying to be an alternative family, reinventing the little small world with soja and vegtables grown on their balconies... But she:
- “I don´t understand, because you know, they speak german, they are o.k. This here is a mess, this is full of shit, this is full of violence, I wonder why I was so lucky until now and nothing happend to me. Yesterday a young beautiful girl dissapeared, she will probably never come back. This is Berlin, it is a dirty place.”
And before she says this, 5 Min before I had told her that I find Berlin more real than when it was still in big works of Potzdamer Platz, -“now Berlin is better”
--“no, it´s so much worse”, she kills my argument,
- “no respect, people treat each other without the rules, without--- trust”

I don´t know, if it is just because of his girlfriend talking or because its complicated to install an open lie that he noticed before, that I had noticed, thinking "I don´t know them", they leave Göran´s Döner Imbiss quietly without a sound, I say "Tschüss" without voice, looking down on the little paper where I start to write about all this...



Alexander Gerner (text&photos)

Berlin, Wednesday, October 25, 2006

E aonde vamos a seguir? Berlim! - artigo de Alexander Gerner UP- magazin (TAP julho 2009, p.102-105)

E aonde vamos a seguir? Berlim!
O cronista clássico de Berlim e mestre da criminalística dos lugares de passagem, Walter Benjamin, constatou, em 1929 sobre a arte de “passear em Berlim”: “É preciso saber que os Berlinenses se transformam. Pouco a pouco o seu problemático orgulho de fundadores de uma capital, começa a dar lugar à noção de Berlim como pátria, terra própria”. Berlim não é Alemanha. É um mercado turco, é pensão numa fábrica de chocolate, uma “discoteca russa”, é o “Club dos Polacos Falhados”, é arte de viver a patafísica numa paderia portuguesa, é a Terra do Fogo. Berlim nunca vai tornar-se simplesmente na capital da Alemanha. Berlim roda eternamente numa plataforma de transeuntes dos momentos impossíveis. Era assim nos famosos anos pós-guerra em que a parte ocidental de Berlim se tornou uma ilha de náufragos individualistas, aonde se tanto experimentava viver na esquerdista Kommune 1 em finais dos anos 60, como sucumbir aos “Pecados da Perguiça” (Die Sünden der Faulheit) dos anos 80, como no livro de Ulrich Peltzer. Depois da queda do muro em 1989, depois da unificação da Alemanha, da construcção do memorial do Holocausto, do fim das obras da Potzdamer Platz, e 11 anos após o início da última grande reconstrução do Berlim, destruído pelas bombardeamentos da segunda guerra mundial, era a vez do Museu Moderno (Modernes Museum) na “ilha dos museus” (Museumsinsel): O Museu Moderno foi finalizado este ano pelo arquitecto inglês David Chiperfield com a frase: "Esta ruína tinha sido esquecida pela história”. Não nos deixamos enganar. Berlim hoje tornou-se um lugar aonde é habito de fechar ciclos históricos depressa, para seguir em frente. Já não há a sensação de uma cidade “moloch”, expressionista e ruidoso, descrito por Alfred Döblin, no seu romance acerca de uma das praças mais emblemáticas de Berlim, “Berlin Alexanderplatz” e aonde, quando chego, toca uma banda dos balcãs. Berlim vibra!

Mosaicos do passado

Nessa praça central em Berlin - Mitte, perto do Relógio do Mundo, marco vários encontros. O meu amigo romeno Alexandru -improvável e perdido no tempo como todos os amigos de Berlim- cá investiga a filosofia de Hegel na Universidade de Humboldt. Nesse dia mal consigo andar, depois de uma noite de fúrias latinas no Clube Havanna, pior lugar para celebrar o culto do coração partido, chego então com uma ressaca nas pernas. Mas Alexandru apazigua me que tudo se encontro muito perto aqui. Quer mostrar me uma peça do seu museu pessoal, um mosaico que decora a parede exterior do Café Moskau onde se pode ver uma imagem retro da bela vida que se vivia no Bloco de Leste. Da Alexanderplatz chegamos à Karl-Marx-Allee, onde começa a gritar: “Olha! É incrível! Repara, em nenhum sítio na Roménia jamais se encontraria este tipo de mosaico: A vida como imaginámos há 60 anos na antiga União Soviética”. Se Lisboa é a cidade mais europeia de África, Berlim é a cidade mais alemã da Rússia. Passamos pela livraria “Karl Marx”, que já não está aberta, e caminhamos em direcção ao bairro Friedrichshain. Ele fala muito do passado no Leste e eu duvido como de costume tudo o que ele recorda. Só para o chatear, corrijo- lhe o alemão – e a forma como ele usa “ o passado”- ,mas ele interrompe - me logo: “Alex, corrige meu alemão só uma vez por dia, senão não estamos aqui conversar, mas a ter uma aula.” Concordamos em falar inglês, apanhamos o metro para o Savignyplatz, sentamos no Café Kant para contemplar as empregadas e visitantes improváveis e bebemos uma cerveja atrás da outra em vez de ir vasculhar em livros em segunda mão nos alfarrabistas na Kantstrasse. Falamos acerca de uma amiga vizinha dele, uma física russa, que encontro três dias mais tarde para passear com ela ao longo do rio Spree com o destino de ver arte contemporânea no Hamburger Bahnhof. Antes de entrar nessa galeria na antiga estação de comboios, a poliglota e impaciente amiga já hesita em entrar, perguntando: “Aonde vamos a seguir?” Berlim!

O Pulso de Berlim

É hoje um lugar da batata quente. Um hímen dos tempos e pessoas dos quatro cantos do mundo, que querem lá finalizar as suas obras, históricas ou artísticas. Os bairros-aldeias, “Kietz” em berlinense, trocam de moda quase tão depressa como as mãos dos Lisboetas trocam a roupa nos estendais: depois de “Prenzlauer Berg” e “Mitte”, agora são os bairros de “Kreuzberg”, “Neukölln” e “Friedrichshain” que estão no topo da lista. Ainda nos anos 90 cantou-se: “Berlim, a cidade aonde todas as pessoas se mudam por causa da saudade”, mas hoje a cidade celebra a saudade nómada pelos encontros momentâneos e rápidos nos clubes. Passo primeiro no lounge bar Mysliwka em Berlim Mitte, que abre ao fim da tarde: Mysliwka traduz-se do polaco em “bar de caça”, mas tudo aqui é atmosfera amigável. Pessoas descontraídas conversam e bebem cerveja, vodka e cocktails. Depois há “Russendisko” no clássico Tanzwirtschaft Kaffee Burger : Aos “pecados da preguiça” e da ociosidade em Berlim oeste, adicionou-se nesse lugar a velocidade da batida do som de leste, ouve-se música ao vivo desde Klezmer-ska à sons de instrumentos precários de Nova Iorque (como a harmónica do Sxip Shirey) e dança-se na festa “Russendisko” do DJ-autor russo-berlinense Wladimir Kaminer, duas vezes por mês. Aqui no Kaffee Burger, que nos anos 70 era poiso do dramaturgo Heiner Müller, há leituras publicas, como as de “Teil der Lösung” (Parte da Solução), o melhor romance actual sobre Berlim (publicado em 2007) da autoria de Ulrich Peltzer: "Você quer ser parte do problema ou parte da solução?" Fica a certeza de que a questão colocado neste “café de baile”, como em toda a Berlim, nunca se vai resolver.

Sair de Berlim? Para que?

Pus - me, no dia seguinte, à procura de saber, se Berlim já consta no livro de Guiness como cidade onde os nómadas urbanas do metro aguentam mais tempo os olhares dos outros, e aonde as pessoas procuram algo que nunca lá vão encontrar, mas vão se encontrando um ao outro. Não! A Berlim de hoje ainda não esta escrito. Já ninguém fica a espera horas para ser servido pelos empregados dos estabelecimentos, mas todos “vivem” tardes e noites inteiras num sofá de um café (como no Wohnzimmer, o café –club no Prenzlauerberg) com laptops ou carrinhos de bebé à mão, ou na pista de um clube, perdendo num dia 40 estreias de peças de teatro, aberturas de galerias de arte ou fechos de ciclos históricos, sem um único momento de remorso. Em Berlim ainda pensa-se, que a precariedade é uma arte de viver em liberdade, mas já não tanto como nos anos 80. Aqueles que chegaram, jamais partirão. Como diz Wladimir Kaminer, autor do “anti-“guia da cidade “Não sou um Berliner”, que celebra o culto da passagem permanente: “Sair de Berlim? Nunca! E porque? Se todos os búlgaros, austríacos e passados de cabeça já cá vivem.”

Alexander Gerner Julho 2009

(públicado no "UP" Inflight Magazine da TAP, edição Julho 2009 (Olhares de Viagem), p.102-105 )


INFOS:
Berlim online
http://berlin.unlike.net/
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/berlin/
http://www.berliner-stadtplan.com/

AONDE FICAR?
Schokofabrik
Num andar numa antiga fábrica de chocolate, Angela de Ridder instalou um dos lugares de culto bed & breakfast mais originais para individualistas de Berlim. Quem gosta passar noites num quarto alto com wireless de graça, falar com os outros viciados de pousar ou esquecer uma mala em Berlim num pequeno almoço caseiro e comum, está certo aqui. Reserve com antecedência! http://www.berliner-zimmer.de/englisch/Default.htm
Info: schoko.fabrik@berliner-zimmer.de
Schinkestrasse 8-9 D-12047 Berlin

Cafés
- Cafe Bar Klub WOHNZIMMER
Lettestrasse 6, Berlin - Prenzlauer Berg http://www.wohnzimmer-bar.de/
- Kant-Café Kantstraße 135 (Ecke Schlüterstraße) 10625 Berlin-Charlottenburg
++49-( 0)30 / 3 12 46 79

Comer
- Monsieur Vuong

Melhor cozinha vietnamesa para reanimar os sentidos do paladar depois de um dia no modo “flaneur” pelas ruas fora à perder a borracha do solo do sapato. Algo depois da escolha mínima obrigatória nesse lugar nós tire qualquer dúvida, -“Com ou sem carne?” Há 6 razões para lá passar: 1. Monsieur Vuong ele próprio(Mister Wong himself). 2. dois pratos saborosos do dia 3. preço razoável 4. chás de aroma das flores jasmim, gengibre fresco e lemongrass 5. atmosfera relaxante 6. Poder reservar um lugar de Hanoi e Saigon no meio de Berlim. Monsieur Vuong Alte Schönhauser Str. 46 10119 Berlin-Mitte Phone: +49-30-9929 6924 http://www.monsieurvuong.de/

Noite
1. Mysliwka Bar/Lounge
Schlesischestraße 35, 10997 Berlin +49306114860

2. Ankerklause

3. Tanzwirtschaft Kaffee Burger
Torstraße 60, 10119 Berlin
http://www.myspace.com/Tanzwirtschaft

4. CCCP Club Bar http://www.myspace.com/cccpclub

5. Rodina Club Holzmarktstr.6-9 10179 Berlin http://www.rodina-club.de/

6. Havanna
www.havanna-berlin.de
Hauptstraße 30 10827 Berlin
Sábado e 2000 pessoa a dançar Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Soul, Funk, House, Dance-Classics. Pior clube para chorar de coração partido nos braços de fúriososo latinos.

7. Club der polnischen Versager
Ackerstr. 168, 10115 Berlin http://www.polnischeversager.de/


Musica ao Vivo/Party

- Astra Kulturhaus (Friedrichshain) Revaler Straße 99, 10245 Berlin +49305332030
http://www.astra-berlin.de/
Astra é a nova central da música indie em Friedrichshain.

- White Trash http://www.whitetrashfastfood.com/

Museus/ Arte
- Portal de todos os museus estatais de Berlim: http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/home/index.php
- Neues Museum Bodestraße 1-3 10178 Berlin
-Hamburger Bahnhof – Arte contemporânea
Invalidenstraße 50-51 10557 Berlin Tel. +49(0)30 - 3978 3411 http://www.hamburgerbahnhof.de

Teatro
- Hebbel-am-Ufer (HAU)
http://www.hebbel-am-ufer.de
HAU 1: Stresemannstr. 29 / 10963 Berlin
HAU 2: Hallesches Ufer 32 / 10963 Berlin
HAU 3: Tempelhofer Ufer 10 / 10963 Berlin
O teatro internacional contemporâneo com três salas de espectáculo


Literatura sobre Berlim:
Wladimir Kaminer (2007). Ich bin kein Berliner. Ein Reiseführer für faule Touristen. Goldmann Verlag München.
Ulrich Peltzer (2007). Teil der Lösung. Ammann Verlag, Zürich.
Ulrich Peltzer (1987). Die Sünden der Faulheit. Ammann Verlag, Zürich.
Franz Hessel (1984{1929}) Ein Flaneur in Berlin. Neuausgabe von Spazieren in Berlin. Das Arsenal Verlag.
Walter Benjamin (1991). 'Die Wiederkehr des Flaneurs', in: Walter Benjamin, Gesammelte Schriften, ed. Rolf Tiedemann and Hermann Schweppenhauser, 7 vols, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankurt, p.194-199.
Alfred Döblin (1996{1929}) Berlin Alexanderplatz ,Walter Verlag, Zürich.

Quantas dimensões tem a sombra?

Miguel Rondon: O Pintar das Sombras
(Centro Cultural de Estremoz_ Inauguração: 5 de julho 2009)


Quantas dimensões têm a sombra?
Alexander Gerner

Talvez pedimos ao Miguel para nos preparar um gaspacho ou um
refresco de limão ou uma pêra rocha, cozida com 3 dedos de água e com 2 colheres de açúcar "para beber a água e comer a pêra sempre- fria morna ou gelada: SEMPRE."E depois sentados com o refresco na mão, na sombra, falaremos então um pouco da arte de viver no sul e no Pintar
das sombras...
Há pessoas que pertencem a um lugar e os lugares só se revelam porque estas pessoas se sentam num banco ou numa sombra nesse lugar. Há revoluções de uma palha que nos escapam despercebidas, porque estamos muitas vezes ligados a uma velocidade de auto-estrada e só vemos acontecimentos e objectos grandes e não paramos os jogos da "playstation" da fórmula 1 das corridas da nossas vidas. Melhor é; -bebemos um café! Ou um chá de limão! Paramos num banco na sombra. Espreitando a paisagem e as pessoas e respiramos fundo. Parar para ver. Olhar para os detalhes e pintar as sombras. Aprendo isso sempre com o Miguel. O pintar das sombras começa no olhar e na calma do esboço, do "sketch", começa no pensar da mão calma, e na escolha dos materiais simples, que vão ao nosso encontro.
Miguel encontrou papéis deitados fora de uma gráfica, e esses papéis reutiliza e pinta no avesso das folhas.
Há sempre um encontro do avesso com e para o Miguel.
Um encontro com a sombra, como princípio positivo e gerador da vida onde se cruzam um pensamento espacial, uma ideia acerca da alimentação, o contraste entre sul e norte, e as necessidades da procura do equilíbrio do corpo. Quando lhe conto que rompi o tendão do
calcanhar, há pouco tempo, ele diz-me logo: "conta-me mais, e eu pinto-te uma receita". Sempre que se deu um encontro com o Miguel Rondon, não sei como há de chamar-se esse encontro, senão algo como a descoberta da boa sombra. Só uma coisa sempre me fica claro. Há um lugar próprio, um "habitat raro" do Miguel Rondon, em que me revejo, e que me atravessa, algo de um sentimento de nunca sair de Lisboa, enquanto Miguel e talvez dois outros assim se preservam nesse lugar, nessa teia frágil de aranha de Lisboa, no sul. E na mesma que ele saísse, eu também ficava sempre; Passear entre o Príncipe Real e o Jardim Botânico, como o Miguel,
reciclar os poucos recursos que há, e que são precisos para olhar para cima, dentro da coroa das folhas, observar o jogo de luz e pintar a sombra, e isso tudo com o pescoço e com as pernas esticados. Mas o lugar do Miguel Rondon também esta no gesto de desenhar palavras,
quase uma caligrafia da sombra e na nomeação espacial pelos traços dos pincéis, que inscrevem pensamentos com contrastes fortes nas coisas e materiais preexistentes, que se tinham colocados à nossa frente. Com calma; como um molho precisa do seu tempo de "soar"a água, as
pinturas-esboços do Miguel respiram algo de uma cozinha lenta das coisas, em que se dá uma "união"entre esboço-pensamento, traço-pintura e ideias bases da sustentabilidade e da renovação dos recursos da vida, transformados pelos que os vêem e gostem.

Há até um princípio geral da vida da renovação na arte do Miguel Rondon que se aproxima a uma ida à mercearia com uma regra simples:
"Merceria/ Comprar:/ O que é da época/ cheirar e unir por parcerias ou desequilíbrio" E porque as coisas são muito mais simples do que as pessoas pensam na sua cabeça, essa receita- quadro de 2006 acaba com o ditado: "Qualquer/ Caldo é uma / Base de / molho".

Miguel é um revendedor de encontros na rua. Pelas mãos dele passam as estações, como um gorro do Inverno que ficou por vender no Verão seguinte. Observamos e comunicamos pouco, e deixamos ir navegar os pensamentos também em lugares aonde há sul, sol, sombra e árvores, caminhos e mulheres do sul com cabelo escuro e homens do sul, com chapéus pretos.

Um dia Miguel Rondon sentou-se no jardim botânico de Lisboa, ao pé da sala do Veado, aonde quase só passam turistas e pássaros raros. Então Miguel colocou um diagrama da escrita- pintura- pensamento entre uma e três dimensões no papel. De "uma dimensão" volta a "três dimensões para voltar para uma" e sempre volta segundo do princípio do Pintar da Sombra. A sombra em tons pretos e azul e verde, no papel, contêm mais que uma dimensão, como contêm sombras diversas. Essa sombra tem nacionalidades e especiarias diferentes: sombra japonesa, sombra do Jardim Botânico, ou até sombra africana e adiciona-se então também a famosa sombra alentejana de Estremoz.
"Quantas dimensões têm a sombra do Miguel Rondon?", pergunto eu, e o meu filho Vicente de 7 anos, pergunta ao Miguel: "Quantas dimensões tu fazes?"

Lisboa 1 de Julho 2009


coming up soon a more extentive text on Miguel Rondon and an interview...
e-mail entrevista ao Miguel Rondon:2009/7/1 Alexander Gerner

WILL THE CAT ABOVE THE PRECIPICE FALL DOWN?

WILL THE CAT ABOVE THE PRECIPICE FALL DOWN?

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

[The following is a guest post from Slavoj Žižek sent to us by Ali Alizadeh who writes, "Apparently the mainstream media has not shown interest in publishing it. Hope that the blogsphere can counteract their tendency." The piece is copy-right free and you should feel free to republish this on your own blog.]

When an authoritarian regime approaches its final crisis, its dissolution as a rule follows two steps. Before its actual collapse, a mysterious rupture takes place: all of a sudden people know that the game is over, they are simply no longer afraid. It is not only that the regime loses its legitimacy, its exercise of power itself is perceived as an impotent panic reaction. We all know the classic scene from cartoons: the cat reaches a precipice, but it goes on walking, ignoring the fact that there is no ground under its feet; it starts to fall only when it looks down and notices the abyss. When it loses its authority, the regime is like a cat above the precipice: in order to fall, it only has to be reminded to look down…

In Shah of Shahs, a classic account of the Khomeini revolution, Ryszard Kapuscinski located the precise moment of this rupture: at a Tehran crossroad, a single demonstrator refused to budge when a policeman shouted at him to move, and the embarrassed policeman simply withdrew; in a couple of hours, all Tehran knew about this incident, and although there were street fights going on for weeks, everyone somehow knew the game is over. Is something similar going on now?

There are many versions of the events in Tehran. Some see in the protests the culmination of the pro-Western “reform movement” along the lines of the “orange” revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia, etc. – a secular reaction to the Khomeini revolution. They support the protests as the first step towards a new liberal-democratic secular Iran freed of Muslim fundamentalism. They are counteracted by skeptics who think that Ahmadinejad really won: he is the voice of the majority, while the support of Mousavi comes from the middle classes and their gilded youth. In short: let’s drop the illusions and face the fact that, in Ahmadinejad, Iran has a president it deserves. Then there are those who dismiss Mousavi as a member of the cleric establishment with merely cosmetic differences from Ahmadinejad: Mousavi also wants to continue the atomic energy program, he is against recognizing Israel, plus he enjoyed the full support of Khomeini as a prime minister in the years of the war with Iraq.

Finally, the saddest of them all are the Leftist supporters of Ahmadinejad: what is really at stake for them is Iranian independence. Ahmadinejad won because he stood up for the country’s independence, exposed elite corruption and used oil wealth to boost the incomes of the poor majority – this is, so we are told, the true Ahmadinejad beneath the Western-media image of a holocaust-denying fanatic. According to this view, what is effectively going on now in Iran is a repetition of the 1953 overthrow of Mossadegh – a West-financed coup against the legitimate president. This view not only ignores facts: the high electoral participation – up from the usual 55% to 85% – can only be explained as a protest vote. It also displays its blindness for a genuine demonstration of popular will, patronizingly assuming that, for the backward Iranians, Ahmadinejad is good enough – they are not yet sufficiently mature to be ruled by a secular Left.

Opposed as they are, all these versions read the Iranian protests along the axis of Islamic hardliners versus pro-Western liberal reformists, which is why they find it so difficult to locate Mousavi: is he a Western-backed reformer who wants more personal freedom and market economy, or a member of the cleric establishment whose eventual victory would not affect in any serious way the nature of the regime? Such extreme oscillations demonstrate that they all miss the true nature of the protests.

The green color adopted by the Mousavi supporters, the cries of “Allah akbar!” that resonate from the roofs of Tehran in the evening darkness, clearly indicate that they see their activity as the repetition of the 1979 Khomeini revolution, as the return to its roots, the undoing of the revolution’s later corruption. This return to the roots is not only programmatic; it concerns even more the mode of activity of the crowds: the emphatic unity of the people, their all-encompassing solidarity, creative self-organization, improvising of the ways to articulate protest, the unique mixture of spontaneity and discipline, like the ominous march of thousands in complete silence. We are dealing with a genuine popular uprising of the deceived partisans of the Khomeini revolution.

There are a couple of crucial consequences to be drawn from this insight. First, Ahmadinejad is not the hero of the Islamist poor, but a genuine corrupted Islamo-Fascist populist, a kind of Iranian Berlusconi whose mixture of clownish posturing and ruthless power politics is causing unease even among the majority of ayatollahs. His demagogic distributing of crumbs to the poor should not deceive us: behind him are not only organs of police repression and a very Westernized PR apparatus, but also a strong new rich class, the result of the regime’s corruption (Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is not a working class militia, but a mega-corporation, the strongest center of wealth in the country).

Second, one should draw a clear difference between the two main candidates opposed to Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi and Mousavi. Karroubi effectively is a reformist, basically proposing the Iranian version of identity politics, promising favors to all particular groups. Mousavi is something entirely different: his name stands for the genuine resuscitation of the popular dream which sustained the Khomeini revolution. Even if this dream was a utopia, one should recognize in it the genuine utopia of the revolution itself. What this means is that the 1979 Khomeini revolution cannot be reduced to a hard line Islamist takeover – it was much more. Now is the time to remember the incredible effervescence of the first year after the revolution, with the breath-taking explosion of political and social creativity, organizational experiments and debates among students and ordinary people. The very fact that this explosion had to be stifled demonstrates that the Khomeini revolution was an authentic political event, a momentary opening that unleashed unheard-of forces of social transformation, a moment in which “everything seemed possible.” What followed was a gradual closing through the take-over of political control by the Islam establishment. To put it in Freudian terms, today’s protest movement is the “return of the repressed” of the Khomeini revolution.

And, last but not least, what this means is that there is a genuine liberating potential in Islam – to find a “good” Islam, one doesn’t have to go back to the 10th century, we have it right here, in front of our eyes.

The future is uncertain – in all probability, those in power will contain the popular explosion, and the cat will not fall into the precipice, but regain ground. However, it will no longer be the same regime, but just one corrupted authoritarian rule among others. Whatever the outcome, it is vitally important to keep in mind that we are witnessing a great emancipatory event which doesn’t fit the frame of the struggle between pro-Western liberals and anti-Western fundamentalists. If our cynical pragmatism will make us lose the capacity to recognize this emancipatory dimension, then we in the West are effectively entering a post-democratic era, getting ready for our own Ahmadinejads. Italians already know his name: Berlusconi. Others are waiting in line."

Whatever happens... The Swan Song of the Islamic Republic Bernard-Henri Lévy

Bernard-Henri Lévy

French philosopher and writer
Posted: June 22, 2009 10:22 PM
source: The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernardhenri-levy/thThe Swan Song of the Islamic Republice-swan-song-of-the-isla_b_219323.html

The Swan Song of the Islamic Republic


Whatever happens from this point on, nothing will ever be the same in Tehran.

Whatever happens, if the protest gains momentum or loses steam, if it ends up prevailing or if the regime succeeds in terrorizing it, he who should now only be called president-non-elect Ahmadinejad will only be an ersatz, illegitimate, weakened president.

Whatever happens, whatever the result of this crisis provoked two weeks ago by the enormity of a fraud that serious-minded people can no longer doubt, no Iranian leader can appear on the global scene, or in any negotiation with Obama, Sarkozy, or Merkel, without being haloed, not by the nimbus of light dreamed of by Ahmadinejad in his 2005 speech to the United Nations, but by the cloud of sulphur that crowns cheaters and butchers.

Whatever happens, the Ayatollah Khamenei, Khomeini's successor and Supreme Leader of the regime, tutelary authority of the President, father of the people, will have lost his role as arbiter, will have shamelessly sided with one faction over the others, and will have therefore lost what remained of his authority: "Only God knows my vote," he carefully replied four years ago to those who were already calling upon him to denounce the fraud--"in the name of merciful God, I armor, I hammer, and I dissolve the people," he has responded this time to the naïve who believed he was there to uphold the Constitution.

Whatever happens, the block of ayatollahs who had always succeeded in maintaining a united front, whatever their differences and divergent interests, will have put their ferocious divisions on display: the ones behind Khamenei, approving of the decision to crush the movement with blood; the others, like the ex-President Rafsanjani, leader of the very powerful Assembly of Experts, warning that if the wave of protests were not taken seriously, veritable "volcanoes" of anger would erupt. Others still like the Grand Ayatollah Montazeri who, since his house arrest in Qom, has been calling for a recount and for national mourning for the victims of the repression; and without mentioning the leading religious experts of the "Office of Theological Seminaries" who no longer fear proposing the possibility--what passed for heresy not long ago--of Khamenei's resignation and of his replacement by a "Guidance Council."

Whatever happens, and beyond these internal conflicts, the people will be dissociated from an anemic and fatally wounded regime.

Whatever happens, young people, who were believed to be enthralled by the principles of political Islam and who a month ago, upon Ahmadinejad's return from Geneva, had supposedly planned a triumphal reception for the president-non-elect, will have said, loud and proud, with an audacity matched only by their political intelligence, that this president shamed them.

Whatever happens, there will be in Tehran, Tabriz, Ispahan, Zahedan, and Ardebil, millions of young people who in a matter of a few days will have become, like the timid Mousavi, in a sense larger than themselves--and will have understood that they could, with their bare hands, without provocation or violence, keep a power at bay.

Whatever happens, this extraordinary event--which is a miracle, as a popular uprising always is, and which was endowed under this circumstance with the blind mimetism and un-self-consciousness that is peculiar to the Angel of History when it thinks it is going forward, but is actually looking backward--will seem to have reproduced topsy-turvy the very scene in the same streets, surrounding the same barracks and the same shops, that was described thirty years ago by Michel Foucault, who never imagined that the real revolution was still to come, and that it would be the exact opposite of what he described.

Whatever happens, the people know, from this point on, that they are the people and that there is not a regime on earth that can remain in power against the people.

Whatever happens, a body politic has been formed in the heat of peaceful protests--and even if it gets winded and loses steam, even if the murderers think they can declare victory, there is a new actor onstage, without whom the rest of this country's story will not be written.

Whatever happens, the beautiful face of Neda Soltan, killed at point-blank range last Saturday by a Bassidj henchman, the images of kids beaten to death by the attack squadron and motorcycle infantry of the guardians of the revolution, the videos of the enormous protests, impressively calm and dignified, will have, via Twitter, circled both the cyberplanet and the planet.

Whatever happens, the emperor has no clothes.

Whatever happens, the regime of the ayatollahs is, in the greater or lesser long term, condemned to compromise or disappear.

We always forget that the other revolution--the first, which, 30 years ago, put this Iranian-style National Socialism into power--lasted almost a year: why would it be any different for this revolution, a democratic one concerned with what's right, which has also just taken the stage? The earth quakes in Tehran, and it is only, I'm willing to bet, the beginning.

Where is my vote?: Open letter to the world by Iranian Artists in Exile

posted by Ali Moini on facebook today

Open Letter to the World
“Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain.” - Saadi This week Iranians turned out in record numbers not seen since the beginning of the Iranian revolution to change their current President Mahmood Ahmadinejad. Their willingness to exercise their democratic right was both historic and uncommon in the Middle East. Iranians longed for change the same way people in the United States, and indeed worldwide, longed for a new beginning after the Bush years. They were tired of an increasingly delusional President who has thrown their country into economic turmoil and portrayed their country as a conflict seeking entity in the Middle East. But today the same Iranian regime that has denied a dialogue with the world, denied human rights, denied democracy, denied the Holocaust, is blatantly denying the will of its people by committing massive election fraud to reelect Mahmood Ahmadinejad, and arresting journalists and opposition leaders in broad daylight. Accepting this deception will be costly not only for the people of Iran but also for the people of the Middle East, with far reaching consequences worldwide. As you read these words, the people in Iran have taken to the streets in nationwide protests. Despite brutal government suppression tactics the Iranian people are courageously fighting for their rights. As antiriot police batons crush the bones of demonstrators whose only protest is election fraud, Iranians are screaming for the world to hear them: WE DENOUNCE MAHMOOD AHMADINEJAD! The people of Iran now ask for your support! We do not expect you to fight our struggle but to help us fight it. We expect people worldwide to put pressure on their governments and politicians not to accept the legitimacy of the Iranian elections and the fraudulent presidency of Mahmood Ahmadinejad. Democratic societies worldwide must not leave the Iranian people alone now that they have risen to the challenge. Instead they need to align their policies with the will of the Iranian people. Friends, we ask you not to let 70 million people in Iran be taken hostage. Any government that accepts Mahmood Ahmadinejad as the new president of Iran has betrayed the Iranian people, endangered world peace, and has no sympathy for human pain. Iranian Artists in Exile

Ali Moini: Iranian community in Portugal is gathering in Largo do Chiado tomorrow (16.July!) at 5 pm in a silent gathering to show it's solidarity with Iranians now fighting for democracy in Iran. Join us!

Pontes diplomáticas e arte política: Alkantara 2008 - crítica de Alexander Gerner (Sinais de cena 10, 103-106)

Are you feeling lucky (surfing the net)- 4th of June and Chinas 3 taboo- T´s

The Simpsons travelled to Beijing and Selma Bouvier, Homer Simpson's sister-in-law, was facing down a tank with a big red star. If one is unable to associate the images with the Tiananmen Massacre, there are two possibilities: either one has been living outside China and has never been exposed to news media since 1989, or one is living in China.


source: http://voyage.typepad.com/china/2006/03/tiananmen_tank_.html
* * *

And thanks to Google China's self-censorship which targets, inter alia, the "Three Ts" (Tiananmen, Taiwan independence and Tibet independence), the "Tiananmen Tank Man" has once again become cartoonist's darling.

Tiananmen Tank Man Cartoon - Google China's Self-censorship

* * *

"I think [Jeff Widener's 'Tiananmen Tank Man' photo (below)] has cost China more in public image than any other single image in modern times," Richard Baum, director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, told the Smithsonian Magazine.

Heaven knows if the Tank Man will someday replace Chairman Mao's giant portrait as the symbol of Tiananmen Square. (Or has he?)

How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? (Article of Daniele Fanelli)

How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data



Daniele Fanelli*

INNOGEN and ISSTI-Institute for the Study of Science, Technology & Innovation, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Abstract Top

The frequency with which scientists fabricate and falsify data, or commit other forms of scientific misconduct is a matter of controversy. Many surveys have asked scientists directly whether they have committed or know of a colleague who committed research misconduct, but their results appeared difficult to compare and synthesize. This is the first meta-analysis of these surveys.

To standardize outcomes, the number of respondents who recalled at least one incident of misconduct was calculated for each question, and the analysis was limited to behaviours that distort scientific knowledge: fabrication, falsification, “cooking” of data, etc… Survey questions on plagiarism and other forms of professional misconduct were excluded. The final sample consisted of 21 surveys that were included in the systematic review, and 18 in the meta-analysis.

A pooled weighted average of 1.97% (N = 7, 95%CI: 0.86–4.45) of scientists admitted to have fabricated, falsified or modified data or results at least once –a serious form of misconduct by any standard– and up to 33.7% admitted other questionable research practices. In surveys asking about the behaviour of colleagues, admission rates were 14.12% (N = 12, 95% CI: 9.91–19.72) for falsification, and up to 72% for other questionable research practices. Meta-regression showed that self reports surveys, surveys using the words “falsification” or “fabrication”, and mailed surveys yielded lower percentages of misconduct. When these factors were controlled for, misconduct was reported more frequently by medical/pharmacological researchers than others.

Considering that these surveys ask sensitive questions and have other limitations, it appears likely that this is a conservative estimate of the true prevalence of scientific misconduct.

Citation: Fanelli D (2009) How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data. PLoS ONE 4(5): e5738. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005738

Editor: Tom Tregenza, University of Exeter, United Kingdom

Received: January 6, 2009; Accepted: April 19, 2009; Published: May 29, 2009

Copyright: © 2009 Fanelli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The author is supported by a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (Grant Agreement Number PIEF-GA-2008-221441). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

* E-mail: dfanelli@staffmail.ed.ac.uk
Introduction Top

The image of scientists as objective seekers of truth is periodically jeopardized by the discovery of a major scientific fraud. Recent scandals like Hwang Woo-Suk's fake stem-cell lines [1] or Jan Hendrik Schön's duplicated graphs [2] showed how easy it can be for a scientist to publish fabricated data in the most prestigious journals, and how this can cause a waste of financial and human resources and might pose a risk to human health. How frequent are scientific frauds? The question is obviously crucial, yet the answer is a matter of great debate [3], [4].

A popular view propagated by the media [5] and by many scientists (e.g. [6]) sees fraudsters as just a “few bad apples” [7]. This pristine image of science is based on the theory that the scientific community is guided by norms including disinterestedness and organized scepticism, which are incompatible with misconduct [8], [9]. Increasing evidence, however, suggests that known frauds are just the “tip of the iceberg”, and that many cases are never discovered. The debate, therefore, has moved on to defining the forms, causes and frequency of scientific misconduct [4].

What constitutes scientific misconduct? Different definitions are adopted by different institutions, but they all agree that fabrication (invention of data or cases), falsification (wilful distortion of data or results) and plagiarism (copying of ideas, data, or words without attribution) are serious forms of scientific misconduct [7], [10]. Plagiarism is qualitatively different from the other two because it does not distort scientific knowledge, although it has important consequences for the careers of the people involved, and thus for the whole scientific enterprise [11].

There can be little doubt about the fraudulent nature of fabrication, but falsification is a more problematic category. Scientific results can be distorted in several ways, which can often be very subtle and/or elude researchers' conscious control. Data, for example, can be “cooked” (a process which mathematician Charles Babbage in 1830 defined as “an art of various forms, the object of which is to give to ordinary observations the appearance and character of those of the highest degree of accuracy”[12]); it can be “mined” to find a statistically significant relationship that is then presented as the original target of the study; it can be selectively published only when it supports one's expectations; it can conceal conflicts of interest, etc… [10], [11], [13], [14], [15]. Depending on factors specific to each case, these misbehaviours lie somewhere on a continuum between scientific fraud, bias, and simple carelessness, so their direct inclusion in the “falsification” category is debatable, although their negative impact on research can be dramatic [11], [14], [16]. Henceforth, these misbehaviours will be indicated as “questionable research practices” (QRP, but for a technical definition of the term see [11]).

Ultimately, it is impossible to draw clear boundaries for scientific misconduct, just as it is impossible to give a universal definition of professional malpractice [10]. However, the intention to deceive is a key element. Unwilling errors or honest differences in designing or interpreting a research are currently not considered scientific misconduct [10].

To measure the frequency of misconduct, different approaches have been employed, and they have produced a corresponding variety of estimates. Based on the number of government confirmed cases in the US, fraud is documented in about 1 every 100.000 scientists [11], or 1 every 10.000 according to a different counting [3]. Paper retractions from the PubMed library due to misconduct, on the other hand, have a frequency of 0.02%, which led to speculation that between 0.02 and 0.2% of papers in the literature are fraudulent [17]. Eight out of 800 papers submitted to The Journal of Cell Biology had digital images that had been improperly manipulated, suggesting a 1% frequency [11]. Finally, routine data audits conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration between 1977 and 1990 found deficiencies and flaws in 10–20% of studies, and led to 2% of clinical investigators being judged guilty of serious scientific misconduct [18].

All the above estimates are calculated on the number of frauds that have been discovered and have reached the public domain. This significantly underestimates the real frequency of misconduct, because data fabrication and falsification are rarely reported by whistleblowers (see Results), and are very hard to detect in the data [10]. Even when detected, misconduct is hard to prove, because the accused scientists could claim to have committed an innocent mistake. Distinguishing intentional bias from error is obviously difficult, particularly when the falsification has been subtle, or the original data destroyed. In many cases, therefore, only researchers know if they or their colleagues have wilfully distorted their data.

Over the years, a number of surveys have asked scientists directly about their behaviour. However, these studies have used different methods and asked different questions, so their results have been deemed inconclusive and/or difficult to compare (e.g. [19], [20]). A non-systematic review based on survey and non-survey data led to estimate that the frequency of “serious misconduct”, including plagiarism, is near 1% [11].

This study provides the first systematic review and meta-analysis of survey data on scientific misconduct. Direct comparison between studies was made possible by calculating, for each survey question, the percentage of respondents that admitted or observed misconduct at least once, and by limiting the analysis to qualitatively similar forms of misconduct -specifically on fabrication, falsification and any behaviour that can distort scientific data. Meta-analysis yielded mean pooled estimates that are higher than most previous estimates. Meta-regression analysis identified key methodological variables that might affect the accuracy of results, and suggests that misconduct is reported more frequently in medical research.

(...)
Discussion Top

This is the first meta-analysis of surveys asking scientists about their experiences of misconduct. It found that, on average, about 2% of scientists admitted to have fabricated, falsified or modified data or results at least once –a serious form of misconduct my any standard [10], [36], [37]– and up to one third admitted a variety of other questionable research practices including “dropping data points based on a gut feeling”, and “changing the design, methodology or results of a study in response to pressures from a funding source”. In surveys asking about the behaviour of colleagues, fabrication, falsification and modification had been observed, on average, by over 14% of respondents, and other questionable practices by up to 72%. Over the years, the rate of admissions declined significantly in self-reports, but not in non-self-reports.

A large portion of the between-studies variance in effect size was explained by three basic methodological factors: whether the survey asked about self or not, whether it was mailed or handed out to respondents, and whether it explicitly used the words “fabrication” and “falsification”. Once these factors were controlled for, surveys conducted among clinical, medical and pharmacological researchers appeared to yield higher rates of misconduct than surveys in other fields or in mixed samples.

All the above results were robust with respect to inclusion or exclusion of any particular study, with perhaps one exception: Martinson et al. (2005) [19], which is one of the largest and most frequently cited surveys on misconduct published to date. This study appears to be rather conservative, because without it the pooled average frequency with which scientists admit they have committed misconduct would jump to nearly 3%.

How reliable are these numbers? And what can they tell us on the actual frequency of research misconduct? Below it will be argued that, while surveys asking about colleagues are hard to interpret conclusively, self-reports systematically underestimate the real frequency of scientific misconduct. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that data fabrication and falsification –let alone other questionable research practices- are more prevalent than most previous estimates have suggested.

The procedure adopted to standardize data in the review clearly has limitations that affect the interpretation of results. In particular, the percentage of respondents that recall at least one incident of misconduct is a very rough measure of the frequency of misconduct, because some of the respondents might have committed several frauds, but others might have “sinned” only once. In this latter case, the frequencies reported in surveys would tend to overestimate the prevalence of biased or falsified data in the literature. The history of science, however, shows that those responsible of misconduct have usually committed it more than once [38], [39], so the latter case might not be as likely as the former. In any case, many of the included studies asked to recall at least one incident, so this limitation is intrinsic to large part of the raw data.

The distinction made in this review between “fabrication, falsification and alteration” of results and QRP is somewhat arbitrary. Not all alterations of data are acts of falsification, while “dropping data points based on a gut feeling” or “failing to publish data that contradicts one's previous research” (e.g. [19]) might often be. As explained in the introduction, any boundary defining misconduct will be arbitrary, but intention to deceive is the key aspect. Scientists who answered “yes” to questions asking if they ever fabricated or falsified data are clearly admitting their intention to misrepresent results. Questions about altering and modifying data “to improve the outcome” might be more ambiguously interpreted, which might explain why these questions yield higher admission rates. However, even if we limited the meta-analysis to the most restrictive types of questions in self-reports, we would still have an average admission rate above 1%, which is higher than previous estimates (e.g. [11]).

The accuracy of self-reports on scientific misconduct might be biased by the effect of social expectations. In self-reports on criminal behaviour, social expectations make many respondents less likely to admit a crime they committed (typically, females and older people) and make others likely to report a crime they have not really committed (typically, young males) [40]. In the case of scientists, however, social expectations should always lead to underreporting, because a reputation of honesty and objectivity is fundamental in any stage of a scientific career. Anyone who has ever falsified research is probably unwilling to reveal it and/or to respond to the survey despite all guarantees of anonymity [41]. The opposite (scientists admitting misconduct they didn't do) appears very unlikely. Indeed, there seems to be a large discrepancy between what researchers are willing to do and what they admit in a survey. In a sample of postdoctoral fellows at the University of California San Francisco, USA, only 3.4% said they had modified data in the past, but 17% said they were “willing to select or omit data to improve their results” [42]. Among research trainees in biomedical sciences at the University of California San Diego, 4.9% said they had modified research results in the past, but 81% were “willing to select, omit or fabricate data to win a grant or publish a paper” [35].

Mailed surveys yielded lower frequencies of misconduct than handed out surveys. Which of the two is more accurate? Mailed surveys were often combined with follow-up letters and other means of encouraging responses, which ensured higher response rates. However, the accuracy of responses to sensitive questions is often independent of response rates, and depends strongly on respondents' perception of anonymity and confidentiality [43], [44]. Questionnaires that are handed to, and returned directly by respondents might better entrust anonymity than surveys that need to be mailed or emailed. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that handed out surveys are more accurate despite the lower response rates. This latter interpretation would be supported by one of the included studies: a handed out survey that attempted to measure non-response bias using a Random-Response (RR) technique on part of its sample [28]. Differently from the usual Direct Response technique, in RR, respondents toss coins to determine whether they will respond to the question or just mark “yes”. This still allows admission rates to be calculated, yet it guarantees full anonymity to respondents because no one can tell whether an individual respondent answered “yes” to the question or because of chance. Contrary to author's expectations, response and admission rates were not higher with RR compared to DR, suggesting that in this handed out survey non-response bias was absent.

The effect of social expectations in surveys asking about colleagues is less clear, and could depend on the particular interests of respondents. In general, scientists might tend to protect the reputation of their field, by minimizing their knowledge of misconduct [27]. On the other hand, certain categories of respondents (e.g. participants at a Conference on Research Policies and Quality Assurance [30]) might have particular experience with misconduct and might be very motivated to report it.

Surveys on colleagues' behaviour might tend to inflate estimates of misconduct also because the same incident might be reported by many respondents. One study controlled for this factor by asking only one researcher per department to recall cases that he had observed in that department in the past three years [31]. It found that falsification and fabrication had been observed by 5.2% of respondents, which is lower than all previous non-self reports. However, since one individual will not be aware of all cases occurring around him/her, this is a conservative estimate [31]. In the sensitivity analysis run on the regression model, exclusion of this study caused the single largest increase in explained variance, which further suggests that findings of this study are unusual.

Another critical factor in interpreting survey results is the respondents' perception of what does and does not constitute research misconduct. As mentioned before, scientists were less likely to reply affirmatively to questions using the words “fabrication” and “falsification” rather than “alteration” or “modification”. Moreover, three surveys found that scientists admitted more frequently to have “modified” or “altered” research to “improve the outcome” than to have reported results they “knew to be untrue”. In other words, many did not think that the data they “improved” were falsified. To some extent, they were arguably right. But the fuzzy boundary between removing noise from results and biasing them towards a desired outcome might be unknowingly crossed by many researchers [10], [14], [45]. In a sample of biostatisticians, who are particularly well trained to see this boundary, more than half said they had personally witnessed false or deceptive research in the preceding 10 years [46].

The grey area between licit, questionable, and fraudulent practices is fertile ground for the “Mohammed Ali effect”, in which people perceive themselves as more honest than their peers. This effect was empirically proven in academic economists [28] and in a large sample of biomedical researchers (in a survey assessing their adherence to Mertonian norms [47]), and may help to explain the lower frequency with which misconduct is admitted in self-reports: researchers might be overindulgent with their behaviour and overzealous in judging their colleagues. In support of this, one study found that 24% of cases observed by respondents did not meet the US federal definition of research misconduct [31].

The decrease in admission rates observed over the years in self-reports but not in non-self-reports could be explained by a combination of the Mohammed Ali effect and social expectations. The level and quality of research and training in scientific integrity has expanded in the last decades, raising awareness among scientists and the public [11]. However, there is little evidence that researchers trained in recognizing and dealing with scientific misconduct have a lower propensity to commit it [47], [48], [49]. Therefore, these trends might suggest that scientists are no less likely to commit misconduct or to report what they see their colleagues doing, but have become less likely to admit it for themselves.

Once methodological differences were controlled for, cross-study comparisons indicated that samples drawn exclusively from medical (including clinical and pharmacological) research reported misconduct more frequently than respondents in other fields or in mixed samples. To the author's knowledge, this is the first cross-disciplinary evidence of this kind, and it suggests that misconduct in clinical, pharmacological and medical research is more widespread than in other fields. This would support growing fears that the large financial interests that often drive medical research are severely biasing it [50], [51], [52]. However, as all survey-based data, this finding is open to the alternative interpretation that respondents in the medical profession are simply more aware of the problem and more willing to report it. This could indeed be the case, because medical research is a preferred target of research and training programs in scientific integrity, and because the severe social and legal consequences of misconduct in medical research might motivate respondents to report it. However, the effect of this parameter was not robust to one of the sensitivity analyses, so it would need to be confirmed by independent studies before being conclusively accepted.

The lack of statistical significance for the effect of country, professional position and other sample characteristics is not strong evidence against their relevance, because the high between-study variance caused by methodological factors limited the power of the analysis (the regression had to control for three methodological factors before testing any other effect). However, it suggests that such differences need to be explored at the study level, with large surveys designed specifically to compare groups. A few of the included studies had done so and found, for example, that admission rates tend to be higher in males compared to females [42] and in mid-career compared to early career scientists [19], and that they tend to differ between disciplines [41], [53]. If more studies attempted to replicate these results, possibly using standardized methodologies, then a meta-analysis could reveal important correlates of scientific misconduct.

In conclusion, several surveys asking scientists about misconduct have been conducted to date, and the differences in their results are largely due to differences in methods. Only by controlling for these latter can the effects of country, discipline, and other demographic characteristics be studied in detail. Therefore, there appears to be little scope for conducting more small descriptive surveys, unless they adopted standard methodologies. On the other hand, there is ample scope for surveys aimed at identifying sociological factors associated with scientific misconduct. Overall, admission rates are consistent with the highest estimates of misconduct obtained using other sources of data, in particular FDA data audits [11], [18]. However, it is likely that, if on average 2% of scientists admit to have falsified research at least once and up to 34% admit other questionable research practices, the actual frequencies of misconduct could be higher than this.(...)

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58. Geggie D (2001) A survey of newly appointed consultants' attitudes towards research fraud. Journal of Medical Ethics 27: 344–346. Find this article online
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60. Henry DA, Kerridge IH, Hill SR, McNeill PM, Doran E, et al. (2005) Medical specialists and pharmaceutical industry-sponsored research: a survey of the Australian experience. Medical Journal of Australia 182: 557–560. Find this article online
61. Kattenbraker MS (2007) Health education research and publication: ethical considerations and the response of health educators. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University.Doctoral dissertation.

like/unlike

(foto: Alexander Gerner- from: "Hora do Diabo" 2009)

"Sharon is like a man
And the dawning peace is like peace
And the newsaper trumpeting it
Is like the newspaper
The teachers are like teachers,
And education is like education.
Out of the window of the bus number 5
I look at the people on the sidewalks,
Following them in my thought,
And it all confirms
They are like people,
The shoes, the bitten falafel,etc.
At the grocery,
In nervous hands
I test the potatoes
And they too, they too
Are like potatoes."

Sharon is like a man - Aharon Shabtai
from: " Ahron Shabtai (2005). SUN OH SUN. Tel Aviv: Xargol (in Hebrew)
(cited from the translation of Rachel Giora in: "Is metaphor unique?"in: Gibbs (Ed.) 2008, p.156)

"Freedom of Speech" Performance de Tania Bruguera at the 10th Havanna Bienal 2009

see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h0EtvL2Pqg&feature=related


A man with his face covered: "A mim me parece que isso debia ser proibido!"

A podium, a yellow curtain.
An open microphone for people to say what they want.
A white dove on the shoulder like Fidel Castro in a 1959 speech.
Two guards behind.

I could´t access on http://www.taniabruguera.com/ (!??!)
see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h0EtvL2Pqg&feature=related
http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/

Performance completado

canon_y_escudo

Sin la declaración hecha por el Comité Organizador de la Décima Bienal de La Habana sobre lo ocurrido el domingo en el centro Wifredo Lam, el performance de Tania Bruguera no hubiera estado completo. Al minuto de libertad frente al micrófono le correspondía el necesario castigo. Ausente de reprimenda, la acción plástica hubiera parecido una señal de que la intolerancia ha cedido, de que es posible subir al podio y expresarse sin miedos. De ahí que deba agradecer a los que redactaron la secuencia de injurias publicada en La Jiribilla. Sin ella, todo habría quedado en el plano de lo permitido, habría sido visto como algo fabricado para dar una apariencia de apertura.

Con esos cinco párrafos cerraron –de la mejor manera posible– el performance. Nos recordaron, a los atrevidos que hicimos uso del breve tiempo de libertad, que la penalización y la reprimenda siguen siendo aquí la respuesta ante la libre opinión. El Comité Organizador ha confirmado, en su texto cargado de insultos, el por qué tantos gritos de libertad salieron desde esa tribuna. Con sus acusaciones han dejado al descubierto la razón por la que muchos no se atrevieron –esa noche– a tomar los micrófonos.

* Les anuncio que estamos trabajando en el video completo de lo ocurrido, al que le pondremos subtítulos por las deficiencias del audio. Lo publicaré en cuanto esté listo.

* Les dejo aquí el texto que leí aquella noche.

Si me dieran el micrófono… diría

Cuba es un país rodeado de mar y es también un Isla cercada por la censura. Al muro del control informativo, Internet y especialmente los blogs le han abierto algunas grietas. El fenómeno de la blogósfera alternativa ha ido creciendo y ya es conocido por una buena parte de la población cubana. Somos todavía unos pocos bloggers, pero nuestros sitios acentúan el despertar de la opinión ciudadana.

Las autoridades consideran a las nuevas tecnologías como un “potro salvaje” que hay que domesticar; pero los bloggers independientes queremos que corra libremente. Las dificultades para difundir nuestros sitios son muchas. De mano en mano y gracias a las memorias flash, los Cds y los obsoletos disquetes, el contenido de los blogs recorre la Isla.

Internet se está convirtiendo en una plaza pública de discusión, donde los cubanos escribimos nuestros criterios. La isla real ha comenzado a ser una isla virtual, más democrática y plural.

Lamentablemente, esos aires de libre opinión que recorren la red, apenas si han soplado sobre nuestra vigilada realidad. No sigamos esperando que nos autoricen a entrar a Internet, a tener un blog o a escribir una opinión. Ya es hora de saltarnos el muro del control.

from: http://vocescubanas.com/generaciony/


***


Kubas Regime fühlt sich provoziert
Kunstperformance mit Folgen
from: http://www.taz.de/1/politik/amerika/artikel/1/kunstperformance-mit-folgen/

Aktionskunst im Rahmen der Biennale in Havanna: Kubas Regime sieht in einem Aufruf zur freien Meinungsäußerung eine "Provokation". VON KNUT HENKEL, TAZ


"Integration und Widerstand im globalen Zeitalter" lautet das diesjährige Motto der 10. Biennale von Havanna. Das Motto des alle drei Jahre stattfindenden Kunstevents hat die international bekannte Performancekünstlerin Tania Bruguera wörtlich genommen. Sie lud die Zuschauer bei einer Performance am vergangenen Sonntagabend ein, ans Mikrofon zu treten und zu sagen, was sie wollten. Mit Uniformierten im Hintergrund und einer weißen Taube, die sich wahlweise auf die Schulter der Redner und aufs Pult setzte, parodierte Bruguera das bekannte Bild von der historischen Rede Fidel Castros am 8. Januar 1959, wenige Tage nach dem Sieg der Revolution.

Die eigene Meinung kundzutun ist kein alltägliches Angebot - und eine ganze Reihe von Kubanern wie ausländischen Gästen im Kunstzentrum Wifredo Lam machten Gebrauch von dieser Möglichkeit.
Bork
Anzeige

Als Erste trat Kubas international bekannte Bloggerin Yoani Sánchez (www.desdecuba.com/generaciony) ans Rednerpult und informierte das Publikum, darunter viele internationale Besucher, über die wachsende Blogger-Community der Insel. "Das Internet entwickelt sich in Kuba zu einem öffentlichen Platz der Diskussion, wo die Kubaner nach ihren eigenen Kriterien die reale Insel beschreiben", erklärte Sánchez. Allerdings stehe diesem Fortschritt immer noch die "überwachte Realität" auf der Insel entgegen, die es den Bloggern schwermache, ihre Seiten zu aktualisieren.

Der 34-Jährigen folgten weitere Redner, die für die freie Meinungsäußerung in Kuba eintraten, Demokratie und Freiheit einforderten und einen Wandel auf der Insel einklagten, ohne dass die Mikrofone ausgeschaltet wurden.

Für Tania Bruguera, die mit ihren eigenwilligen Arbeiten immer wieder die kubanische Realität ins Visier genommen hat, Teil ihrer Performance. Für das offizielle Kuba hingegen ein Akt von "Personen im Dienste der propagandistischen antikubanischen Maschinerie" wie am Dienstag in einer Erklärung der Veranstalter in der kubanischen Kulturzeitung La Jiribilla zu lesen war. Von einer "professionellen Dissidentin" ist dort die Rede, "die die Performance von Tania Bruguera genutzt habe, um die kubanische Revolution zu provozieren". Gemeint ist Yoani Sánchez, der zugleich unterstellt wird, im Auftrag der spanischen Mediengruppe Prisa zu agieren, weil dazu auch die Tageszeitung El País gehört, die im vergangenen Jahr einen Literaturpreis an Sánchez vergeben hatte.

Das ist eine neue Qualität verbale Angriffe gegen die Bloggerin. Sie ähneln den Anschuldigungen, die immer wieder gegen die Opposition ins Feld geführt werden und die für eine ganze Reihe von sogenannten Dissidenten im Gefängnis endeten.

Zu denen gehört auch Jorge Luis García Pérez, auch bekannt als Antúnez, der 17 Jahre wegen "verbaler feindlicher Propaganda" inhaftiert war. Seit knapp zwei Jahren ist der Dissident wieder auf freiem Fuß und derzeit ist sein Haus in der 300 Kilometer von Havanna entfernten Kleinstadt Placetas von der Polizei abgesperrt.

Seit dem 17. Februar schon sind Antúnez, seine Frau und drei weitere Männer im Hungerstreik, und laut Informationen von Amnesty International darf sich derzeit niemand dem Haus nähern. Alle fünf sind laut einer Urgent Action von Amnesty International in großer Gefahr, weil sie die Freilassung aller politischen Gefangenen in Kuba, die Ratifizierung der internationalen Menschenrechtsverträge durch das kubanische Parlament und angemessenen Wohnraum in Kuba fordern. Öffentliche Proteste häufen sich ohnehin in Kuba in den letzten Monaten. So wurden am Mittwoch zum dritten binnen weniger Monate Aktivisten der Frauenorganisation Flamur, die für eine einheitliche Währung in Kuba eintritt, vorübergehend festgenommen.

Überaus prekär ist laut dem ehemaligen politischen Gefangenen Óscar Espinosa Chepe, einem Gewerkschaftler und Journalisten, auch die Situation in den Gefängnissen der Insel. Kuba liege bei der Zahl der Inhaftierten weltweit mit den USA und Russland an der Spitze. Für Espinosa Chepe eine Folge der Kontrollwut der Regierung. Die könnte sich nun auch gegen Kubas Blogger-Comunity richten.

see also:
http://marcmasferrer.typepad.com/uncommon_sense/2007/04/jorge_luis_garc.html
http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/writersinexile/oscarespinosachepe/

On the 10th edition of the Habanna Bienal:
see: http://www.bienalhabana.cult.cu/bienaldelahabana/

"The Havana Biennial, a space for confrontation and reflection of particular relevance in the international scene of the fine arts, will celebrate twenty-five years of existence with its tenth edition, which will bring together more than 200 artists from some forty countries from March 27 through April 30, 2009.

"Integration and Resistance in the Global Era" will be the central topic of reflection. Projects and works from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and to a lesser extent from North America, Europe and Australia will handle the problems of integrating to a highly complex global world due to the peculiarities of so many societies and cultures and the way in which there is an attempt to resist the hegemonic trends that strive to homogeneize from other territories the repertoire of ideas and forms."

precarious giants of upside down- critic from Alexander Gerner on "The Giant Women Present The Greatest Show in Town"

Yesterday (14th of April 2009)at the French-Portuguese Cultural Institute in Lisbon the gruop"The Giant Women"(a collaboration between Dragana Bulut (Serbia), Gillie Kleiman (UK) and Lígia Soares (Portugal) with dramaturgy support of Ana Vujanovic) presented the precarious dicourse-antidiscourse dance performance "The greatest show in town". The spectacular title and it´s announcement shows right from the start the method of breaking expectations, as a short performative intervention against obeying audience, the emptyness of "participation", the political and ethic expectation posed to performance art, and the display of the unhelpfullness, the in vain, the empty, the unnecessary, the cynic, the brain-(and body-)fuck rethorics of creating art as a discoursive social and political engagement activity, contaminated with tons of books and concepts of contemporary theory, from Derrida to Deleuze (body without organ, hybrid monsters), Judith Butler (the body as a gender battleground), Foucault, Antonio Negri (Multitude and biopolitics). There is little "Yes we can" inside this performance and even less "good will" shown by "civil society" and its helpless helpers of ONG´s in this "giantly small" show. The "problems" of today (unemployment, the precarious situation of artists and non-artists alike (the dog-body position of economic dependency shown by Lígia Soares when indicating names to the shown body positions:"artist, waiting for funding", or and even more close to the floor "artist waiting for a scholarship", until the body breaks-down, getting naked,with what rests the body, stuck to the wall in a actmodel-like manner.But being naked at the wall or on the knees in front of the public audience, that may get a glimpse on the hope of a sweet-milk-situation-generation of artists waiting for their public money to be a service-provider of culture, and what a nice and political correct and creative story is all waiting for us when the curtain would really open? Then Dragana Bulut is asked by her co-performer (off-stage) how to confront the society "problems", what to do, how to be political, how to help, how to engage in the "right" way as a "responsible" artist, trying to change people´s life. But then certain artistic response strategies are made ridiculous, when the "only" thing left, is to invite someone home, to get "intimicy with the problem", to feel something is not right, but there is no real distance and time to think and to act without showing-off any kind of whatever attitude. The attitude that stays destroyed is clear: document the problematic and expose it in the next show: "so he can face his situation, while he is looking at himself, put on stage". Stop making sense of what makes no sense.
What does this mean, that drug-addiction is a problem, because the one´s do harm to their "health" and "don´t contribute to society"? This may hint to the more and more growing values of effectivity, we are all inside and stuck with, and that we have to serve strangely: the healty, the creative, the active, the sexy, participative, the theory incorporated, the one looking for a statal or private funding from somewhere...But actually exploiting this nightmare of values on a stage of "selling" a social or political view in a peepshow way, is this enough? Hardly. This is not at all satisfying, the giant woman didn´t come to earth to satisfy the needs of the audience. This may provoke indifference, for the performers don´t exclude themself, from the system of desires they critizise,the theory they put away, but maybe some anger stays with the irony in the end of the show, to show a better world just simply filmed upside down. Protect me from (the scholarship) what I want! Anger may be a start...
The performance starts with the three performers very slowly creeping on a white floor, in a amoebe-like fashion,unformously moving towards three apple laptops(one real Mac and two with real apples in front of the Laptop), and they took a long time to arrive to the choreography of opening and closing the computer-tool. The problem of standing straight, before that, it´s better to close oneself behind a table and a computer and stare inside facebook. But why not put heads up, why not do something with dignity? Dignity, distance, finding a place on the stage or in the audience could be one of the possible topics the Giant Woman address, if it wouldn´t stay unclear through the performance- structure of numbers following each other, hardly two situations staying and getting into confront at the same time, or is soemthing there to interrupt something? What actually here is important, or is this all just a joke? This question stays open, and that makes it worse or better,as the performers refuse to decide for the spectators.
The condition of the artists on stage is reflected by not only showing over-exposedly and stubbernly the "real" material parts of the theatre, that make a performance space work (the space, the audience, the performers, the psydo-interaction with the "instructed" or -in this case the "left alone" audience- member (that is asked to participate on stage and left there without "instruction")- all things that we already know: Nothing new in the "greatest Show in Town"!
But on the contrary the new, the creative, the inovative, the flashing is addressed,used, utilized, shortly looked at and then thrown away. This is not a garbage show, this is a show on how we make garbage out of almost everything as quickly as possible,exposing it as a "problem" or a theory or a thought or a body movement. As it may hurt and still be something to laugh about, if we had the time, the courage or the patience to look closer: But no time to loose in lives,work, art, politics, theory, economics etc, everything continues...
The anti-innovative discourse, the anti-coreography "stumbeling upon" words and texts and movements on the european year of inovation and the illustration of creativity (2009) as a capatalist (one-year yeah) concept to make people´s eyes shine, when listening to empty words like listening to the theory voice off, the "authority" voice coming from the sky, giving instructions on interpreting the theory with their bodies with still all organs inside, is one of the strongest parts. The disbelief in the progress of techno-science preachers from politicians, the official EU standpoint(years too late, and way too boring, certain people in Belgrade would say) of Florida´s creative city ideology, just fostering the gap of rich and poor (no coincidance that the first official conference of the creativity year happend in the rich and unfortunatly-not-so-interesting-anymore-city- Barcelona, that local policymakers in Lisbon see as the "one" reference city, and would like to transform Lisbon in a cosmopolitic officially creative city just "like" Barcelona (and they forget that Lisbon is already cosmopolitic, but marginal for a long time, and that the only big difference is that here in this margin of the Atlantic, there is no money, but still things that money can´t buy, but then the question why not name the good things? Why?Take your time and find it out yourself! Then there are moments of sympathetic little hatred and irony of telling something by movements or telling a touching story for example of the refugee condition of one of the serbian performers, when she narrates that she had to move from Bosnia to Belgrade etc. because of the war, all this is overlaid quickly before it starts by slimy heart-break music and the english performative style of "Forced Entertainment", telling a funny story or jokes and that´s it then, folks. All this is actually what the whole piece is all about, something is always missing, the feeling of being treated as a joke,a left alone member of audience on stage, without direction, of being in no superior position in the audience nor on stage, being "lost in translation" of theory into life or body forms into political action and vice versa. No way of representing something to change something in this lab situation of talking bodies on stage, no way to just go to Denmark and go from the airport directly to the beach to save whatever rare animal... Something cheap in all this performative and life activity is all around us, some cheap idea of change and happiness, how small we are all with the giant women, and they too get smaller and smaller, small as crumps, but then they don´t go away, they stay, the bother, disturb, ironize or simply don´t suit in the picture, but no photoshop function to whipe them off the clear stage. But how we shall deal with this condition no one tells us, somehow we have to rethink and reinvent something, that we don´t understand quite, as dancing on fake alternatives dropping them all until we want to drop something that we cannot live without. Like a magic game, let´s name it and then it will dissapear,or reappear. Name things, that get in, on and out our nerves and make them go away. But does the naming, the discourse help? Does anyone still expect help, health, creativity from above, from a stage, from arts, from politics etc.? What stays unnamed in this show until now, is a growing feeling of what happens, if we are exhausted, what may get us in a state of alert and a state that might want something else from art, from politics, from theory, from life, from economy. The giant Woman presenting "The greatest Show in Town" just give us a first feeling of the insurrection to come...or maybe exactly not a insurrection, but a misunderstanding of ourselves,our expectations on what should happen, but who is making that happen? What about our precarious relation to almost everything today, to arts, politics, work, relations, economics and the connections we habitually draw in our mind in our daily life between all this! Make a new map?
"Knock knock knck, who´s there?" A direction. Direction who?
Let´s keep it a game of football, of a show, of a moment.
But what is next? Which scholarship, which funding possibility, which state help, what?
And now for something completely different???
What the hell are we all talking about?
Alexander Gerner 15th April 2009

"The Giant Women present The Greatest Show in Town is a dance performance which promises to be entertaining, virtuosic, and sharp, through beauty, emotion, etcetera. And of course, you will obviously see the socio-political engagement and the theoretical background of the dancers. Naturally, these aspects will interact with you, provoke you, and shock you. Whilst showing you the crucial power of innovation and blindly following trends, the show achieves historical significance and promises the creation of new paradigms for the dance scene of the future.

This project is a collaboration between Dragana Bulut (Serbia), Gillie Kleiman (UK) and Lígia Soares (Portugal) with dramaturgy support of Ana Vujanovic."
"The Giant Women present The Greatest Show in Town"
14, 15 e 18 de Abril às 21h30

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 9:30pm
End Time:
Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 10:30pm
Location:
Instituto Franco-Português
Street:
Av. Luís Bivar, 91
City/Town:
Lisboa, Portugal

Phone:
213111400
Email:
maquinaagradavel@gmail.com

Neuro-Enhancement 1 - Modafinil

Bettina Schöne-Seifert, Davinia Talbot, Uwe Opolka Johann S. Ach (Hrsg.)
Neuro-Enhancement
Ethik von neuen Herausforderungen
2009,Mentis Verlag
"Einleitung
Worum es überhaupt geht
Unter dem inzwischen auch in Deutschland eingeführten Begriff Neuro-
Enhancement versteht man Maßnahmen zur gezielten Verbesserung geisti-
ger Fähigkeiten oder psychischer Befindlichkeiten bei Gesunden.
Dank des großen neurowissenschaftlichen Erkenntniszuwachses der
letzten Jahre sind etliche Ansätze zum Verständnis und zur Behandlung sol-
cher Befunde wie pathologischer Gedächtnisschwund, krankhafte Auf-
merksamkeitsstörungen, Depressionen oder Narkolepsie (Schlafsucht) ent-
wickelt worden. Die pharmakologischen und nicht-pharmakologischen
Interventionen, die hier wirksam Abhilfe schaffen können, eignen sich
zumindest zum Teil zugleich auch als Enhancement-Methoden – eben bei
Gesunden.
So werden bereits heute Medikamente, die zur Behandlung der Alzhei-
mer-Demenz (z.B. Aricept®), des Aufmerksamkeitsdefizitsyndroms ADS
(z.B. Ritalin®), von Depressionen (z.B. Fluxil®) oder des pathologischen
Schlafdrangs (z.B. Narkolepsie) (z.B. Modafinil®) entwickelt und zugelas-
sen sind, außerhalb ihres Indikationsbereichs (off-label) verschrieben – weil
etwa Studenten sich mit diesen Mitteln durch Examina, Manager sich durch
Stress-Zeiten oder melancholische Mitmenschen sich so durch den Winter
bringen lassen wollen. Genaue Daten über Ausmaß und Nutzergruppe die-
ses bereits praktizierten Enhancements liegen nicht vor. US-amerikanische
Experten jedenfalls gehen von Hunderttausenden von Klienten/ Patienten
aus. Dies ist jedoch erst der Anfang einer möglichen künftigen Enhance-
ment-Praxis, die von den zahlreichen zu erwartenden neuen und wirksamen
Neuro-Therapeutika Gebrauch machen könnte. Pharmakonzerne hoffen
hier möglicherweise auf einen gigantischen und außerordentlich lukrativen
Marktsektor. Und nicht nur Pharmaka, sondern auch magnetische oder
elektrische Stimulationsverfahren (TMS, Tiefenstimulation), Neuro-Chips
oder Schnittstellen zwischen Gehirnen und Computern zeichnen sich als
mögliche Enhancement-Methoden am Horizont ab. Angesichts dieser Möglichkeiten – und unter der bisher weitgehend
hypothetischen Annahme ihrer Wirksamkeit und medizinischen Unbe-
denklichkeit – stellen sich zahlreiche komplexe Fragen danach, wie Verfüg-
barkeit und Inanspruchnahme solcher Interventionen auf individueller und
sozialer Ebene zu betrachten, zu bewerten und ggf. zu reglementieren
wären. Um genau diese ›Herausforderungen‹ aus sozialer, anthropologi-
scher, rechtlicher und vor allem ethischer Sicht geht es in den Texten des
vorliegenden Bandes."

***



Simm, Michael
Neuroenhancement: Weichenstellung gefordert
THEMEN DER ZEIT
Der Leistungsdruck ist groß. Mit Methylphenidat und Modafinil versuchen gerade Studenten, ihre Leistungen zu steigern und einer Ermüdung vorzubeugen. Foto: Vario Images

Das Missbrauchpotenzial hirnleistungssteigernder Substanzen wird bisher deutlich unterschätzt. Kontrollen gibt es fast keine.

Die Einnahme leistungssteigernder Substanzen ist längst nicht mehr auf den Spitzensport beschränkt. Vor allem in den USA greifen auch Schüler und Studierende, Akademiker und Manager vermehrt auf pharmakologische Wirkstoffe zurück, um in Ausbildung und Beruf voranzukommen oder an der Spitze zu bleiben. „Wir befürchten nun, dass dieser Trend auch auf Deutschland überschwappt“, warnt Prof. Dr. med. Mathias Berger, Leiter der Abteilung für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie am Universitätsklinikum Freiburg. Zwar habe es auch früher schon vereinzelte Fälle gegeben, bei denen Lernende sich mit Fenetyllin (Captagon) und ähnlichen Präparaten aufputschten. Heute jedoch habe der Missbrauch von mutmaßlich hirnleistungssteigernden Substanzen eine andere Größenordnung erreicht. Viele Studenten bestellten sich Methylphenidat (Ritalin) und Modafinil (Vigil) über das Internet, vorwiegend aus asiatischen Ländern.

Methylphenidat ist indiziert zur Behandlung der Aufmerksamkeitsdefizitstörung (ADS) bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Bereits im Jahr 2005 ergab jedoch eine Befragung von mehr als 10 000 Collegebesuchern in den USA, dass zwischen vier und sieben Prozent der Studierenden ADS-Arzneien mindestens einmal eingenommen hatten, um sich auf Prüfungen vorzubereiten oder eine Nacht lang durchzuarbeiten. Dies obwohl, wie Berger betont, „kontrollierte Studien Schwierigkeiten haben, eine Verbesserung kognitiver Fähigkeiten durch Methylphenidat bei Gesunden nachzuweisen“.

Verbotenes Dopingmittel: Modafinil
Plausibler scheint der Gebrauch von Modafinil, einer Substanz, die zur Behandlung der Narkolepsie zugelassen ist und die in Deutschland dem Betäubungsmittelgesetz unterliegt. Modafinil vermindert effektiv die Schläfrigkeit auch bei Gesunden und wurde angeblich von Bomberpiloten der US-Streitkräfte während des Irakkriegs eingenommen. Auch Schichtarbeitern und Fernfahrern ist die Einnahme der Substanz in den USA erlaubt. „Ein jährlicher Umsatz von mehr als 200 Millionen US-Dollar mit Modafinil weist auf einen erheblichen Gebrauch außerhalb der zugelassenen Indikation hin“, so Berger. Erst kürzlich wurde die Substanz in die Liste der verbotenen Dopingmittel aufgenommen, nachdem einige Ausdauersportler positiv auf Modafinil getestet worden waren.

Konkrete Zahlen gibt es keine
„Es ist unfair, wenn man einen Sportler wegen Dopings bestraft, während möglicherweise ein Jurastudent unbehelligt bleibt, der sich mit der gleichen Substanz einen beruflichen Vorteil verschafft“, erläutert Berger seinen Standpunkt. Vonseiten des Bundesgesundheitsministeriums, des Bundesinstituts für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte wie auch des Deutschen Ethikrates registrierte der Psychiater in letzter Zeit vermehrtes Interesse an dem Thema. Konkrete Zahlen über das Ausmaß des Missbrauchs hirnleistungssteigernder Substanzen in Deutschland lägen allerdings bisher nicht vor, räumte Berger ein.

Den bislang wohl spektakulärsten Fall von „Hirndoping“ gestand kürzlich der US-amerikanische Pokerspieler Paul Phillips. Er hatte regelmäßig zwei Psychostimulanzien eingenommen, neben Modafinil das nur in den USA zur Behandlung der ADS legal verkäufliche Adderall mit dem Wirkstoff Dextroamphetamin. „Ohne Zweifel bin ich dadurch zu einem viel besseren Spieler geworden“, sagte Phillips gegenüber der „Los Angeles Times“. Die Substanzen hätten ihm geholfen, auf professionellen Pokerturnieren mehr als 2,3 Millionen Dollar zu gewinnen, so Phillips. Da er vor fünf Jahren mit ADS diagnostiziert wurde, wird Phillips seine Preisgelder voraussichtlich trotz dieses Geständnisses behalten dürfen.

Wie verbreitet der Gebrauch hirnstimulierender Substanzen inzwischen ist, offenbarte kürzlich auch das Wissenschaftsmagazin „Nature“, als es zu dem Thema einen Kommentar veröffentlichte und seine Leser befragte. Er habe täglich mit Kollegen und Studenten zu tun, die regelmäßig Methylphenidat und Modafinil einnähmen, gab der Entwicklungsbiologe Jeffrey White von der Louisiana State University in New Orleans zu Protokoll. Diese Kandidaten seien an ihrer anhaltenden Verbitterung und Gereiztheit leicht zu erkennen. Dieser Preis sei ihm aber zu hoch, schrieb White – und bekannte sich stattdessen, wie zahlreiche weitere Diskussionsteilnehmer, zu den „traditionellen“ konzentrationsfördernden Getränken Kaffee und Tee.

Auch die Neurowissenschaftlerin Shelley Batts, Doktorandin an der Universität Michigan, sieht sich umgeben von Kolleginnen, die glauben, sich mit Ritalin auf Prüfungen vorbereiten zu müssen. „Aber wo ist das Problem, wenn die Sicherheit derartiger Substanzen bei Gesunden erwiesen ist?“ Mit Nachhilfelehrern und Tutorien, Geldspenden der Eltern an die Universitäten und dem gezielten Einsatz guter Beziehungen habe man sich schließlich auch abgefunden. Da sei der Einsatz „kognitiver Verstärker“ nur der logische nächste Schritt in einer Welt, die immer mehr von Konkurrenzkampf geprägt werde, argumentiert Batts in ihrem Blog (Internetjournal) „Retrospectacle“. Von Betrug könne man auch deshalb nicht reden, weil eine Pille zwar die Konzentration verbessern, aber niemals die richtige Antwort auf eine Prüfungsfrage enthalten könne.

Mögliche Nebenwirkungen nicht absehbar
Für jedes Argument findet man im Diskussionsforum bei „Nature“ ein Gegenargument*. Der Soldat, dessen Leistung über Leben und Tod entscheide, könne ja wohl nicht ernsthaft kritisiert werden, wenn er konzentrationsfördernde Substanzen einnehme, gibt ein Leser zu bedenken. Tatsächlich laufe ja die gesamte Ausbildung in allen Berufen darauf hinaus, Techniken zu erlernen und Hilfsmittel einzusetzen, um die gestellten Aufgaben optimal zu bewältigen. Ein anderer fordert klare Verbote, um einen Dammbruch zu verhindern. Sonst würde der Gebrauch der „Neuroenhancer“ in der Gesellschaft immer weiter um sich greifen, bis wir alle zu arbeitsbesessenen Zombies mutiert seien. „Ein Trugschluss“, entgegnet der nächste Diskutant: „Wenn ich eine Pille hätte, die mich schneller und besser denken ließe, wäre ich mit der Arbeit früher fertig und hätte mehr Zeit zum Leben.“

Einig sind sich die meisten Experten darin, dass die bisher verfügbaren Substanzen allenfalls moderate Effekte auf die Merk- und Denkfähigkeit des Gehirns haben. Wirklich eindrucksvolle Erfolge wurden bisher lediglich aus Tierversuchen bekannt, beispielsweise mit Fruchtfliegen und Mäusen. Zudem sind laut Berger „die möglichen Nebenwirkungen psychopharmakologischer Eingriffe in kognitive Funktionen beim Menschen nicht im Geringsten absehbar“. Allerdings sind intensive Forschungsanstrengungen auf diesem Gebiet im Gange. „Die Firma, die die erste Gedächtnispille auf den Markt bringt, wird den Erfolg von Viagra bei Weitem in den Schatten stellen“, prophezeit der Bioethiker Paul Root Wolpe von der University of Pennsylvania. Dann aber, fürchtet Berger, könnte es für gesellschaftliche Weichenstellungen bereits zu spät sein: „Die Diskussion über das Hirndoping kommt bei uns gerade erst in Schwung.“
Michael Simm

* Englischsprachiges Forum bei „Nature“: „Would You Boost Your Brain Power?“ http://network.nature.com/forums/naturenewsandopinion/816

from:http://www.aerzteblatt.de/v4/archiv/artikel.asp?id=60201
Note:

Mattern, Margarete
Neuroenhancement: Verordnung geändert
BRIEFE
Das Missbrauchpotenzial hirnleistungssteigernder Substanzen wird bisher deutlich unterschätzt (DÄ 20/ 2008: „Weichenstellung gefordert“ von Michael Simm).
In dem Artikel heißt es, Modafinil unterliege in Deutschland dem Betäubungsmittelgesetz. Jedoch ist Modafinil auf Beschluss der Bundesregierung (21. Verordnung zur Änderung betäubungsmittelrechtlicher Vorschriften) seit Anfang März 2008 aus der BtM-Pflicht entlassen. Ich hätte mir etwas mehr Aktualität des DÄ erhofft!
Dr. Margarete Mattern, Badenwerkstraße1,
76137 Karlsruhe

****

Neuro-Enhancement
Ethische, soziale und rechtliche Aspekte
Klausurwoche im Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg
20. bis 27. September 2005
Gefördert durch das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, findet vom 20. bis 27. September 2005 im Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) in Delmenhorst eine Klausurwoche zum Thema "Neuro-Enhancement" mit Vorträgen und intensiven Debatten statt. Beteiligt sind neben dem HWK das Institut für Ethik, Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin an der Universität Münster sowie das Centrum für Bioethik dieser Universität. Während in den Vereinigten Staaten die Diskussion um Neuro-Enhancement schon fest etabliert ist, steht sie in Deutschland erst in den Anfängen. Die Klausurtagung soll dazu dienen, diese Debatte auch bei uns in Gang zu bringen, indem sich Nachwuchswissenschaftler qualifizieren, auf diesem Feld kompetente interdisziplinäre Auseinandersetzungen zu führen.
Unter Neuro-Enhancement versteht man Maßnahmen zur gezielten Verbesserung geistiger Fähigkeiten oder psychischer Befindlichkeiten bei Gesunden. Dank des großen neurowissenschaftlichen Erkenntniszuwachses der letzten Jahre sind zahlreiche Ansätze zum Verständnis und zur Behandlung solch krankhafter Befunde wie Gedächtnisschwund, Aufmerksamkeitsstörungen oder Depressionen entwickelt worden. Die pharmakologischen und nicht-pharmakologischen Interventionen, die hier wirksam Abhilfe schaffen können, eignen sich zumindest zum Teil zugleich auch als Enhancement-Methoden, zur Veränderung der Gehirnzustände bei Gesunden.
So werden bereits heute Medikamente, die zur Behandlung der Alzheimer-Demenz, des Aufmerksamkeitsdefizitsyndroms (ADS), von Depressionen oder des pathologischen Schlafdrangs (Narkolepsie) entwickelt und zugelassen sind, außerhalb ihres Indikationsbereichs ("off-label") verschrieben, weil sich Studenten mit diesen Mitteln durch Examina, Manager durch Stress-Zeiten oder melancholische Mitmenschen durch Phasen der Verstimmtheit hindurchhelfen lassen wollen. Genaue Daten über Ausmaß und Zielgruppe dieses bereits praktizierten Enhancements liegen nicht vor. US-amerikanische Experten gehen jedoch von Hunderttausenden von Konsumenten bzw. Patienten aus. Dies ist aber erst der Anfang einer möglichen künftigen Enhancement-Praxis, die von den zahlreichen zu erwartenden neuen und wirksamen Neuro-Therapeutika - etwa Medikamente gegen Gedächtnisverlust - Gebrauch machen könnte. Pharmakonzerne hoffen hier auf einen gigantischen und außerordentlich lukrativen Marktsektor. Und nicht nur Pharmaka, sondern auch magnetische oder elektrische Stimulationsverfahren (TMS, Tiefenstimulation) scheinen ein beachtliches Enhancement-Potential zu besitzen.
Evident ist, dass das Neuro-Enhancement eine ganze Reihe sozialer, anthropologischer, rechtlicher, medizinischer und vor allem ethischer Fragen aufwirft, darunter Fragen nach

· der Grenze zwischen Therapie und Enhancement
und nach deren normativer Bedeutung;
· der Bewertung unterschiedlicher Mittel für ähnliche
oder identische Enhancement-Ziele;
· der Medikalisierung von Fragen, die eigentlich sozialer Natur sind;
· den sozialen Ungerechtigkeiten und Diskriminierungspotentialen, die sich
durch selektive Zugangsmöglichkeiten oder Inanspruchnahme ergeben könnten (beispielsweise durch die hohen Kosten der Enhancement-Mittel);
· den erwartbaren Spiralen kontinuierlicher Standardverschiebungen und eines wachsenden Wettbewerbs zwischen den einzelnen durch den kollektiven Bebrauch von Enhancement-Mitteln;
· der Veränderung unseres tradierten Menschenbildes durch das Enhancement.

Im Zentrum der Klausurwoche stehen die Debatten zwischen den Teilnehmern über von ihnen im Vorfeld abgefasste und verschickte zehn- bis fünfzehnseitige Papiere zu einzelnen Aspekten des Neuro-Enhancement. Flankiert werden diese Debatten durch eine Reihe von Vorträgen international ausgewiesener Experten, die ihre eigenen Positionen darlegen und zur Diskussion stellen werden. Enden wird die Klausurwoche mit einer öffentlichen Podiumsdiskussion in der Stadtwaage in Bremen.

See also:
Band 29: Intervening in the Brain. Changing Psyche and Society
R. Merkel, G. Boer, J. Fegert, T. Galert, D. Hartmann, B. Nuttin, S. Rosahl
Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-540-46476-X, Preis: 80,20 Euro

***
Modafinil:
Modafinil (Provigil/Alertec/Modavigil) is a stimulant drug manufactured by Cephalon, and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder,[1] and excessive daytime sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea.[2]

Modafinil, like other stimulants, increases the release of monoamines but also elevates hypothalamic histamine levels,[3] leading some researchers to consider Modafinil a "wakefulness promoting agent" rather than a classic amphetamine-like stimulant (as evidenced by the difference in c-fos distribution caused by modafinil as compared to amphetamine).[4]

Although modafinil is thought to be effective in the treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), in 2006 it was specifically rejected by the FDA for use by children for that purpose after Cephalon was rebuffed in its effort to introduce modafinil as a children's drug under the trade name, Sparlon. Cephalon's own label for Provigil now discourages its use by children for any purpose.[5]

Modafinil has been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression,[6] cocaine addiction,[7] Parkinson's Disease,[8] schizophrenia,[9] and disease-related fatigue.[10][11] By law, however, Cephalon is not allowed to market Modafinil in the United States for conditions other than those officially approved by the FDA.[12]

Modafinil and its chemical precursor adrafinil were developed by Lafon Laboratories, a French company acquired by Cephalon in 2001.[13] Modafinil is the primary metabolite of adrafinil, and, while their activity is similar, adrafinil requires a higher dose to achieve equipotent effects. Modafinil is a racemic mixture; the (R)-enantiomer is known as armodafinil (Nuvigil).Indications

In the United States, modafinil is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea and shift work sleep disorder. In some countries, it is also approved for idiopathic hypersomnia (all forms of excessive daytime sleepiness where causes can't be established).

[edit] Off-label use

Modafinil is widely used off-label to suppress the need for sleep. It is also used off-label in combating general fatigue unrelated to lack of sleep such as in treating ADHD and as an adjunct to antidepressants (particularly in individuals with significant residual fatigue).

There is a disagreement whether the cognitive effects modafinil showed in healthy non-sleep-deprived people are sufficient to consider it to be a cognitive enhancer.[14][15][16] The researchers agree that modafinil improves some aspects of working memory, such as digit span, digit manipulation and pattern recognition memory, but the results related to spatial memory, executive function and attention are equivocal.[14][15][16][17] Some of the positive effects of modafinil may be limited to "lower-performing"[17] individuals or to the individuals with lower IQ.[18]

There is also evidence that it has neuroprotective effects.[19]

Modafinil may be also an effective and well-tolerated treatment in patients with seasonal affective disorder/winter depression [20]

[edit] Doping agent

Modafinil has received some publicity in the past when several athletes were discovered allegedly using it as a performance-enhancing doping agent. It is not clear how widespread this practice is. Since there are no studies pertaining to this sort of use, it is unknown whether modafinil can have any impact on an athlete's performance. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that modafinil does indeed enhance physical performance. Modafinil was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency "Prohibited List" in 2004 as a prohibited stimulant.

[edit] Multiple sclerosis

Modafinil has been used to allay symptoms of the neurological fatigue reported by some with multiple sclerosis. Patients follow either the standard usage or take a single dose of 200–400 mg at the start of days self-assessed as being potentially excessively fatiguing. In 2000, Cephalon conducted a study to evaluate modafinil as a potential treatment for MS-related fatigue. A group of 72 people with MS of varying degrees of severity tested two different doses of modafinil and an inactive placebo over nine weeks. Fatigue levels were self-evaluated on standardized scales. Participants taking a lower dose of modafinil reported feeling less fatigued and there was a statistically significant difference in fatigue scores for the lower dose versus the placebo. The higher dose of modafinil was not reported to be significantly more effective.[21]

[edit] ADHD

As of February 2007, there are at least seven English-language articles on randomized clinical trials in humans in the Medline database addressing the use of modafinil for the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)[citation needed]. Some studies have shown the use of modafinil in the treatment of ADHD is associated with significant improvements in primary outcome measures.[citation needed] Cognitive function in ADHD patients was also found to improve following modafinil treatment, in some studies.[citation needed] Studies for ADHD report insomnia and headache were the most common adverse effects, seen in approximately 20% of treated individuals.[citation needed] These studies were not adequate to demonstrate that the beneficial effects of modafinil are maintained with chronic administration. Additional large, long-term studies using flexible titration methods to establish safety and efficacy and head-to-head comparisons between modafinil and stimulants are needed to determine the role of modafinil in the treatment of ADHD.[22]

In December 2004, Cephalon submitted a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to market Sparlon, a brand name of tablets containing higher doses of modafinil for the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents ages 6 through 17. However, in March 2006, the FDA advisory committee voted 12 to 1 against approval, citing concerns about a number of reported cases of skin rash reactions in a 1000-patient trial, including one which was thought to be likely a case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome.[23][24] Final rejection occurred in August 2006, although subsequent follow-up indicated that the skin rash reaction was not Stevens-Johnson syndrome.[citation needed] Cephalon then decided to discontinue development of the Sparlon product for use in pediatric cases, though there is potential for use in treating Adult ADHD.

Modafinil is relatively contraindicated for patients with a history of cardiac events. However, one 2005 case report[25] positively describes transitioning a 78 year old with "significant cardiac comorbidity" from methylphenidate (5 mg b.i.d.) to modafinil; however, this was in the context of severe treatment resistant depression, not ADHD.

[edit] Other uses

Modafinil is also used off-label to treat sedation and fatigue in depression,[26][27], fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, myotonic dystrophy,[28] opioid-induced sleepiness,[29] spastic cerebral palsy,[30] and Parkinson’s disease.[31] It increases subjective mood and friendliness, at least among shift workers.[32]

[edit] Experimental uses

[edit] Cocaine addiction

A single 8-week double-blind study of modafinil for cocaine dependence produced inconclusive results. The number of cocaine-positive urine samples was significantly lower in the modafinil group as compared to the placebo group in the middle of the trial, but by the end of the 8 weeks the difference stopped being significant. Even before the treatment began, the modafinil group had lower cocaine consumption further confounding the results. As compared to placebo, modafinil did not reduce cocaine craving or self-reported cocaine use, and the physicians ratings were only insignificantly better.[33] Dan Umanoff, of the National Association for the Advancement and Advocacy of Addicts, criticized the authors of the study for leaving the negative results out of the discussion part and the abstract of the article.[34][35]

[edit] Weight loss

Studies on modafinil (even those on healthy weight individuals) indicate that it has an appetite reducing/weight loss effect.[36][32][37][38][39] All studies on modafinil in the Medline database that are for one month or longer which report weight changes find that modafinil users experience weight loss compared to placebo.[40] However, the prescribing information for Provigil notes that "There were no clinically significant differences in body weight change in patients treated with PROVIGIL compared to placebo-treated patients in the placebo-controlled clinical trials." [41]

In experimental studies, the appetite reducing effect of modafinil appears to be similar to that of amphetamines, but, unlike amphetamines, the dose of modafinil that is effective at decreasing food intake does not significantly increase heart rate. Also, an article published in the Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, presented the case of a 280 pound patient (BMI=35.52) who lost 40 pounds over the course of a year on Modafinil (to 30.44 BMI). After three years, his weight stabilized at a 50 pound weight loss (29.59 BMI). The authors conclude that placebo controlled studies should be conducted on using Modafinil as a weight loss agent.[36] Conversely, a US patent (#6,455,588) on using modafinil as an appetite stimulating agent has been filed by Cephalon in 2000.

[edit] Primary biliary cirrhosis

Modafinil has been shown to improve excessive daytime somnolence and fatigue in primary biliary cirrhosis. After two months of treatment significant improvement was observed in symptoms of fatigue using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale.[42]

[edit] Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment

Modafinil has been used off-label in trials with people with symptoms of Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment, also known as "chemobrain".[43] A University of Rochester study of 68 subjects had significant results. "We knew from previous studies that modafinil does alleviate problems with memory and attention, and were hoping it would do the same for breast-cancer patients experiencing chemo-brain, which it did," related the study's lead author Sadhna Kohli, Ph.D, a research assistant professor at the University of Rochester's James P. Wilmot Cancer Center.[44]

[edit] Mood elevation

Modafinil used in a randomized double-blind study showed that normal healthy volunteers between the ages of 30-44 showed general improvement in alertness as well as mood. In the three-day study, counterbalanced, randomized, crossover, inpatient trial of modafinil 400 mg was administered as well as a placebo to the control group. The conclusion demonstrated that modafinil may have general mood-elevating effects in particular for the adjunctive use in treatment-resistant depression.[42]

[edit] Contraindications and warnings

Literature distributed by maker Cephalon advises that it is important to consult with your physician before using Modafinil, particularly for those with:

* Hypersensitivity to the drug or other constituents of the tablets, or
* Previous cardiovascular problems, particularly while using other stimulants, or
* Cirrhosis, or
* Cardiac conditions, particularly:
o Left ventricular hypertrophy, or
o Mitral valve prolapse.
+ Asymptomatic MVP is not uncommon, but neither is it prominently discussed in Modafinil's context.

Although it is not discussed in the literature, the standard binders used for Modafinil contain wheat gluten[citation needed], and so persons who have Coeliac Disease (Celiac Disease) should avoid the drug.

[edit] Severe adverse reactions

Modafinil may induce severe dermatologic reactions requiring hospitalization. From the date of initial marketing, December 1998, to January 30, 2007, FDA received six cases of severe cutaneous adverse reactions associated with modafinil, including erythema multiforme (EM), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) involving adult and pediatric patients. The FDA issued a relevant alert. In the same alert, the FDA also noted that angioedema and multi-organ hypersensitivity reactions have also been reported in postmarketing experience. "Modafinil (marketed as Provigil): Serious Skin Reactions". FDA. Fall, 2007. http://www.fda.gov/cder/dsn/2007_fall/postmarketing.htm#modafinil.

See the ADHD section for discussion of transitions to modafinil from high dose stimulant regimens. Patients with severe anxiety should be carefully supervised, as modafinil may exacerbate their condition. It may be necessary to coadminister an anxiolytic. High blood pressure should be stabilized before initiating treatment with modafinil or any other stimulant. The patient should inform the prescribing physician of any other drugs they are currently taking, as modafinil may interact with a great number of drugs.

Relatively little is known regarding safety of modafinil during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Studies on pregnant rats and rabbits suggest that high doses of modafinil during pregnancy may increase the likelihood of birth defects. There are no adequate and well controlled trials with modafinil in pregnant women. Modafinil should only be used in pregnancy if the potential benefit for the mother justifies the potential risk to the fetus. It is not known if modafinil or its metabolites are excreted in human milk. Caution should be exercised when modafinil is administered to a nursing woman. Modafinil may reduce the effectiveness of contraceptives. While some sources recommend the avoidance of alcohol in combination with modafinil, the interaction between modafinil and alcohol has not yet been studied.[45]

[edit] Side-effects

The most common side-effects observed with modafinil, as compared to placebo, when prescribed in the recommended doses for the approved indications, are as follows:[citation needed]

* Common
o Headache (34% vs 23%)
o Nausea (11% vs 3%)
* Less common
o Nervousness (7% vs 3%)
o Insomnia (5% vs 1%)
o Anxiety (5% vs 1%)
o Dizziness (5% vs 4%)
* Infrequent
o Chest pain (3% vs 1%)
o Hypertension (3% vs 1%)
o Tachycardia (2% vs 1%)
o Vasodilatation (2% vs 0%)
o Dry mouth (4% vs 2%)
o Paresthesia (2% vs 0%)
o Pharyngitis (4% vs 2%)
o Anorexia (4% vs 1%)

In 2007, the FDA ordered Cephalon to modify the Provigil leaflet in bold-face print of several serious and potentially fatal conditions attributed to modafinil use, including TEN, DRESS syndrome, and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS).

Additionally, gastrointestinal distress, which may be alleviated by taking the drug after a meal, aggressiveness and skin irritation have been reported, but are rare. Most side-effects subside after a few weeks without reducing the dose. Only headaches and anxiety have been shown to be proportional to dose, and these may benefit from a temporary reduction or dividing the dose. A single case of premature ventricular contractions appeared causally linked to administration of modafinil.[46]

Modafinil may have an adverse effect on hormonal contraceptives, lasting for a month after cessation of dosage.[47] Modafinil toxicity levels vary widely among species. In mice and rats, the median lethal dose LD50 of modafinil is approximately or slightly greater than 1250 mg/kg. Oral LD50 values reported for rats range from 1000 mg/kg to 3400 mg/kg. Intravenous LD50 for dogs is 300 mg/kg. In clinical trials on humans, taking up to 1200 mg/day for 7 to 21 days or one-time doses up to 4500 mg did not appear to cause life-threatening effects, although a number of adverse experiences were observed, including excitation or agitation, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, aggressiveness, confusion, nervousness, tremor, palpitations, sleep disturbances, nausea, and diarrhea. As of 2004, FDA is not aware of any fatal overdoses involving modafinil alone (as opposed to multiple drugs, including modafinil).[48] Consequently, oral LD50 of modafinil in humans is not known exactly. However, it appears to be higher than oral LD50 of caffeine.

[edit] Military use

Militaries of several countries are known to have expressed interest in Modafinil as an alternative for amphetamine—the drug traditionally employed in combat situations where troops face sleep deprivation, such as during lengthy missions. The French government indicated that the Foreign Legion used modafinil during certain covert operations. The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has admitted conducting ongoing research into Modafinil[49] and spent £300,000 on one investigation.[50]

In the United States military, Modafinil has been approved for use on certain Air Force missions, and it is being investigated for other uses.[51]One study on helicopter pilots suggested that 600 mg of modafinil given in three doses can be used to keep pilots alert and maintain their accuracy at pre-deprivation levels for 40 hours without sleep.[52] However, significant levels of nausea and vertigo were observed. Another study of fighter pilots showed that modafinil given in three divided 100 mg doses sustained the flight control accuracy of sleep-deprived F-117 pilots to within about 27 percent of baseline levels for 37 hours, without any considerable side effects.[53] In an 88-hour sleep loss study of simulated military grounds operations, 400 mg/day doses were mildly helpful at maintaining alertness and performance of subjects compared to placebo, but the researchers concluded that this dose was not high enough to compensate for most of the effects of complete sleep loss.[54]

[edit] Pharmacology

The exact mechanism of action of Modafinil is unclear, although numerous in vitro studies have shown it to increase the levels of various monoamines, namely; dopamine in the striatum and nucleus accumbens,[55][56] noradrenaline in the hypothalamus and ventrolateral preoptic nucleus,[57][58] and serotonin in the amygdala and frontal cortex.[59] While the co-administration of a dopamine antagonist is known to decrease the stimulant effect of amphetamine, it does not negate the wakefulness-promoting actions of modafinil. Modafinil activates glutamatergic circuits while inhibiting GABAergic neurotransmission. Modafinil is thought to have less potential for abuse than other stimulants due to the absence of any significant euphoric or pleasurable effects.

The central stimulating effect of modafinil shows dose and time-related features. The effect tends to be enhanced by chlorination but reduced by methylation. Modafinil blocks the reuptake of norepinephrine by the noradrenergic terminals on sleep-promoting neurons from the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO). Such a mechanism could be at least partially responsible for the wake-promoting effect of modafinil. Modafinil has a binding coefficient (Ki) of about 4,000 nmol/L for the dopamine reuptake transporter, and in excess of 10,000 nmol/L for the norepinephrine reuptake transporter.

A newly proposed mechanism of action involves brain peptides called orexins, also known as hypocretins. Orexin neurons are found in the hypothalamus but project to many different parts of the brain, including several areas that regulate wakefulness. Activation of these neurons increases dopamine and norepinephrine in these areas, and excite histaminergic tuberomammillary neurons increasing histamine levels there. There are two receptors for hypocretins, namely hcrt1 and hcrt2. Animal studies have shown that animals with defective orexin systems show signs and symptoms similar to narcolepsy. Modafinil seems to activate these orexin neurons thus promoting wakefulness. However, a study of genetically modified dogs lacking orexin receptors showed that modafinil still promoted wakefulness in these animals, suggesting that orexin activation is not required for the effects of modafinil.

It is possible that modafinil acts by a synergistic combination of mechanisms including direct inhibition of dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake, as well as orexin activation. It has been shown in rats that modafinil increases histamine release in the brain, and this may be a possible mechanism of action in humans.[60]

[edit] Pharmacokinetics

Modafinil induces the cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP1A2, CYP2B6 and CYP3A4, as well as inhibiting CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 in vitro. It may also induce P-glycoprotein, which may affect drugs transported by Pgp, such as digoxin. The bioavailability of Modafinil is greater than 80% of the administered dose. In vitro measurements indicate that 60% of Modafinil is bound to plasma proteins at clinical concentrations of the drug. This percentage actually changes very little when the concentration is varied.[61] Cmax occurs approximately 2–3 hours after administration. Food will slow absorption, but does not affect the total AUC. Half-life is generally in the 10–12 hour range, subject to differences in CYP genotypes, liver function and renal function. It is metabolized in the liver, and its inactive metabolite is excreted in the urine. Urinary excretion of the unchanged drug ranges from 0% to as high as 18.7%, depending on various factors. [61]

[edit] History

Modafinil originated with the late 1970s invention of a series of benzhydryl sulfinyl compounds, also including adrafinil, by scientists working with the French pharmaceutical company Lafon. Adrafinil was first offered as an experimental treatment for narcolepsy in France in 1986. Modafinil is the primary metabolite of adrafinil and has similar activity but is much more widely used. It has been prescribed in France since 1994 under the name Modiodal, and in the US since 1998 as Provigil. It was approved for use in the UK in December 2002. Modafinil is marketed in the US by Cephalon Inc., who leased the rights from Lafon. Cephalon eventually purchased Lafon in 2001. In 2005, a petition by a private individual was filed with the FDA requesting over-the-counter sale of modafinil.[62]

A U.S. Patent 4,927,855 was granted to Lafon for modafinil in 1990. The FDA granted modafinil orphan drug status in 1993. The formulation patent expired on 30 March 2006. The particle size patent was filed by Cephalon U.S. Patent 5,618,845 , covering pharmaceutical compositions of modafinil, in 1994. That patent, granted in 1997, was reissued in 2002 as RE 37,516, which provides Cephalon with patent protection for certain preparations of the drug in the United States until 2014, which is now apparently extended to April 6, 2015 after Cephalon received a six-month patent extension from the FDA.[63] However, a settlement in which Cephalon apparently paid out US$ 200 million to four generic drug manufacturers[64] may mean that generic forms of the drug will become available in April 2012 (October 2011 prior to the six month extension).

Some competing pharmaceutical manufacturers have applied to the FDA to market a generic form of modafinil in 2006. At least one withdrew their application after early opposition by Cephalon based on their new patent on particle sizes. There is some question as to whether a particle size patent is sufficient protection against the manufacture of generics. Pertinent questions include whether modafinil may be modified or manufactured to avoid the granularities specified in the new Cephalon patent, and whether patenting particle size is invalid because particles of appropriate sizes are likely to be obvious to practitioners skilled in the art. However, under United States patent law, a patent is entitled to a legal presumption of validity, meaning that in order to invalidate the patent, much more than "pertinent questions" are required. To date, no generic manufacturer has been able to invalidate Cephalon's particle size patent, and, indeed, those that attempted to do so were not successful such that the patent remains in force.

[edit] Other wakefulness promoting agents

Other modalities may be considered. However, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. began Phase II clinical trials in 2007 for VSF-173, a drug that also targets excessive sleepiness.[65]

[edit] Legal status

Modafinil is currently[update] classified as a non-narcotic Schedule IV controlled substance under United States federal law; it is illegal to import by anyone other than a DEA-registered importer without a prescription.[66] However, one may legally bring up to 50 dosage units (i.e. pills) of Modafinil to the United States in person from a foreign country, provided that he or she has a prescription for it, and the drug is properly declared at the border crossing.[67] Note that Adrafinil, a drug that is closely related to Modafinil, is currently not classified as a controlled substance, and therefore it is not as severely regulated.

The following countries do not classify Modafinil as a controlled substance:

* Canada (not listed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but it is a Schedule F prescription drug[68], so it is subject to seizure by Canada Customs)
* Mexico[69]
* United Kingdom (not listed in the Misuse of Drugs Act and is available by prescription without legal restrictions)[70]
* Australia (listed as a Schedule 4 prescription drug)
* In Germany the classification has been changed from controlled substance (BtM) to prescription drug (RP) effective since March 1, 2008.
* In India, generic retailing as Modalert is available from Sun Pharmaceuticals.

Currently, use of modafinil is controversial in the sporting world, with high profile cases attracting press coverage as prominent United States athletes have tested positive for the substance. Some athletes who were found to have used modafinil protested that the drug was not on the prohibited list at the time of their offence. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) maintains it was related to already banned substances. The agency added modafinil to the list of prohibited substances on August 3, 2004, ten days before the start of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

[edit] In popular culture

In the science-fiction film The Invasion, an alien virus attacks humans while they sleep, so people who want to stay alive need to stay awake. The character played by actress Nicole Kidman is seen rummaging in a pharmacy for a stimulant. She grabs a bottle of Modifinil with a 1-gram dosage (the common dosages for modafinil are 100 mg and 200 mg). In the Legacy of the Aldenata series of science fiction novels, the drug is referred to by the trade name Provigil and is used by military personnel in combination with a powerful stimulant to remain alert.

In the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the season 8 episode "Cockroaches" CSI Warrick Brown, suffering from stress-related insomnia due to his divorce, is shown taking a prescription for 100-milligram Modafinil to help him stay alert at work, but a co-worker becomes concerned that he is taking the pills too often and is taking them in conjunction with a prescription for sleeping pills (which are later referred to as Zolpidem). In the television series House, the season 2 episode "Forever" ends with a scene where Dr. Foreman is testing his memory with flash cards containing dosage information for various prescription drugs. After briefly giving up in frustration, he realizes Dr. Cameron saw him and decides to continue. Upon reading the next card, he smiles in triumph: the card is turned over to reveal the drug was Modafinil. On the Law & Order: SVU episode Hothouse a 15-year old girl used Provigil to study harder and ended up killing her roommate.
from: wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil

African Maps - mapping Africa

Tuesday, 12 November, 2002, 08:26 GMT
Africa's oldest map unveiled


By Alastair Leithead
BBC correspondent in Cape Town

The oldest map of the African continent, dating back to 1389, has gone on display in Cape Town.

It is part of an exhibition drawing attention to the history of South Africa and the way it is perceived around the world.

The Chinese map, covering more than 17 square metres, was produced in silk.

It is thought to be a copy of a map sculpted into rock 20 or 30 years earlier.

It is never been shown to the public before anywhere in the world, and the South African government was given special permission to take a full size facsimile of the delicate historical artwork.


South Africans have to find their own perspective, and accept the validity of perspectives of others

Frene Jinwala, Speaker of South African parliament

The Da Ming Hun Yi Tu, or Amalgamated Map of the Great Ming Empire, is a unique snapshot of history.

Created in China in 1389, and clearly showing the shape of Africa, more than 100 years before Western explorers and map-makers reached the continent.

Challenging stereotypes

The full-size facsimile of the silk map forms the centrepiece of an exhibition, Perspectives on and of Africa, at the South African parliament.

Up to now, only a small number of people have been allowed to see the original.

The speaker of the National Assembly, Frene Jinwala, said it was an important exhibit for South Africa.

"We're trying to illustrate perspective. There is no north or south in space," she said.

"It's a political decision that places the northern hemisphere on top of a globe and that collectively South Africans have to find their own perspective, and accept the validity of perspectives of others."

Organisers hope the exhibition challenges Western perspectives of Africa, of slavery and colonial exploitation.

It is using the Chinese map alongside South African rock art to illustrate the history of the continent before the time it was discovered by Europeans.

***

"(...)Precolonial maps

While cartography in sub-Saharan Africa is generally associated with outside perceptions and even economic and political impositions, there are indigenous traditions of representing space which pre-date colonial rule. Those most consistent with European practices are linked to Islam and Middle Eastern culture, which entered the sub-Saharan regions of the continent as early as the eighth century CE. Muhammad Bello, the highly literate ruler of the Sokoto Caliphate in the north of present-day Nigeria could thus provide early nineteenth-century European explorers with a reasonably accurate map of his domains and the major trade routes within them. However, it is not clear whether such visual representations were used for internal purposes within this state and political boundaries are not indicated with any degree of precision. In this case of formal visualization, just as in the oral statements about the spatial dimensions of African states recorded in many other instances (Wilks), power is seen as radiating out from a clearly defined center to more vague frontiers, sometimes marked by (but not necessarily identified with) natural features such as the Niger river (in the Sokoto case). This political cartography stands in strong contrast, as will be seen, to modern conceptions of statehood expressed in colonial (and postcolonial) African boundaries.

Luba lukasa

Precolonial African representations of space were not limited, however, to political and economic issues. The most developed and striking forms of cartography used landscape references to express ideas about identity, migration histories, mythology, and relationships with spiritual forces. They were definitely created for internal use rather than communication with outsiders and might take the form of elaborate artifacts such as the Luba lukasa or wall decorations, temporary drawings on the ground, body tattoos and even compass orientations inscribed on to objects which do not themselves represent space (Bassett).

These complex forms of indigenous cartography provide evidence of African ability to think systematically and graphically about space and force us to extend our own conceptions of maps (which were not always such "practical" devices in earlier European history). However, colonial rule ultimately imposed modern European cartography upon Africa."from: Ralph A. Austen (2001)."Mapping Africa: Problems of Regional Definition and Colonial/National Boundaries" retrieved from:
http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777122619/
see: Bassett, T.J.(1997) "African Maps and Mapmaking" in H. Selin (ed.) Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, (Dordrecht, Kluwer), 554-558. in the forthcoming *Encyclopedia of the History of Science,
Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures* edited by Helaine
Selin (New York: Garland Publishing Co.)
Bassett, T.J. (1998) "Indigenous Mapmaking in Intertropical Africa" in D. Woodward and M. Lewis (eds), The History of Cartography, Vol 2, Bk 3: Cartography in the Traditonal African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies (Chicago, U. of Chicago Press),pp. 24-48.

The definition of a map used by *The History* is fairly generous:

"Maps are graphic representations that facilitate a spatial
understanding of the things, concepts, conditions, processes, or
events in the human world. World's mapped can be geographical,
celestial, or cosmographical, and the act of map making can range
from records of ephemeral images to conventional aspects of
material culture such as painted surfaces or carved objects"

Herbert Achternbusch

Juventude em Marcha Pedro Costa

Segunda-feira, Fevereiro 19, 2007
Pedro Costa - "Juventude em Marcha"

Bork

"Nha cretcheu, meu amor
O nosso encontro torna a nossa vida mais bonita, pelo menos há mais de trinta anos.
Pela minha parte, torno-me mais novo e volto cheio de força.
Eu gostava de te oferecer cem mil cigarros,
uma dúzia de vestidos daqueles mais modernos,
um automóvel,
uma casinha de lava que tu tanto querias,
um ramalhete de flores de quatro tostões.
Mas antes de todas as coisas
Bebe uma garrafa de vinho do bom,
Pensa em mim.
Aqui o trabalho nunca pára.
Agora somos mais de cem.
No outro ontem, no meu aniversário
Foi altura de um longo pensamento para ti.
A carta que te levaram chegou bem.
Não tive resposta tua.
Fico à espera.
Todos os dias, todos os minutos,
Todos os dias aprendo umas palavras novas e bonitas, só para nós dois.
Mesmo assim à nossa medida, como um pijama de seda fina que tu não queres.
Só posso te chegar uma carta por mês.
Ainda sempre nada da tua mão.
Fica para a próxima.
Às vezes tenho medo de construir esta parede
Eu, com picareta e cimento
E tu, com o teu silêncio
Uma vala tão funda que te empurra para um longo esquecimento.
Até dói cá dentro ver estas coisas más que não queria ver
O teu cabelo tão lindo cai-me das mãos como as ervas secas.
Às vezes perco a força e juro que vou esquecer de mim."

Sarah Maple

Bork
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Art Space Talk: Sarah Maple

People often think that Sarah Maple is trying to be offensive with her Islamic based art. This is a huge misconception as she is Muslim herself and would not want to offend her own faith. With her work she reveals the confusion that many young Muslims face within the context of contemporary western society. This study offers the viewer 'food for thought' and is influenced by the quest to discover and question 'Identity'.

In her work she questions if it is possible to be a 'good' Muslim in the West; especially if you are mixed race and from two contrasting cultural backgrounds like she is. Islam is indeed a way of life. But what do modern British Muslims do surrounded by both influences? Which lifestyle do they choose? Or can the two be fused?


Brian Sherwin: Sarah, can you tell our readers about your early experiences with art? When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue art? Also, where did you study art? Who are your mentors... your influences?

Sarah Maple: Well the first time I ever became interested in art was when I was about four or five years old. I pulled out the drawer from underneath my bed and found hundreds and hundreds of drawings my Mother had done of portraits. I thought 'fuck me, these are amazing' (I'm sure i didn't swear at that age, but you get what I mean!). I used to sneakily look in there all the time, I found them utterly amazing. And I think this was where my fascination with the portrait came from.

I started drawing portraits all the time. To this day I am still in love with portraits. I studied art at Kingston. Although I learnt a hell of a lot at art school I found it a difficult experience and very pleased to have left. My influence is mainly contemporary culture, like rock n roll, fashion, the news, all that jazz. I love people who are off the rails or are slightly wrong like Kate Moss. I love those people who don't care and just do what they like and take a risk. A great example of this was Rufus Wainwright at Glastonbury this year. I also love people who are genuine and speak from the heart, even if it's really depressing, that's why I love the Smiths and they are always in my work.

Identity is a huge theme to me, it's fascinating - not only in terms of who we actually are - but also in terms of how we portray ourselves - even if it's a false image - which is even more interesting.
Do you remember how when Geri Halliwell left the Spice girls she was so adamant to portray she wasn't the perceived image of 'Ginger Spice'. Like she did that documentary, started wearing suits and all that. I always found that amazing how she'd gone to great lengths to be seen in one way to make the spice girls a success, then was desperate to show her true self which unfortunately for her was much less interesting than Ginger.
Debbie Harry is my ultimate icon. I went to the hairdresser last week and said 'give me a late seventies Debbie Harry'. 'Ok!' she said. Now I look a bit silly. I will never accept a half Asian girl cannot pull off a Blondie look.


BS: In the past you were primarily a painter. However in 2007 you started to take photographs. You have stated that your ideas have flourished since picking up the camera and that photography is how you see your art progressing in the future. That must have been a big decision. Why has photography had such an impact on you? Do you plan to combine painting with photography at some point?
SM: Before starting photography this year I was doing all these painted self portraits in late 2006 (e.g 'Bananarama' ' self portrait with my mother's headscarf and the breast of Kate Moss'). Someone said to me that if I wasn't going to use the paint as a medium to express my concepts, then there was no point in painting, I may as well have just taken photographs.
This really got to me because I knew they were right. I always thought I was a painter and that was it. I reluctantly hired a camera to spend a couple of weeks doing photography. All of a sudden just having this new medium seemed to open up the flood gates and all these ideas came out. Since then it's been non-stop!



BS: Sarah, you have experienced a bit of controversy over your Islamic based art. Many do not seem to understand that you are a Muslim... and that you are attempting to reveal the distorted view that many Muslims have of their faith and culture within the context of western society. Would you like to clear the air with this interview? Go into detail about what exactly you are striving to do and why it is important for you to do it.
SM: My work with Islamic themes comes from my own experience of being mixed race. because of cultural and religious clashes I think it's very hard to mix east and west. I think many Muslims get it so confused, for example I know people who will celebrate Eid by getting pissed, it's such a contradiction! I suppose I get fed up with the judgment' I feel is put on me by other Muslims who may see me as substandard because I don't pray or cover myself. This is reflected in my work.
The best example of this is my piece 'White Girl' (which is a derogatory term I discovered is used amongst Muslims for a non-Muslim or a 'bad' Muslim) I made this after feeling angry when speaking to an old Muslim friend about my art.



BS: Your work is very focused on examining the human condition. Have you studied psychology... or do you base your work simply on your personal observations of society? If the study of psychology does play a role in your work... which psychologist have influenced you? What theories?

SM: The human condition is fascinating to me. This is what I mean by how I love people who speak from the heart. Human behavior and human passions - good and bad - are incredible. I am very interested in psychology but have never studied it.




BS: There also seems to be a feminist quality to some of your work in that they show the power that a Muslim woman can have over her own body. For example, in your self-portrait painting, Bananarama, you are dressed in traditional Muslim clothing. In your hand you hold a banana- which you are gently placing inside your mouth. This piece is obviously sexually suggestive... is this a charge for Muslim women to have the same sexual freedoms that women in western society have? Or is it simply meant to reveal desires that are sometimes hidden... or locked away by faith?

SM: The latter. More like desires or sins that are hidden. For example, when I was younger and I'd see a Muslim person wearing a headscarf I always used to think 'Wow they must be so good and religious'. But then I realized this isn't the case.
Just because you look the part doesn't mean you act the part. It doesn't make them a better Muslim than me. This is what my piece 'salat' is about. It's about the perception of Muslims and what makes a 'good' Muslim - those layers or truths that are hidden underneath.

BS: Your piece, Signs, also seems to have a feminist quality to it. The piece depicts three different versions of you: Traditional, Sexual, and Professional. These three images come together to demand questions about gender equality in the workforce and in society as a whole. You've mentioned that your work is mostly focused on the Muslim female experience. However, would you say that images like this set a universal message as to how women are seen within the context of society... and the challenges they face equally no matter what their background is? The fact that women are often held back due to their sex...

SM: Yes. When I thought up this work it was because I was thinking about how some men gain respect for just being men. Like an automatic advantage. It's like that in the Asian culture- the man is often treated like a king! But then I felt a little of this attitude was going on in art school- subconsciously.
I thought to myself 'if I want to be an artist, it would be much better if I was a man' - like this instant respect. And in this work I am acknowledging this. I know I am guilty of it too - most of my favorite people are men. It would be great to have a penis!




BS: One interesting aspect of your work is the fact that it deals with very serious issues in a humorous manner. Your conceptual ideas reveal a light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek approach that is very playful. Why do you think so many people miss the humor in your work?

SM: I think it's because they think I am taking the piss in a spiteful way, which I'm not. I just think humour is the ultimate way to make a point and that's why my work is very light hearted. But saying this I think it has to be an intelligent joke- not just prattling around for the sake of it. I like a clever joke that makes you think and that is what I aim to do.
One person wrote to me in a rage about my work and they didn't even realise I was Muslim. I have no respect for people like that because what's the point in taking the time to write to someone to insult them, but not take the time to first find out why I'm doing what I'm doing. Surely if it had offended them so much they would have clicked on my art statement to see what I had to say for myself.
That is the only case of complaint though, so far people have been so supportive of me which I really appreciate.



BS: Sarah, you are going to be exhibiting with the Saatchi Gallery, correct? I understand that you are one of 20 shortlisted students who have been invited to show work in an exhibition in London during the week of the Frieze Art Fair. Out of the 20, four winners will be selected to make a work of art in response to the theme: THE WORLD IN 25 YEARS. The show is sponsored by The Saatchi Gallery and Channel 4... it is called 4 New Sensations. Can you tell our readers how you found out that you had been selected as one of the 20? Also, if you end up being a finalist... what do you plan to do for the 'THE WORLD IN 25 YEARS' piece? Have you been mapping out what you will do... or are you just letting things ride for now, so to speak?

SM: Well I am very excited to tell you that I am one of the final four. I haven't been able to tell any local press etc yet because of various arrangements Saatchi have. But it's extremely exciting indeed.
My work is going to be a poster campaign - four posters in total. But I can't reveal anything until the work is done or it'll ruin the fun!


BS: Have you sought gallery representation yet?

SM: Not exactly. I'm talking to people but nothing has materialised just yet. It's very early on in my career and I want to agree on the right arrangement for me at this point.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the artworld?

SM: It's all very 'mwah mwah lovely darling' isn't it! It's a shame I can't take advantage of all the free wine at private views!
Bork
Bork
I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Sarah Maple. You can view more of Sarah's art by visiting her website: www.sarahmaple.com
Take care, Stay true,
Brian Sherwin





see also: This artist blows
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/This-artist-blows

Gallery attacked over 'insulting' artworks

By Arifa Akbar, Arts Correspondent

Thursday, 30 October 2008


A gallery showing inflammatory images of veiled Muslims, including a bare-breasted woman partially clad in a burqa, is under police surveillance after being attacked earlier this week.

Windows and doors at the SaLon Gallery in west London were smashed after a series of abusive, anonymous phone calls and angry protests about the images from Muslims. The gallery has complained to police.

The solo exhibition of paintings by Sarah Maple includes a veiled woman holding a pig, which is interpreted as a flagrant disregard of the Islamic ban on eating pork. The show – entitled "This Artist Blows" – also includes two self-portraits: one of Maple wearing a headscarf has an image of Kate Moss's naked breast attached to it; another shows Maple in a T-shirt bearing the slogan "I love jihad". In another, a veiled Muslim woman wears a badge that says "I love orgasms".

Last night, Maple, a 23-year-old of Kenyan and British parentage, defended her work, saying she had not meant to cause offence but to explore her Britishness and her Muslim faith. She voiced concern about her safety and said she hoped the exhibition of 39 pictures, which opened this month, would not be taken down before its official closing date of 23 November.

"I do think some people have just reacted to my work without thinking about the concepts behind it," she said. "I'm a practising Muslim and initially, when I started making the work, it was really personal, about my background with my father being British and my mother who is a Muslim and how I felt growing up. I was exploring the question of fusing those two together and whether it could be done."

Maple, from Sussex, has upset the Islamic world before. An exhibition by her earlier this year showed Muslim women in provocative poses, including one suggestively sucking on a banana. She won the Saatchi Prize last year for her self-portraits, some of which showed her in a headscarf smoking a cigarette. "People interpreted it as being related to sex, and that it was a post-sex light up," she said.

A spokeswoman for SaLon said the gallery in Bayswater, a part of London with a large Muslim population, was receiving about 12 abusive phone calls a day and emails condemning the show. Staff had to call police last week after an angry woman came in to complain. "She was in a full burqa and was irate and upset. Her behaviour was quite threatening," added the spokeswoman.

While some of Maple's paintings can be seen through the gallery's front window, the more controversial works are behind a curtain downstairs.

Mokhtar Badri, the vice-president of the Muslim Association of Britain, said that while he thought the exhibition provocative, he defended freedom of expression and condemned any violence inspired by the display. "I urged the gallery and the artist to respect the community in the area, but if Muslims see the work and dislike it, it is completely wrong to use any violent expression of that," he added.

Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, agreed: "People may well have strong views on the use of Islamic imagery in Sarah Maple's exhibition. However, there can be no justification whatsoever for hooliganism of this sort or issuing threats."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/gallery-attacked-over-insulting-artworks-978554.html

Wilkins Ice Shelf under threat

Wilkins Ice Shelf under threat

Rifts on the Wilkins Ice Shelf


28 November 2008
New rifts have developed on the Wilkins Ice Shelf that could lead to the opening of the ice bridge that has been preventing the ice shelf from disintegrating and breaking away from the Antarctic Peninsula.

The ice bridge connects the Wilkins Ice Shelf to two islands, Charcot and Latady. As seen in the Envisat image above acquired on 26 November 2008, new rifts (denoted by colourful lines and dates of the events) have formed to the east of Latady Island and appear to be moving in a northerly direction.

Dr Angelika Humbert from the Institute of Geophysics, Münster University, and Dr Matthias Braun from the Center for Remote Sensing, University of Bonn, spotted the newly formed rifts during their daily monitoring activities of the ice sheet via Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) acquisitions.

"These new rifts, which have joined previously existing rifts on the ice shelf (blue dotted line), threaten to break up the chunk of ice located beneath the 21 July date, which would cause the bridge to lose its stabilisation and collapse," Humbert explained. "These recent changes are happening slower and more continuously than the events we saw earlier this year."


Wilkins Ice Shelf

Wilkins Ice Shelf - 20-26 November
In February 2008 an area of about 400 km² broke off from the ice shelf, narrowing the ice bridge down to a 6 km strip. At the end of May 2008 an area of about 160 km² broke off, reducing the ice bridge to just 2.7 km. Between 30 May and 9 July 2008, the ice shelf experienced further disintegration and lost about 1 350 km².

The Wilkins Ice Shelf, a broad plate of floating ice south of South America on the Antarctic Peninsula, had been stable for most of the last century before it began retreating in the 1990s. The peninsula has been experiencing extraordinary warming in the past 50 years of 2.5°C.

If the ice shelf breaks away from the peninsula, it will not cause a rise in sea level since it is already floating. However, ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula are sandwiched by extraordinarily raising surface air temperatures and a warming ocean, making them important indicators for on-going climate change.

Long-term satellite monitoring over Antarctica is important because it provides authoritative evidence of trends and allows scientists to make predictions. Over the last 17 years, ESA’s ERS and Envisat satellite missions have been the main vehicles for testing and demonstrating the use of Earth Observation data in Polar Regions.


Break-ups of Larsen-B and Wilkins ice shelves



In the past 20 years, seven ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula have retreated or disintegrated, including the most spectacular break-up of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002, which Envisat captured within days of its launch.

Envisat’s ASAR instrument is particularly suited to acquire images over Antarctica during the local winter period because it is able to produce high-quality images through bad weather and darkness, conditions often found in the area.

Daily ASAR images of Antarctica are easily accessible to scientists. ESA will publish an update about the status of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in the event of a break-up.

Type
Still Image
Title
Diagram Showing System of Finger Counting ca. 8th Century AD
Identifying Numbers
other number P4456
Dimensions
10 x 8 in.
Description
Black and white. Series of drawing showing hands (top section) and persons demonstrating finger counting. Image is dark and grainy. Verso: label with caption reads: "Title: Diagram showing system of finger counting." "Artist: anonymous" "Date: 8th Century AD' "Lent by: The Computer Museum, Boston, MA" "From the exhibition: Computers In Your Pocket: The History of Hand Held Calculators" "Photo credit: the Computer Museum, Boston, MA"
Category
Other: See Description
Subject
Calculators--History; Computer industry--History; Computers--History
Accession Number
102630685

ARCTIC PERSPECTIVE INITIATIVE -Deadline:1st of July 2009

Call for proposals: Open Architecture Competition

ARCTIC PERSPECTIVE INITIATIVE
More Information:

http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/global/arcticperspectives.html

(March 2009) HMKV (Germany), Projekt Atol (Slovenia), The Arts Catalyst (UK), LORNA (Iceland) and CTASC (Canada) announce a call for proposals for a Mobile Media-Centric Habitation and Work Unit, to be sited in the Arctic region. Proposals are invited from architects, designers, engineers, artists, students, and engineering teams. 9000 Euro in prize money available.

Deadline: 1 July 2009

DOWNLOAD OPEN ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION DETAILS HERE ...


Background

The cooperative project Arctic Perspective Initiative directs attention to the global cultural and ecological significance of the polar regions.

These are zones of contemporary geopolitical conflict and at the same time potential spaces for transnational and intercultural cooperation and collaboration. In view of the effects of climate change, the economic exploitation of untapped reservoirs of energy and natural resources in the polar regions is beginning to seem increasingly feasible.

By contrast, the cooperative project Arctic Perspective – Third Culture 2008-2010 emphasizes that the significance of the polar regions is not exclusively economic. Rather, the (inhabited) Arctic and the (uninhabited) Antarctic, as well as the radical cultural and ecological changes taking place at the North and South poles, are central to a critical understanding of the complex planetary system that involves a dynamic relationship between culture, economy, geopolitics, and ecology.

The partner organizations from five different countries – HMKV (Dortmund, Germany), The Arts Catalyst (London, Great Britain), Projekt Atol (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Lorna (Reykjavik, Iceland) und C-TASC (Montréal, Canada) – are working jointly on enhancing public awareness of the cultural and ecological significance of the Arctic. The project aims to bring closer to a wide audience the urgency of the problems emerging in the Arctic with particular clarity: the changing cultural landscape of the region, the potential for new intercultural dialogue, conflicting economic and territorial interests, ecological problems, climate change, and the effects of ecological changes on the life of the Inuit.

With the means of (media) art and interdisciplinary artistic research (“third culture”) the project examines the complex global cultural and ecological interrelations in the Arctic, develops concepts for the construction of sustainable tactical communication systems and infrastructure and sustainable art/science research stations aimed at the furthering of interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue and cooperation. The jointly obtained results will be presented in the framework of European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 as well as the international media-art conference ISEA 2010 RUHR.

Alain Badiou - The Communist Hypothesis

ALAIN BADIOU
THE COMMUNIST HYPOTHESIS

http://www.newleftreview.org/?view=2705

There was a tangible sense of depression in the air in France in the aftermath of Sarkozy’s victory. [1] It is often said that unexpected blows are the worst, but expected ones sometimes prove debilitating in a different way. It can be oddly dispiriting when an election is won by the candidate who has led in the opinion polls from the start, just as when the favourite horse wins the race; anyone with the slightest feeling for a wager, a risk, an exception or a rupture would rather see an outsider upset the odds. Yet it could hardly have been the bare fact of Nicolas Sarkozy as President that seemed to come as such a disorientating blow to the French left in the aftermath of May 2007. Something else was at stake—some complex of factors for which ‘Sarkozy’ is merely a name. How should it be understood?

An initial factor was the way in which the outcome affirmed the manifest powerlessness of any genuinely emancipatory programme within the electoral system: preferences are duly recorded, in the passive manner of a seismograph, but the process is one that by its nature excludes any embodiments of dissenting political will. A second component of the left’s depressive disorientation after May 2007 was an overwhelming bout of historical nostalgia. The political order that emerged from World War Two in France—with its unambiguous referents of ‘left’ and ‘right’, and its consensus, shared by Gaullists and Communists alike, on the balance-sheet of the Occupation, Resistance and Liberation—has now collapsed. This is one reason for Sarkozy’s ostentatious dinners, yachting holidays and so on—a way of saying that the left no longer frightens anyone: Vivent les riches, and to hell with the poor. Understandably, this may fill the sincere souls of the left with nostalgia for the good old days—Mitterrand, De Gaulle, Marchais, even Chirac, Gaullism’s Brezhnev, who knew that to do nothing was the easiest way to let the system die.

Sarkozy has now finally finished off the cadaverous form of Gaullism over which Chirac presided. The Socialists’ collapse had already been anticipated in the rout of Jospin in the presidential elections of 2002 (and still more by the disastrous decision to embrace Chirac in the second round). The present decomposition of the Socialist Party, however, is not just a matter of its political poverty, apparent now for many years, nor of the actual size of the vote—47 per cent is not much worse than its other recent scores. Rather, the election of Sarkozy appears to have struck a blow to the entire symbolic structuring of French political life: the system of orientation itself has suffered a defeat. An important symptom of the resulting disorientation is the number of former Socialist placemen rushing to take up appointments under Sarkozy, the centre-left opinion-makers singing his praises; the rats have fled the sinking ship in impressive numbers. The underlying rationale is, of course, that of the single party: since all accept the logic of the existing capitalist order, market economy and so forth, why maintain the fiction of opposing parties?

A third component of the contemporary disorientation arose from the outcome of the electoral conflict itself. I have characterized the 2007 presidential elections—pitting Sarkozy against Royal—as the clash of two types of fear. The first is the fear felt by the privileged, alarmed that their position may be assailable. In France this manifests itself as fear of foreigners, workers, youth from the banlieue, Muslims, black Africans. Essentially conservative, it creates a longing for a protective master, even one who oppresses and impoverishes you further. The current embodiment of this figure is, of course, the over-stimulated police chief: Sarkozy. In electoral terms, this is contested not by a resounding affirmation of self-determining heterogeneity, but by the fear of this fear: a fear, too, of the cop figure, whom the petit-bourgeois socialist voter neither knows nor likes. This ‘fear of the fear’ is a secondary, derivative emotion, whose content—beyond the sentiment itself—is barely detectable; the Royal camp had no concept of any alliance with the excluded or oppressed; the most it could envisage was to reap the dubious benefits of fear. For both sides, a total consensus reigned on Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan (where French forces are fighting), Lebanon (ditto), Africa (swarming with French military ‘administrators’). Public discussion of alternatives on these issues was on neither party’s agenda.

The conflict between the primary fear and the ‘fear of the fear’ was settled in favour of the former. There was a visceral reflex in play here, very apparent in the faces of those partying over Sarkozy’s victory. For those in the grip of the ‘fear of the fear’ there was a corresponding negative reflex, flinching from the result: this was the third component of 2007’s depressive disorientation. We should not underestimate the role of what Althusser called the ‘ideological state apparatus’—increasingly through the media, with the press now playing a more sophisticated part than tv and radio—in formulating and mobilizing such collective sentiments. Within the electoral process there has, it seems, been a weakening of the real; a process even further advanced with regard to the secondary ‘fear of the fear’ than with the primitive, reactionary one. We react, after all, to a real situation, whereas the ‘fear of the fear’ merely takes fright at the scale of that reaction, and is thus at a still further remove from reality. The vacuity of this position manifested itself perfectly in the empty exaltations of Ségolène Royal.
Electoralism and the state

If we posit a definition of politics as ‘collective action, organized by certain principles, that aims to unfold the consequences of a new possibility which is currently repressed by the dominant order’, then we would have to conclude that the electoral mechanism is an essentially apolitical procedure. This can be seen in the gulf between the massive formal imperative to vote and the free-floating, if not non-existent nature of political or ideological convictions. It is good to vote, to give a form to my fears; but it is hard to believe that what I am voting for is a good thing in itself. This is not to say that the electoral-democratic system is repressive per se; rather, that the electoral process is incorporated into a state form, that of capitalo-parliamentarianism, appropriate for the maintenance of the established order, and consequently serves a conservative function. This creates a further feeling of powerlessness: if ordinary citizens have no handle on state decision-making save the vote, it is hard to see what way forward there could be for an emancipatory politics.

If the electoral mechanism is not a political but a state procedure, what does it achieve? Drawing on the lessons of 2007, one effect is to incorporate both the fear and the ‘fear of the fear’ into the state—to invest the state with these mass-subjective elements, the better to legitimate it as an object of fear in its own right, equipped for terror and coercion. For the world horizon of democracy is increasingly defined by war. The West is engaged on an expanding number of fronts: the maintenance of the existing order with its gigantic disparities has an irreducible military component; the duality of the worlds of rich and poor can only be sustained by force. This creates a particular dialectic of war and fear. Our governments explain that they are waging war abroad in order to protect us from it at home. If Western troops do not hunt down the terrorists in Afghanistan or Chechnya, they will come over here to organize the resentful rabble outcasts.
Strategic neo-Pétainism

In France, this alliance of fear and war has classically gone by the name of Pétainism. The mass ideology of Pétainism—responsible for its widespread success between 1940 and 1944—rested in part on the fear generated by the First World War: Marshal Pétain would protect France from the disastrous effects of the Second, by keeping well out of it. In the Marshal’s own words, it was necessary to be more afraid of war than of defeat. The vast majority of the French accepted the relative tranquillity of a consensual defeat and most got off fairly lightly during the War, compared to the Russians or even the English. The analogous project today is based on the belief that the French need simply to accept the laws of the us-led world model and all will be well: France will be protected from the disastrous effects of war and global disparity. This form of neo-Pétainism as a mass ideology is effectively on offer from both parties today. In what follows, I will argue that it is a key analytical element in understanding the disorientation that goes by the name of ‘Sarkozy’; to grasp the latter in its overall dimension, its historicity and intelligibility, requires us to go back to what I will call its Pétainist ‘transcendental’. [2]

I am not saying, of course, that circumstances today resemble the defeat of 1940, or that Sarkozy resembles Pétain. The point is a more formal one: that the unconscious national-historical roots of that which goes by the name of Sarkozy are to be found in this Pétainist configuration, in which the disorientation itself is solemnly enacted from the summit of the state, and presented as a historical turning-point. This matrix has been a recurring pattern in French history. It goes back to the Restoration of 1815 when a post-Revolutionary government, eagerly supported by émigrés and opportunists, was brought back in the foreigners’ baggage-train and declared, with the consent of a worn-out population, that it would restore public morality and order. In 1940, military defeat once again served as the context for the disorientating reversal of the real content of state action: the Vichy government spoke incessantly of the ‘nation’, yet was installed by the German Occupation; the most corrupt of oligarchs were to lead the country out of moral crisis; Pétain himself, an ageing general in the service of property, would be the embodiment of national rebirth.

Numerous aspects of this neo-Pétainist tradition are in evidence today. Typically, capitulation and servility are presented as invention and regeneration. These were central themes of Sarkozy’s campaign: the Mayor of Neuilly would transform the French economy and put the country back to work. The real content, of course, is a politics of continuous obedience to the demands of high finance, in the name of national renewal. A second characteristic is that of decline and ‘moral crisis’, which justifies the repressive measures taken in the name of regeneration. Morality is invoked, as so often, in place of politics and against any popular mobilization. Appeal is made instead to the virtues of hard work, discipline, the family: ‘merit should be rewarded’. This typical displacement of politics by morality has been prepared, from the 1970s ‘new philosophers’ onwards, by all who have laboured to ‘moralize’ historical judgement. The object is in reality political: to maintain that national decline has nothing to do with the high servants of capital but is the fault of certain ill-intentioned elements of the population—currently, foreign workers and young people from the banlieue.

A third characteristic of neo-Pétainism is the paradigmatic function of foreign experience. The example of correction always comes from abroad, from countries that have long overcome their moral crises. For Pétain, the shining examples were Mussolini’s Italy, Hitler’s Germany and Franco’s Spain: leaders who had put their countries back on their feet. The political aesthetic is that of imitation: like Plato’s demiurge, the state must shape society with its eyes fixed on foreign models. Today, of course, the examples are Bush’s America and Blair’s Britain.

A fourth characteristic is the notion that the source of the current crisis lies in a disastrous past event. For the proto-Pétainism of the 1815 Restoration, this was of course the Revolution and the beheading of the King. For Pétain himself in 1940 it was the Popular Front, the Blum government and above all the great strikes and factory occupations of 1936. The possessing classes far preferred the German Occupation to the fear which these disorders had provoked. For Sarkozy, the evils of May 68—forty years ago—have been constantly invoked as the cause of the current ‘crisis of values’. Neo-Pétainism provides a usefully simplified reading of history that links a negative event, generally with a working-class or popular structure, and a positive one, with a military or state structure, as a solution to the first. The arc between 1968 and 2007 can thus be offered as a source of legitimacy for the Sarkozy government, as the historic actor that will finally embark on the correction needed in the wake of the inaugural damaging event. Finally, there is the element of racism. Under Pétain this was brutally explicit: getting rid of the Jews. Today it is voiced in a more insinuating fashion: ‘we are not an inferior race’—the implication being, ‘unlike others’; ‘the true French need not doubt the legitimacy of their country’s actions’—in Algeria and elsewhere. In the light of these criteria, we can therefore point: the disorientation that goes by the name of ‘Sarkozy’ may be analysed as the latest manifestation of the Pétainist transcendental.
The spectre

At first sight there may seem something strange about the new President’s insistence that the solution to the country’s moral crisis, the goal of his ‘renewal’ process, was ‘to do away with May 68, once and for all’. Most of us were under the impression that it was long gone anyway. What is haunting the regime, under the name of May 68? We can only assume that it is the ‘spectre of communism’, in one of its last real manifestations. He would say (to give a Sarkozian prosopopoeia): ‘We refuse to be haunted by anything at all. It is not enough that empirical communism has disappeared. We want all possible forms of it banished. Even the hypothesis of communism—generic name of our defeat—must become unmentionable.’

What is the communist hypothesis? In its generic sense, given in its canonic Manifesto, ‘communist’ means, first, that the logic of class—the fundamental subordination of labour to a dominant class, the arrangement that has persisted since Antiquity—is not inevitable; it can be overcome. The communist hypothesis is that a different collective organization is practicable, one that will eliminate the inequality of wealth and even the division of labour. The private appropriation of massive fortunes and their transmission by inheritance will disappear. The existence of a coercive state, separate from civil society, will no longer appear a necessity: a long process of reorganization based on a free association of producers will see it withering away.

‘Communism’ as such denotes only this very general set of intellectual representations. It is what Kant called an Idea, with a regulatory function, rather than a programme. It is foolish to call such communist principles utopian; in the sense that I have defined them here they are intellectual patterns, always actualized in a different fashion. As a pure Idea of equality, the communist hypothesis has no doubt existed since the beginnings of the state. As soon as mass action opposes state coercion in the name of egalitarian justice, rudiments or fragments of the hypothesis start to appear. Popular revolts—the slaves led by Spartacus, the peasants led by Müntzer—might be identified as practical examples of this ‘communist invariant’. With the French Revolution, the communist hypothesis then inaugurates the epoch of political modernity.

What remains is to determine the point at which we now find ourselves in the history of the communist hypothesis. A fresco of the modern period would show two great sequences in its development, with a forty-year gap between them. The first is that of the setting in place of the communist hypothesis; the second, of preliminary attempts at its realization. The first sequence runs from the French Revolution to the Paris Commune; let us say, 1792 to 1871. It links the popular mass movement to the seizure of power, through the insurrectional overthrow of the existing order; this revolution will abolish the old forms of society and install ‘the community of equals’. In the course of the century, the formless popular movement made up of townsfolk, artisans and students came increasingly under the leadership of the working class. The sequence culminated in the striking novelty—and radical defeat—of the Paris Commune. For the Commune demonstrated both the extraordinary energy of this combination of popular movement, working-class leadership and armed insurrection, and its limits: the communards could neither establish the revolution on a national footing nor defend it against the foreign-backed forces of the counter-revolution.

The second sequence of the communist hypothesis runs from 1917 to 1976: from the Bolshevik Revolution to the end of the Cultural Revolution and the militant upsurge throughout the world during the years 1966–75. It was dominated by the question: how to win? How to hold out—unlike the Paris Commune—against the armed reaction of the possessing classes; how to organize the new power so as to protect it against the onslaught of its enemies? It was no longer a question of formulating and testing the communist hypothesis, but of realizing it: what the 19th century had dreamt, the 20th would accomplish. The obsession with victory, centred around questions of organization, found its principal expression in the ‘iron discipline’ of the communist party—the characteristic construction of the second sequence of the hypothesis. The party effectively solved the question inherited from the first sequence: the revolution prevailed, either through insurrection or prolonged popular war, in Russia, China, Czechoslovakia, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, and succeeded in establishing a new order.

But the second sequence in turn created a further problem, which it could not solve using the methods it had developed in response to the problems of the first. The party had been an appropriate tool for the overthrow of weakened reactionary regimes, but it proved ill-adapted for the construction of the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ in the sense that Marx had intended—that is, a temporary state, organizing the transition to the non-state: its dialectical ‘withering away’. Instead, the party-state developed into a new form of authoritarianism. Some of these regimes made real strides in education, public health, the valorization of labour, and so on; and they provided an international constraint on the arrogance of the imperialist powers. However, the statist principle in itself proved corrupt and, in the long run, ineffective. Police coercion could not save the ‘socialist’ state from internal bureaucratic inertia; and within fifty years it was clear that it would never prevail in the ferocious competition imposed by its capitalist adversaries. The last great convulsions of the second sequence—the Cultural Revolution and May 68, in its broadest sense—can be understood as attempts to deal with the inadequacy of the party.
Interludes

Between the end of the first sequence and the beginning of the second there was a forty-year interval during which the communist hypothesis was declared to be untenable: the decades from 1871 to 1914 saw imperialism triumphant across the globe. Since the second sequence came to an end in the 1970s we have been in another such interval, with the adversary in the ascendant once more. What is at stake in these circumstances is the eventual opening of a new sequence of the communist hypothesis. But it is clear that this will not be—cannot be—the continuation of the second one. Marxism, the workers’ movement, mass democracy, Leninism, the party of the proletariat, the socialist state—all the inventions of the 20th century—are not really useful to us any more. At the theoretical level they certainly deserve further study and consideration; but at the level of practical politics they have become unworkable. The second sequence is over and it is pointless to try to restore it.

At this point, during an interval dominated by the enemy, when new experiments are tightly circumscribed, it is not possible to say with certainty what the character of the third sequence will be. But the general direction seems discernible: it will involve a new relation between the political movement and the level of the ideological—one that was prefigured in the expression ‘cultural revolution’ or in the May 68 notion of a ‘revolution of the mind’. We will still retain the theoretical and historical lessons that issued from the first sequence, and the centrality of victory that issued from the second. But the solution will be neither the formless, or multi-form, popular movement inspired by the intelligence of the multitude—as Negri and the alter-globalists believe—nor the renewed and democratized mass communist party, as some of the Trotskyists and Maoists hope. The (19th-century) movement and the (20th-century) party were specific modes of the communist hypothesis; it is no longer possible to return to them. Instead, after the negative experiences of the ‘socialist’ states and the ambiguous lessons of the Cultural Revolution and May 68, our task is to bring the communist hypothesis into existence in another mode, to help it emerge within new forms of political experience. This is why our work is so complicated, so experimental. We must focus on its conditions of existence, rather than just improving its methods. We need to re-install the communist hypothesis—the proposition that the subordination of labour to the dominant class is not inevitable—within the ideological sphere.

What might this involve? Experimentally, we might conceive of finding a point that would stand outside the temporality of the dominant order and what Lacan once called ‘the service of wealth’. Any point, so long as it is in formal opposition to such service, and offers the discipline of a universal truth. One such might be the declaration: ‘There is only one world’. What would this imply? Contemporary capitalism boasts, of course, that it has created a global order; its opponents too speak of ‘alter-globalization’. Essentially, they propose a definition of politics as a practical means of moving from the world as it is to the world as we would wish it to be. But does a single world of human subjects exist? The ‘one world’ of globalization is solely one of things—objects for sale—and monetary signs: the world market as foreseen by Marx. The overwhelming majority of the population have at best restricted access to this world. They are locked out, often literally so.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was supposed to signal the advent of the single world of freedom and democracy. Twenty years later, it is clear that the world’s wall has simply shifted: instead of separating East and West it now divides the rich capitalist North from the poor and devastated South. New walls are being constructed all over the world: between Palestinians and Israelis, between Mexico and the United States, between Africa and the Spanish enclaves, between the pleasures of wealth and the desires of the poor, whether they be peasants in villages or urban dwellers in favelas, banlieues, estates, hostels, squats and shantytowns. The price of the supposedly unified world of capital is the brutal division of human existence into regions separated by police dogs, bureaucratic controls, naval patrols, barbed wire and expulsions. The ‘problem of immigration’ is, in reality, the fact that the conditions faced by workers from other countries provide living proof that—in human terms—the ‘unified world’ of globalization is a sham.
A performative unity

The political problem, then, has to be reversed. We cannot start from an analytic agreement on the existence of the world and proceed to normative action with regard to its characteristics. The disagreement is not over qualities but over existence. Confronted with the artificial and murderous division of the world into two—a disjunction named by the very term, ‘the West’—we must affirm the existence of the single world right from the start, as axiom and principle. The simple phrase, ‘there is only one world’, is not an objective conclusion. It is performative: we are deciding that this is how it is for us. Faithful to this point, it is then a question of elucidating the consequences that follow from this simple declaration.

A first consequence is the recognition that all belong to the same world as myself: the African worker I see in the restaurant kitchen, the Moroccan I see digging a hole in the road, the veiled woman looking after children in a park. That is where we reverse the dominant idea of the world united by objects and signs, to make a unity in terms of living, acting beings, here and now. These people, different from me in terms of language, clothes, religion, food, education, exist exactly as I do myself; since they exist like me, I can discuss with them—and, as with anyone else, we can agree and disagree about things. But on the precondition that they and I exist in the same world.

At this point, the objection about cultural difference will be raised: ‘our’ world is made up of those who accept ‘our’ values—democracy, respect for women, human rights. Those whose culture is contrary to this are not really part of the same world; if they want to join it they have to share our values, to ‘integrate’. As Sarkozy put it: ‘If foreigners want to remain in France, they have to love France; otherwise, they should leave.’ But to place conditions is already to have abandoned the principle, ‘there is only one world of living men and women’. It may be said that we need to take the laws of each country into account. Indeed; but a law does not set a precondition for belonging to the world. It is simply a provisional rule that exists in a particular region of the single world. And no one is asked to love a law, simply to obey it. The single world of living women and men may well have laws; what it cannot have is subjective or ‘cultural’ preconditions for existence within it—to demand that you have to be like everyone else. The single world is precisely the place where an unlimited set of differences exist. Philosophically, far from casting doubt on the unity of the world, these differences are its principle of existence.

The question then arises whether anything governs these unlimited differences. There may well be only one world, but does that mean that being French, or a Moroccan living in France, or Muslim in a country of Christian traditions, is nothing? Or should we see the persistence of such identities as an obstacle? The simplest definition of ‘identity’ is the series of characteristics and properties by which an individual or a group recognizes itself as its ‘self’. But what is this ‘self’? It is that which, across all the characteristic properties of identity, remains more or less invariant. It is possible, then, to say that an identity is the ensemble of properties that support an invariance. For example, the identity of an artist is that by which the invariance of his or her style can be recognized; homosexual identity is composed of everything bound up with the invariance of the possible object of desire; the identity of a foreign community in a country is that by which membership of this community can be recognized: language, gestures, dress, dietary habits, etc.

Defined in this way, by invariants, identity is doubly related to difference: on the one hand, identity is that which is different from the rest; on the other, it is that which does not become different, which is invariant. The affirmation of identity has two further aspects. The first form is negative. It consists of desperately maintaining that I am not the other. This is often indispensable, in the face of authoritarian demands for integration, for example. The Moroccan worker will forcefully affirm that his traditions and customs are not those of the petty-bourgeois European; he will even reinforce the characteristics of his religious or customary identity. The second involves the immanent development of identity within a new situation—rather like Nietzsche’s famous maxim, ‘become what you are’. The Moroccan worker does not abandon that which constitutes his individual identity, whether socially or in the family; but he will gradually adapt all this, in a creative fashion, to the place in which he finds himself. He will thus invent what he is—a Moroccan worker in Paris—not through any internal rupture, but by an expansion of identity.

The political consequences of the axiom, ‘there is only one world’, will work to consolidate what is universal in identities. An example—a local experiment—would be a meeting held recently in Paris, where undocumented workers and French nationals came together to demand the abolition of persecutory laws, police raids and expulsions; to demand that foreign workers be recognized simply in terms of their presence: that no one is illegal; all demands that are very natural for people who are basically in the same existential situation—people of the same world.
Time and courage

‘In such great misfortune, what remains to you?’ Corneille’s Medea is asked by her confidante. ‘Myself! Myself, I say, and it is enough’, comes the reply. What Medea retains is the courage to decide her own fate; and courage, I would suggest, is the principal virtue in face of the disorientation of our own times. Lacan also raises the issue in discussing the analytical cure for depressive debility: should this not end in grand dialectical discussions on courage and justice, on the model of Plato’s dialogues? In the famous ‘Dialogue on Courage’, General Laches, questioned by Socrates, replies: ‘Courage is when I see the enemy and run towards him to engage him in a fight.’ Socrates is not particularly satisfied with this, of course, and gently takes the General to task: ‘It’s a good example of courage, but an example is not a definition.’ Running the same risks as General Laches, I will give my definition.

First, I would retain the status of courage as a virtue—that is, not an innate disposition, but something that constructs itself, and which one constructs, in practice. Courage, then, is the virtue which manifests itself through endurance in the impossible. This is not simply a matter of a momentary encounter with the impossible: that would be heroism, not courage. Heroism has always been represented not as a virtue but as a posture: as the moment when one turns to meet the impossible face to face. The virtue of courage constructs itself through endurance within the impossible; time is its raw material. What takes courage is to operate in terms of a different durée to that imposed by the law of the world. The point we are seeking must be one that can connect to another order of time. Those imprisoned within the temporality assigned us by the dominant order will always be prone to exclaim, as so many Socialist Party henchmen have done, ‘Twelve years of Chirac, and now we have to wait for another round of elections. Seventeen years; perhaps twenty-two; a whole lifetime!’ At best, they will become depressed and disorientated; at worst, rats.

In many respects we are closer today to the questions of the 19th century than to the revolutionary history of the 20th. A wide variety of 19th-century phenomena are reappearing: vast zones of poverty, widening inequalities, politics dissolved into the ‘service of wealth’, the nihilism of large sections of the young, the servility of much of the intelligentsia; the cramped, besieged experimentalism of a few groups seeking ways to express the communist hypothesis . . . Which is no doubt why, as in the 19th century, it is not the victory of the hypothesis which is at stake today, but the conditions of its existence. This is our task, during the reactionary interlude that now prevails: through the combination of thought processes—always global, or universal, in character—and political experience, always local or singular, yet transmissible, to renew the existence of the communist hypothesis, in our consciousness and on the ground.


[1] This is an edited extract from De quoi Sarkozy est-il le nom?, Circonstances, 4, Nouvelles Editions Lignes, Paris 2007; to be published in English by Verso as What Do We Mean When We Say ‘Sarkozy’? in 2008.

[2] See my Logiques des mondes, Paris 2006 for a full development of the concept of ‘transcendentals’ and their function, which is to govern the order of appearance of multiplicities within a world.

Also available in: Spanish

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G20 protests London 2009




A Return to Communism?
Mark Fisher

Events

Towards the beginning of his paper at last weekend’s ‘On the Idea of Communism’ conference at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, self-described ‘anomalous sociologist’ Alberto Toscano cited the Observer’s recent review of The Meaning Of Sarkozy (2009) by Alain Badiou: ‘[W]hen he quotes Mao approvingly, and equivocates over the rights and wrongs of the Cultural Revolution,’ the review went, ‘it is hard not to feel a certain pride in workaday Anglo-Saxon empiricism, which inoculates us against the tyranny of pure political abstraction.’ Perhaps the inoculation isn’t as powerful as the reviewer hoped; the article goes on to admit that Badiou’s book is ‘strangely compelling’. In any case, it is an odd time to take a pride in ‘Anglo-Saxon empiricism’, since it is the unreflective, plain-speaking commonsense on which the British commentariat pride themselves that has led to the UK falling prey to the tyranny of another kind of abstraction, that of finance capital.

As you would expect, the current financial crisis was a subject that kept recurring at the three-day conference, and indeed may have partly accounted for the immense popularity of the event, which had to be changed to a larger venue because the level of interest was so high. But more than one speaker warned that it will take more than the crisis to undermine capitalism. As Slavoj Žižek rightly insisted, the dominant narrative of the crisis – whereby the excesses of particular capitalists are blamed, rather than the capitalist system itself – will only enable people to continue to sleep in the guise of waking up. Is it time for a return to communism? And, if so, to which idea of communism must we turn?

‘On the Idea of Communism’ was about Alain Badiou’s idea of communism. Badiou doggedly kept faith with the concept of communism at a time, after 1989, when it was both pronounced dead and criminalized , identified with the totalitarianism that a triumphalist liberal capitalism defined itself against. The key reference points for Badiou’s anti-statist version of communism are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Jacobins and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The most obvious absence from this list is Karl Marx, and Badiou’s interjection in the closing discussion (see clip below) confirmed that he rejects the idea – fundamental to Marx – that the economic and the political are indivisible. For Badiou, the political must always hold itself at a principled distance from the economic. But is ‘communism’ the best name for Badiou’s egalitarian and emancipatory philosophy? And does the word ‘communism’ have any further political viability?


The two speakers who most emphatically answered ‘no’ to this second question were sociology professor Alessandro Russo and writer Judith Balso. Russo argued that the collapse of the Soviet bloc at the end of the ‘80s had its roots in the Cultural Revolution of the ‘60s – a revolution that had might have had its epicentre in China, but which actually was manifested worldwide. The problem is that the co-ordinates of this discussion – party-state versus political organization – were set long ago and seem to have little relevance to the current situation. Balso’s model of the ‘state’ was so exorbitant – it included ‘opinion’ – as to encompass anything of which she disapproves. Certainly, Balso is right to highlight the way in which, far from retreating in late capitalism, the state is becoming increasingly authoritarian, with repressive measures against immigrants a particularly nasty expression of this tendency; after the bank bail-outs, though, it is surely clearer than ever that the state is at the whims of global capital.


Terry Eagleton was the only British-born speaker at the conference, and he prefaced his embarrassingly lightweight musings with a sarcastic reference to the fact that, as ‘a mere Anglo-Saxon’, he was honoured to be among such company. Hopelessly out of his depth on a panel with Badiou and Jacques Rancière, Eagleton’s smug presentation, which used familiar Shakespeare references to make the hackneyed point that true communism would be about aristrocratic languor rather than worker-toil, suggested that the UK’s university system is as decadent as its broadsheet media. Shamelessly playing to the middlebrow gallery, offering theory-sceptics an emollient antidote to theoretical abstraction, the implicit message of Eagleton’s presentation was clear: no need to think, no need to bother your heads with all this difficult French stuff.

The difference between Eagleton and the likes of Badiou, Rancière and Antonio Negri was evident in body language and mode of delivery as much as in the content of what they said. In their different ways, Negri and Žižek had the gestural animation of the militant intellectual rather than the complacent posturings of the career academic.


Žižek’s presentation at the conference eclipsed that of Badiou, his ostensible master. It was necessary to begin again, Žižek said – echoing Badiou’s call to rediscover ‘the communist hypothesis’ as if for the first time. Badiou remains a scalding and bracing critic of the present managerialist restoration of power and privilege, but it is difficult to be confident that he is orientated towards thinking the future. By contrast, Žižek’s focus, like that of Negri and Michael Hardt, was very much on how current (apocalyptic) conditions – ecological catastrophe, the crisis of private property brought about by digitization, the impact on human identity of neuroscience and genetic engineering – may lead to new possibilities. Žižek is ready to affirm the emancipatory potentials brought by science-fictional capital’s liquidation of territories and identities. If what most of the conference speakers still wanted to call ‘communism’ is to be achieved, it will require nothing less than the construction of a new type of human being. (Something that this conference, with its punitively long sessions, also seemed to demand: maintaining concentration through three 45-minute papers in a row exceeds the tolerances of the human organism.) As Toscano and Hardt made clear, concepts such as equality and the abolition of property only appear to be self-evident; in fact they are at the moment only dimly thinkable. Theory, in its destruction of the very ‘workaday Anglo Saxon empiricism’ which treats private property and commodities as natural and transparent concepts, must play a role in the construction of this new collective subject.

Mark Fisher

Mark Fisher is a writer based in Kent. His blog can be found at http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/, and his book, Capitalist Realism, will be published by Zer0 later this year.

"Hauptversammlung"- Rimini Protokoll 2009 6th of April going public! (with Daimler AG, Berlin)

Rimini Protokoll: Hauptversammlung.


RIMINI PROTOCOL LOOKING DAIMLER SHAREHOLDERS

We are looking for people who sell one Daimler share - for a short transaction.

We would buy from these people temporarily a Daimler share- in exchange for the invitation to the Annual Meeting of the CEO Group (Such an invitation is automatically emitted to each shareholder). Following the Annual General Meeting the stock will be then sold again. That is all.

Any possible costs of this transaction, we take over. For there is at least to earn a free book about the project.

- Who knows someone who would help out there?
- Who knows Daimler shareholders who not anyway want to go to the AGM and give us their ticket?

Please contact us:
hauptversammlung@hebbel-am-ufer.de
0049-(0)30-25900457

Am 8. April 2009 laden Rimini Protokoll zu einer der aufwändigsten Inszenierungen der Spielzeit: Zur Hauptversammlung der Daimler AG im ICC Berlin.
Die eigentliche Regie führen diesmal nicht Rimini Protokoll sondern die Abteilung Investors Relations der Stuttgarter Aktiengesellschaft.
Vor ca. 8000 Aktionären wird eine riesige, blaue Leinwand aufgebaut, davor, leicht erhöht sitzt der eine Teil des Ensemble: 6 Vorstandsmitglieder und 20 Aufsichtsräte. Hinter der Leinwand arbeiten dutzende von Bühnenarbeitern als Back-Office-Souffleure, um für jede Frage an die Darsteller eine Antwort einflüstern zu können. Der andere Ensembleteil besteht aus den Teilhabern des Konzerns: stolzen Aktionären, dividende-hungrigen Aktionären, räuberischen Aktionären, touristischen Aktionäen, kritischen Aktionären (...). Die Presse spielt mit und auch die Mitarbeiter des Aktionärsservice. Das Stück beginnt morgens um 9h und endet erst am späten Abend mit der Entlastung des Vorstandes. „Wir schaffen Wert“ schwor der Aufsichtsratsvorsitzende 2008 seine Aktionäre ein – dann gingen die Kurse in den Keller...
Rimini Protokoll haben Aktien gekauft und Aktionäre gesucht, die ihre Einladung abtreten, um möglichst vielen Theaterzuschauern Zugang zu dieser Aufführung zu gewähren.

Zur Aufführung produzieren Rimini Protokoll ein Theaterprogrammheft und vermitteln Nischengespräche im Foyer.


- als Daimler-Aktionär nehmen Sie einen Gast mit oder überschreiben Sie uns Ihre HV-Einladung.

- als Depotbesitzer kaufen Sie bis zum 15.3.2009 eine Aktie - für Transferkosten kommt Rimini Protokoll auf – und nehmen Sie einen Gast mit, falls Sie mehr als nur eine Aktie besitzen.

- als interessierter Theaterzuschauer melden sich bitte bis spätestens 25.3. an

Briefing Hauptversammlung:
Am 6. April findet ein Briefing zur Hauptversammlung statt:
Einführung zum Stück. Anleitung für den großen Tag. Der Daimlerkurs im Spiegel seiner Geschichte Analysen zum Jahresbericht. Hintergrundgespräche.
(Der Besuch des Briefings ist für den Besuch der HV nicht obligatorisch)

Weitere Informationen unter:

www.hebbel-am-ufer.de

Kontakt:hauptversammlung@hebbel-am-ufer.de

Diagrammatology and Diagrammatic Praxis, CFCUL Lisboa 2009

“Le monde nomade” 2006
Marco Godinho (*1978, Portugal),
. Lives and works in Luxembourg/France
Carte découpée



Diagrammatology
and Diagrammatic Praxis

Interdisciplinary Workshop
23rd & 24th of March 2009

Amphitheater of the Foundation
of the Faculty of Sciences of the Lisbon University
Building C1, 3rd Floor












A diagram is a representamen which is predominantly an icon of relations and is aided to be so by conventions. Indices are also more or less used. It should be carried out upon a perfectly consistent system of representation, founded upon a simple and easily intelligible basic idea.

Peirce, CP 4.418

By diagrammatic reasoning, I mean reasoning which constructs a diagram according to a precept expressed in general terms, performs experiments upon this diagram, notes their results, assures itself that similar experiments performed upon any diagram constructed according to the same precept would have same results, and expresses this in general terms. This was a discovery of no little importance, showing, as it does, that all knowledge without exception comes from observation.

Peirce, NEM IV, 47




Program



23rd of March 2009


Fundamental issues of Diagrammatology I

10h00 Opening Lecture: Prof. Frederik Stjernfelt (University of Aarhus, Denmark)
The extension of the Peircean diagram category
Different semiotic schools have had different ideas about what counted as the prototypical semiotic phenomenon. In structuralism, the single word in the paradigm was probably the prototype; in Chomskyanism, syntax and recursion was seen as prototypical; in cognitive semantics - closer to Peirce's ideas - bodily based image schemata and metaphors are prototypical. Taking diagrams as prototypical invites us to a wholly different way of approaching semiotics, and by Peirce's operational criterion for iconicity, sign uses far from common sense diagrams - logic, algebra, aspects of grammar - must be reconceptualized as subtypes of diagrams. So Peircean diagrammatology not only develops our understanding of diagrams proper and their importance - it also invites us to redescribe the whole of semiotics and see its connections to logic in a new light.

11h30 Discussion with the workshop participants

12h00 Coffee Break

12h15 Jan Wöpking ("Excellence Cluster Topoi" Project Berlin, Germany)
Diagrammatic Simulation. A Case Study of a Galilean Diagram

12h45 Dr. Irene Mittelberg (HumTec, RWTH Aachen, Germany)
Diagrammatic iconicity in grammar and gesture

13h15 -15h00 Lunch Break

15h00 Prof. Franco Oliveira (CFCUL)
Picture-proofs in mathematics: a chapter in Robert Brown's philosophy of mathematics, with examples

15h30 Prof. José Croca (University of Lisbon, CFCUL/FCUL

Diagrams in Physics




16h30 Discussion with the workshop participants



17h00 Coffee-Break

17h15 Springerbook Session On Prof. Frederik Stjernfelt's book Diagrammatology. An Investigation on the borderline of Phenomenology, Ontology and Semiotics (2007) and Prof. Ahti-Veikko Pietarinnen's book Signs of Logic (2007)
Prof. Pietarinnen commentary on Stjernfelt's book (30min)
Prof. Stjernfelt commentary on Pietarinnen's book (30min)
Discussion with the participants (15 min)
18h15 Remarks and outlook by Alexander Gerner

20h00 Dinner in Bairro Alto (Optional)


24th of March 2009


Fundamental issues of Diagrammatology II

10h00 Prof. Olga Pombo
Operativity and Representativity of the Sign in Leibniz

10h30 Prof. Ahti-Veikko Pietarinnen
Is non-visual diagrammatic logic possible?

11h00 Coffee-Break


Fundamental issues in Diagrammatology III

11h15 Dr. Catarina Pombo (CFCUL)
Rhizome - Thought


IV Diagrammatic types: Learning and refiguring knowledge with maps

12h15 Alexander Gerner (CFCUL)
Notes on diagrammatic knowledge in contemporary art

12h45 Prof. Frederik Stjernfelt
What can we learn from maps as a diagram type?

13h15 -15h00 Lunch Break


V Diagrammatic praxis: Diagrammatology in inter-media art, scenographic media, collective robotics

and architecture in the making

15h00 Prof. Matthias Bauer (University of Flensburg, Germany)
Diagrammatology, scenographic media and the display function of art

15h30 Tiago Lança (Architect; Ordem dos Arquitectos, Lisbon)

Architectural and space drawing: Thinking with the hand

16h00 Dr. Paulo Urbano (Department of Informatics, FCUL)
Mimetism and Collective Pattern Formation

16h30 Discussion with the workshop participants


17h00 Coffee Break

17h15 Miguel Cardoso/Santiago Ortiz
Bestiário.org (Lisbon/Barcelona)

17h45 Final Debate

19h00 End of the Workshop

20h30 Dinner at Fábrica Braço de Prata (Optional)

" To draw an escape plan "- Cave Exits I

“Redesenhar” de Nuno Sousa Vieira

TO DRAW AN ESCAPE PLAN, por Nuno Sousa Vieira


Graça Brandão Lisboa - Nuno Sousa Vieira (27.02.2009 a 04.04.2009)

To Draw An Escape Plan é um projecto expositivo, cujo desenho final resulta da elaboração de uma estratégia, tendo como objectivo final encontrar uma eventual saída de emergência do meu atelier. Este local ideal de escape é encontrado através da elaboração de um conjunto de procedimentos e etapas, sendo cada uma delas uma causa directa da que a antecede.

O meu actual atelier é nas instalações de uma antiga unidade fabril que iniciou a sua actividade nos anos 60. Esta fábrica de plásticos produzia sacos, baldes, bacias e todo uma parafernália de produtos de plástico. No início da década de 70, foi construído um novo bloco anexo ao já existente, para aí serem instalados os novos escritórios, respondendo ao crescimento económico e empresarial.

Alguns anos mais tarde as instalações fabris foram aumentadas. Um novo hangar foi construído, mas sem os devidos procedimentos legais, tais como projectos e licenças; o mesmo sucedeu com as sucessivas ampliações da estrutura inicial. A visão da estrutura empresarial como um todo perdeu-se, dando lugar a uma mera adição de partes, que procurava responder às necessidades do mercado, facto que conduziu também à alteração do produto comercializado durante a década de 80, passando a empresa a produzir PVC e TR, transformando resina num novo componente utilizado para a fabricação de solas de borracha e garrafas de plástico. Após sucessivas vendas, a empresa, no início dos anos 90, foi adquirida pelos actuais donos que consideraram as instalações insatisfatórias.

As fragilidades de uma construção desordenada e gradualmente degradada, conduziram ao fim daquela estrutura substituída por uma nova fábrica construída a cerca de 20 quilómetros de distância.

Em 2001, este espaço foi-me cedido para atelier. Depois de ultrapassados os confrangimentos iniciais gerados pelo facto de ir trabalhar nos meus projectos, num espaço dotado, por razões muito especiais, de uma enorme carga afectiva, senti-me disponível para olhar para aquelas paredes e responder ao impulso de trabalhar, não só naquele local, mas com o próprio local. De espaço de trabalho, ele passou progressivamente a matéria de trabalho e, actualmente a material de trabalho. Percebi que está tudo lá e eu só tenho que encontrar e descobrir cada proposição plástica, para a poder mostrar.

No ano de 2007, o processo de legalização de toda aquela unidade fabril tornou-se incontornável, o que conduziu a algumas alterações no espaço e entre elas, por razões de segurança, ao corte da luz. Este facto provocou em mim uma tomada de consciência do fim daquele espaço enquanto atelier, precipitando-me para uma ideia de saída.

O projecto que desenvolvi, nasce da associação de uma dupla ideia de saída - as obras que saem do espaço onde foram produzidas para o espaço galerístico e a minha eventual saída daquele local. Essa saída, propicia uma simultânea ideia de entrada, do artista e do público. Este pleonasmo de saída e a fortíssima relação inerente à dicotomia presença/ausência, participação/ distância são questões centrais neste projecto. O hiato de tempo entre o estar dentro e o estar fora, determinam o desenho do projecto expositivo.

Nuno Sousa Vieira
2009

QB1

Frederic Kaplan : Interview

Born in Paris, Frederic Kaplan worked ten years for Sony, designing brains for entertainment robots. He now supervises the development of novel interactive furniture and robotic objects at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. In 2008, he co-founded OZWE with Martino d'Esposito.

Q: Can you describe QB1 in just a few words?

FK: QB1 is a novel kind of personal computer, adapted to our 21st century lifestyle. No mouse, no keyboard, no remote control. You don’t touch anything. You simply use gestures to interact. Its display is motorized. Once its sees you it turns in your direction. So you can freely move while interacting with the device.

Q: You present QB1 as a new kind of computer. Aren’t today’s computers good enough?


FK: Personal computers were designed to be efficiently used by an individual user - hence their name - in a sitting position, either working or playing, fully concentrated on the task at hand. As the scope of applications and domains of computer usage has widened, personal computers have started to be used in situations where continuous full attention to the device is likely to be an obstacle to other forms of social interactions. In addition personal computers tend now to be used in casual settings where the sitting position is actually unnatural. To play music in a party, to serve as an aid in the kitchen, to interact with visitors in a museum or to give advice to customers in shops, interaction systems of classical personal computers are clearly ill-adapted.


Q: So, QB1 is essentially introducing a new kind of interface.


FK: I think it is more than this. QB1 is likely to be one of the first members of a new family of devices for which radically new kinds of applications can be built. Most current applications of personal computers were designed for a very different style of interaction. We try as much as possible not to be influenced by this legacy and invent novel use of computers that would exploit the natural richness of free gestural interactions in space. You know, the one you observe everyday when people use tools, play musical instruments and interact with one another.


Q: QB1 seems to be a kind of mix between a computer and a robot? You have yourself worked many years in the field of robotics. Why would you want to create such kind of hybrid device?


FK: During the last ten years, personal robots targeted for entertainment have started to be produced and sold. These devices, which can be viewed as computers with physical actuation systems, have introduced radically novel ways of interactions based on artificial vision techniques, gesture recognition and most importantly co-presence in a physical space. Important research efforts have been done to make interactions with these robots as natural as possible, taking advantage of our deep expertise in how to communicate with people. However, despite some successful results this kind of natural interaction system has tended to be used only in the domain of anthropomorphic or zoomorphic robots and progress in these fields has not impacted more mundane kinds of computer systems. QB1 does not like a robot, but its display is motorized and equipped with a 3d perception system. Once it sees you, QB1 follows your movements and you can interact directly with it as iif it was a face-to-face interaction.


Q: Why is that sort of robotized behavior interesting?


FK: First, it is possible to interact with QB1 from various positions in the same room and not simply from the frontal position. The device can easily search for and actively track people and objects in order to maintain them in sight, thus permitting various styles of contact-free distal interaction. In the same way that we can freely move during a human conversation, the device permits now to freely move while interacting with a computer. In addition, the kind of movements that the device can perform permits a wide range of non verbal physical expressions that augment interaction in the same way that numerous non verbal cues augment our language exchanges.


Q: What does this add to the user?


FK: These various features permit to give QB1 an actual presence in both the physical and social spaces. This allows to take benefit of the tendency people have to treat computers like real people and to operate a shift from a device mainly considered as a tool to a device which takes the role of team member, companion or assistant.


Q: How do you actually interact with the device?

FK: QB1 perceives the world in 3D and knows where potential users are. You interact with it by acting directly in the physical world. In classical graphical user interfaces, the user typically moves a cursor, using for instance a mouse, inside a graphical environment, for instance figuring metaphorically a desktop. His actions take place in this graphical virtual environment and not in the real one. This explains why one has to be fully concentrated while interacting with a personal computer. With QB1 interaction system, the user sees an image of himself on the display. It can either be directly the picture taken by the camera, a silhouette or a 3d reconstruction. The user identifies very easily with this representation of himself which moves exactly the way he does. In some way, the system can be understood as an augmented mirror.


Q: What is actually new about this kind of interaction?


FK: Depending on the position of the user the interface changes. More information is provided if the user is near, less if he is far away. Moreover, interactive zones on the display can be defined in relation to the user’s location. This interface system is user-centric in a strong sense: it is centered around the user. For instance, some interface elements only appear when the user is in sight and they disappear as soon as the user leaves (why should there be buttons, if there is nobody to interact with them?)


Q: Do you think this kind of computers will one day replace our PCs?


FK: No, I think this sort of devices are adapted to rather different contexts of use, namely casual everyday interactions. Desktop and laptop personal computers are still the best tools to engage in tasks that need high concentration or isolation such as writing, composing and the likes.


Q: Do other teams in the world work on similar projects?


FK: Not many. There is a team at the MIT Media Lab working on a robotic screen which has some similarities with our device. But contrary to QB1, their project seems to focus on a sitting user interacting with the computer in a very traditional way. I think QB1 introduces an interaction paradigm which is really novel in that respect : contact-free interface, free movement. I also think that we’ll see many more robotic computer projects designed for everyday environment in the future. Actually, this is maybe the way that robots will eventually enter our home, not with the shape of Science-Fiction humanoid creatures, but in the guise of robotized everyday devices.

Martino d'Esposito : Interview

After a childhood in the Middle East, Martino d'Esposito studied industrial design at the Ecole Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne (ECAL). He is now designing objects and furniture for several companies including Ligne Roset, Cinna , Neweba and Monodor. in 2008, he co-founded OZWE with Frederic Kaplan.

Q: Why make a moving computer?

MdE: It seems to be that objects should communicate with people who use them, give them “a help” without loosing their object identity. We wanted to create a computer with which we could communicate in a more natural manner, but which would still not look “human”. The idea was that it would be humanized by its gestures, not its look.

Q: The idea of objects that “help” can be traced back in several of your past creations, like for instance this tray that adapts to the waiter’s gestures or this side table that can save your life in the case of an earthquake. Is QB1 also in the lineage of these objects?

MdE: QB1 tries to adapt to the persons present in its environment and not the other way round, like it is usually the case with personal computers. It turns towards you, following you in order to be always ready-at-hand if you need one of his services. Similarly as the anti-sismic table that can be, depending on the context, an ordinary side table or a surviving kit, QB1 is ready to offer functions continuously adapted to the present situation.

Q: There is also a fun factor, isn’t there?

MdE: I’m trying to design objects that are not really games but that add some entertainment aspects in our everyday life. For instance, I have created a few years ago, a set of forks including one shorter item as an invitation to decide using a “short-straw” game who is going to wash the dishes. QB1’s movements permit an always adapted position in terms of usability, but can also surprise the user in terms of unexpected behavior. This mix between function and fun factors is one of the line I’m currently exploring in my work with Alexandre Gaillard.

Q: Why have you decided to equip QB1 with a fabric slipcover?

MdE: I wanted to get away of the traditional plastic shell used in most hi-tech devices nowadays. These shells are impersonal, get dusty and are a waste of primary good. In our case, there was also a weight constraint. It was crucial for the “head” to be as light as possible. This is why I have decided to work with a dressmaker in order to create a real “clothe” for QB1. This slipcover smoothes the movements of the device. In addition it permits to change the QB1’s look, by simply changing the zip equipped slipcover.


Q: Will there be one day a whole collection of clothes for QB1?

MdE: Why not? You can dress QB1 with a lot a various materials. Dressmakers can contact us, if they are interested! It is also likely that anyone will be able to create clothes for their technological objects. This is what is currently happening for mp3 players and cell phones which are customized in various ways. It is a way of turning objects with a rather cold and anonymous design into personal items.

Why Sleep is Needed to Form Memories

FEBRUARY 11, 2009
Penn Study Shows Why Sleep is Needed to Form Memories
First-of-its-kind study shows how brain connections strengthen during sleep


PHILADELPHIA – If you ever argued with your mother when she told you to get some sleep after studying for an exam instead of pulling an all-nighter, you owe her an apology, because it turns out she's right. And now, scientists are beginning to understand why.


In research published this week in Neuron, Marcos Frank, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, postdoctoral researcher Sara Aton, PhD, and colleagues describe for the first time how cellular changes in the sleeping brain promote the formation of memories.

"This is the first real direct insight into how the brain, on a cellular level, changes the strength of its connections during sleep," Frank says.

The findings, says Frank, reveal that the brain during sleep is fundamentally different from the brain during wakefulness.

"We find that the biochemical changes are simply not happening in the neurons of animals that are awake," Frank says. "And when the animal goes to sleep it's like you’ve thrown a switch, and all of a sudden, everything is turned on that's necessary for making synaptic changes that form the basis of memory formation. It's very striking."

The team used an experimental model of cortical plasticity – the rearrangement of neural connections in response to life experiences. "That's fundamentally what we think the machinery of memory is, the actual making and breaking of connections between neurons,” Frank explains

In this case, the experience Frank and his team used was visual stimulation. Animals that were young enough to still be establishing neural networks in response to visual cues were deprived of stimulation through one eye by covering that eye with a patch. The team then compared the electrophysiological and molecular changes that resulted with control animals whose eyes were not covered. Some animals were studied immediately following the visual block, while others were allowed to sleep first.

From earlier work, Frank's team already knew that sleep induced a stronger reorganization of the visual cortex in animals that had an eye patch versus those that were not allowed to sleep. Now they know why.

A molecular explanation is emerging. The key cellular player in this process is a molecule called N-methyl D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), which acts like a combination listening post and gate-keeper. It both receives extracellular signals in the form of glutamate and regulates the flow of calcium ions into cells.

Essentially, once the brain is triggered to reorganize its neural networks in wakefulness (by visual deprivation, for instance), intra- and intercellular communication pathways engage, setting a series of enzymes into action within the reorganizing neurons during sleep.

To start the process, NMDAR is primed to open its ion channel after the neuron has been excited. The ion channel then opens when glutamate binds to the receptor, allowing calcium into the cell. In turn, calcium, an intracellular signaling molecule, turns other downstream enzymes on and off.

Some neural connections are strengthened as a result of this process, and the result is a reorganized visual cortex. And, this only happens during sleep.

“To our amazement, we found that these enzymes never really turned on until the animal had a chance to sleep," Frank explains, "As soon as the animal had a chance to sleep, we saw all the machinery of memory start to engage." Equally important was the demonstration that inhibition of these enzymes in the sleeping brain completely prevented the normal reorganization of the cortex.

Frank stresses that this study did not examine recalling memories. For example, these animals were not being asked to remember the location of their food bowl. "It's a mechanism that we think underlies the formation of memory.” And not only memory; the same mechanism could play a role in all neurological plasticity processes.

As a result, this study could pave the way to understanding, on a molecular level, why humans need sleep, and why they are so affected by the lack of it. It could also conceivably lead to novel therapeutics that could compensate for the lack of sleep, by mimicking the molecular events that occur during sleep.

Finally, the study could lead to a deeper understanding of human memory. Though how and even where humans store long-lasting memories remains a mystery, Frank says, "we do know that changes in cortical connections is at the heart of the mystery. By understanding that in animal models, it will bring us close to understanding how it works in humans."

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Sleep Foundation, and L'Oreal USA, and also involved researchers at the Penn’s Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology, and the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Neuron. 2009 Feb 12;61(3):454-66.
Mechanisms of sleep-dependent consolidation of cortical plasticity.
Aton SJ, Seibt J, Dumoulin M, Jha SK, Steinmetz N, Coleman T, Naidoo N, Frank MG.

Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Sleep is thought to consolidate changes in synaptic strength, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We investigated the cellular events involved in this process during ocular dominance plasticity (ODP)-a canonical form of in vivo cortical plasticity triggered by monocular deprivation (MD) and consolidated by sleep via undetermined, activity-dependent mechanisms. We find that sleep consolidates ODP primarily by strengthening cortical responses to nondeprived eye stimulation. Consolidation is inhibited by reversible, intracortical antagonism of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) or cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) during post-MD sleep. Consolidation is also associated with sleep-dependent increases in the activity of remodeling neurons and in the phosphorylation of proteins required for potentiation of glutamatergic synapses. These findings demonstrate that synaptic strengthening via NMDAR and PKA activity is a key step in sleep-dependent consolidation of ODP.

Contact information
Marcos G. Frank
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
Department: Neuroscience
Graduate Group Affiliations
111 Johnson Pavilion
University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6060
Office: (215) 746-0388
Fax: (215) 573-9050
Email:
mgf@mail.med.upenn.edu

******************************************************




N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor antagonists are used in clinical anesthesia and are being developed as therapeutic agents for preventing neurodegeneration in stroke, epilepsy, and brain trauma.

In addition to the glutamate (NMDA) binding site, there are also multiple binding sites on the NMDA receptor for modulatory compounds. Efficient NMDA receptor activation requires not only NMDA but also a co-agonist, glycine.

*******************************************************************

The Big Picture
By manipulating a single gene, scientists have created a geneticallyengineered mouse that outperforms regular mice on learning and memorytests; the results of this study were reported in the September 2, 1999issue of the journal Nature. When they received an extra copy ofthe NMDA receptorgene, the mice were better able to navigate mazes, remember objects, andretain for longer information that they had alreadylearned.

NMD-What?
The NMDAreceptor is an important molecule. It is the receptor for theneurotransmitter glutamate, an excitatorytransmitter in the brain. The receptor is found in many neurons in thebrain where it plays a crucial role in synaptic plasticity(theability for synapses to change) and memory formation, which occurs whenlearning takes place.

leva a chuva Alexandre (O´Neill)

"- Alexandre, leva o guarda chuva.
- Não é preciso, pai. Não chove.
- Chove. Leva o guarda chuva.
- Não é preciso, pai.
- Já te disse que levas o guarda-chuva.
- Não levo o guarda-chuva e nunca mais cá apareço..."


***

Sigamos o cherne, minha Amiga!

Desçamos ao fundo do desejo

Atrás de muito mais que a fantasia

E aceitemos, até, do cherne um beijo,

Senão já com amor, com alegria..."



Em cada um de nós circula o cherne,

Quase sempre mentido e olvidado.

Em água silenciosa do passado

Circula o cherne: traído

Peixe recalcado…



Sigamos, pois, o cherne, antes que venha,

Já morto, boiar ao lume de água,

Nos olhos rasos de água,

Quando, mentido o cherne a vida inteira,

Não somos mais que solidão e mágoa…



No Reino da Dinamarca, 1958



***



AUTOCRÍTICA





Ninguém ma pediu e já não está na moda,

pelo menos aquela pressurosa contrição

feita com cálculo e unção, aquela hipócrita

autoflagelação despudorada,

mas já é tempo (para mim) de deitar contas

ao verso e ao seu reverso, de mostrar a língua

a esse médico de quem tenho um pouco,

para ver como vai o foro íntimo

e, por consequência, o verso público.



*



“Nado e criado em Lisboa...” era um começo

não autocrítico, mas autobiográfico.

Sei muito bem que a biografia

explica muita coisa (até a azia!)

mas para quê esquadrinhar os anos

(joguei berlinde, joguei pião e juro aqui

que nunca o fiz para os americanos!)

à cata da raiz, se o que vivi,

para o mal e para o bem, está aqui?



“Nado e criado em Lisboa...” rejeitado

por excessivamente circunloquial.



(Comecemos sem mais delongas, prima,

ó volta e meia prima pobre, rima,

que a questão é simples: a poesia

dum tal...)



*



Dizem que me junqueiro, que me tolentino

e até que me paulino,

que tenho tudo e todos no ouvido

e não sou nada original.



Sim senhores, tem visos de verdade!



Serei eu, meu Deus, um ser reminiscente,

um desses semblantes ante os quais manda a prudência

que se pergunte ao botão antes de mais:

- Onde é que eu já vi este tratante?



*



Se pensar bem, o Junqueiro não me diz lá grande coisa.

O seu anticlericalismo fica-se pela batina;

o seu verso é tribunício e eu gosto da surdina

(ou do simulacro de estentor quando ele ajuda à crítica).

O 5 de Outubro já veio e já se foi,

mas não é a lata-de-travões junqueiriana

que estamos a pedir na circunstância épica

que se aprò... que se aprò... que se aproxima.



Liguei sempre ao Junqueiro (sei porquê)

a conversa de advogado e a conversa de barbeiro.



Um tio advogado recitou-mo quando eu tinha treze anos

e não era mudo e só na rocha de granito;

um barbeiro anarquista, que me fazia a barba

com a estropiada mão bombista,

impingia-me “A Lágrima”, mas só ele é que se comovia

com aquela aguadilha que tremia

e ainda hoje deve tremer, tremeluzir

em certas almas litográficas, singelas.



Depois vi o Sérgio desmontar

as peças duma máquina que nem sequer havia

e perdi o Junqueiro de vista.



Será que eu me Junqueiro? Pode ser,

já que tenho comido, sem saber,

de muita alpista...



Quanto a esse Tolentino, esse faceto,

devo dizer que nada lhe roubei

mas que podia ser seu neto.



Como neto podia muito bem

ser de Paulino, desse abade

que com certeza me arranjaria mãe...



(Continua o desfile, ó prima, já que a prosa

vai bonita a pretexto da autocrítica...)



*



Cesário diz-me muito: gostava de ferramentas, como eu,

e vê-se que para ele o ser feliz

era lançar, originais e exactos, os seus alexandrinos,

empunhar ferramental honesto

cuja eficácia ele sabia que

não vinha da beleza, mas da perfeita

adequação.

Não tem halo, tem elo e o seu encadeado

É o verso habilmente proseado.



(Que feliz eu seria, ó prima, se o Cesário

me tivesse deixado uma garlopa!)



António Nobre, embora seja muito em inho,

é o grande Só que somos nós,

por isso gosto dela (ai de mim, coitadinho!)



(E em conclusão do megalómano discurso,

ó prima, um bilhete-postal para o Pessoa,

a quem devemos todos tanto, a prima inclusive!)



Muito querido Pessoa, saberias agora

que não basta ser lúcido, merda, que não basta

a gente coser-se com as paredes

e cercar de grandes muros quem se sonha,

que não basta dizer basta de provincianos!



*



Bem sei que tenho sido, não poucas vezes, derrotado pela pressa,

que me espojo na anedota ou a embalo

na folha-de-flandres da conversa,

bem sei que muitos dos meus versos

nem para atacadores.

Sei que não se deve, que não é táctico cuspinhar contra o vento,

que logo, a jusante, um sujeito nos berra:

- Ó cavalheiro sua besta e se faz obséquio fosses cuspir na tua irmã!

Sei que não é bonito jogar ao chinquilho nos salões,

onde há tocheiros, santos, meninada, abstracções, tias

que a minha malha pode ofender, partir.

Sei que o sal das palavras

vai saraivar, às vezes, carne viva.

Sei que a rapariga que vem forrar os cantos

onde os homens se juntam, magote de pexotes,

com a sua esquivança de felino,

não aguenta a palavra com que eu lhe pego na palavra

e à queima-roupa lhe atiro.



*



A poesia é a vida? Pois claro!

Conforme a vida que se tem o verso vem

- e se a vida é vidinha, já não há poesia

que resista. O mais é literatura,

libertinura, pegas no paleio;

o mais é isto: o tolo dum poeta

a beber, dia a dia, a bica preta,

convencido de si, do seu recheio...

A poesia é a vida? Pois claro!

Embora custe caro, muito caro,

E a morte se meta de permeio.



*



De permeio, a morte? Sim, a arrenegada,

venha rebuçada ou escancarada,

a que te ceifa inteiro ou se deita, primeiro,

de esperança, na tua lástima de cama.



De permeio, pois pois, que isso de morrer

Não faz parte de nenhum programa.



E podia fazer?



(Feira Cabisbaixa – 1965)

More than 100 years of Futurism // II The futurist theatre

from The Futurist Synthetic Theatre by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Emilio Settimelli, and Bruno Corra (Milan, January 11,1915; February 18, 1915) Appendix, pp196-202, 234-251.

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Emilio Settimelli, and Bruno Corra

from "The Futurist Synthetic Theatre" (1915)

* Translated by R. W. Flint. Published by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. and the heirs of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. From Selected Works of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti to be published in 1972 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc.

[1]

As we await our much prayed-for great war, we Futurists carry our violent antineutralist action from city square to university and back again, using our art to prepare the Italian sensibility for the great hour of maximum danger. Italy must be fearless, eager, as swift and elastic as a fencer, as indifferent to blows as a boxer, as impassive at the news of a victory that may have cost fifty-thousand dead as at the news of a defeat.

[2]

For Italy to learn to make up its mind with lightning speed, to hurl itself into battle, to sustain every undertaking and every possible calamity, books and reviews are unnecessary. They interest and concern only a minority, are more or less tedious, obstructive, and relaxing. They cannot help chilling enthusiasm, aborting impulses, and poisoning with doubt a people at war. War--Futurism intensified--obliges us to march and not to rot [marciare, non marcire] in libraries and reading rooms. THEREFORE WE THINK THAT THE ONLY WAY TO INSPIRE ITALY WITH THE WARLIKE SPIRIT TODAY IS THROUGH THE THEATRE. In fact ninety percent of Italians go to the theatre, whereas only ten percent read books and reviews. But what is needed is a FUTURIST THEATRE, completely opposed to the passeist theatre that drags its monotonous, depressing processions around the sleepy Italian stages.

[3]

Not to dwell on the historical theatre, a sickening genre already abandoned by the passeist public, we condemn the whole contemporary theatre because it is too prolix, analytic, pedantically psychological, explanatory, diluted, finicking, static, as full of prohibitions as a police station, as cut up into cells as a monastery, as moss-grown as an old abandoned house. In other words it is a pacifistic, neutralist theatre, the antithesis of the fierce, overwhelming, synthesizing velocity of the war.

[4]

Our Futurist Theatre will be:
Synthetic. That is, very brief. To compress into a few minutes, into a few words and gestures, innumerable situations, sensibilities, ideas, sensations, facts, and symbols.
The writers who wanted to renew the theatre (Ibsen, Maeterlinck, Andreyev, Claudel, Shaw) never thought of arriving at a true synthesis, of freeing themselves from a technique that involves prolixity, meticulous analysis, drawn-out preparation. Before the works of these authors, the audience is in the indignant attitude of a circle of bystanders who swallow their anguish and pity as they watch the slow agony of a horse who has collapsed on the pavement. The sigh of applause that finally breaks out frees the audience's stomach from all the indigestible time it has swallowed. Each act is as painful as having to wait patiently in an antichamber for the minister (coup de theatre: kiss, pistol shot, verbal revelation, etc.) to receive you. All this passeist or semi-Futurist theatre, instead of synthesizing fact and idea in the smallest number of words and gestures, savagely destroys the variety of place (source of dynamism and amazement), stuffs many city squares, landscapes, streets, into the sausage of a single room. For this reason this theatre is entirely static.
We are convinced that mechanically, by force of brevity, we can achieve an entirely new theatre perfectly in tune with our swift and laconic Futurist sensibility. Our acts can also be moments [atti-- attimi] only a few seconds long. With this essential and synthetic brevity the theatre can bear and even overcome competition from the cinema.

[5]

Atechnical. The passeist theatre is the literary form that most distorts and diminishes an author's talent. This form, much more than Iyric poetry or the novel, is subject to the demands of technique: (1) to omit every notion that doesn't conform to public taste; (2) once a theatrical idea has been found (expressible in a few pages), to stretch it out over two, three or four acts; (3) to surround an interesting character with many pointless types: coatholders, door-openers, all sorts of bizarre comic turns; (4) to make the length of each act vary between half and three-quarters of an hour; (5) to construct each act taking care to (a) begin with seven or eight absolutely useless pages, (b) introduce a tenth of your idea in the first act, five-tenths in the second, four-tenths in the third, (c) shape your acts for rising excitement, each act being no more than a preparation for the finale, (d) always make the first act a little boring so that the second can be amusing and the third devouring; (6) to set off every essential line with a hundred or more insignificant preparatory lines; (7) never to devote less than a page to explaining an entrance or an exit minutely; (8) to apply systematically to the whole play the rule of a superficial variety, to the acts, scenes, and lines. For instance, to make one act a day, another an evening, another deep night; to make one act pathetic, another anguished, another sublime; when you have to prolong a dialogue between two actors, make something happen to interrupt it, a falling vase, a passing mandolin player.... Or else have the actors constantly move around from sitting to standing, from right to left, and meanwhile vary the dialogue to make it seem as if a bomb might explode outside at any moment (e.g., the betrayed husband might catch his wife red-handed) when actually nothing is going to explode until the end of the act; (9) to be enormously careful about the verisimilitude of the plot; (10) to write your play in such a manner that the audience understands in the finest detail the how and why of everything that takes place on the stage, above all that it knows by the last act how the protagonists will end up.

[6]

With our synthesist movement in the theatre, we want to destroy the Technique that from the Greeks until now, instead of simplifying itself, has become more and more dogmatic, stupid, logical, meticulous, pedantic, strangling. THEREFORE:

1. It's stupid to write one hundred pages where one would do, only because the audience through habit and infantile instinct wants to see character in a play result from a series of events, wants to fool itself into thinking that the character really exists in order to admire the beauties of Art, meanwhile refusing to acknowledge any art if the author limits himself to sketching out a few of the character's traits.

2. It's stupid not to rebel against the prejudice of theatricality when life itself (which consists of actions vastly more awkward, uniform, and predictable than those which unfold in the world of art) is for the most part antitheatrical and even in this offers innumerable possibilities for the stage. EVERYTHING OF ANY VALUE IS THEATRICAL.

3. It's stupidto pander to the primitivism of the crowd, which, in the last analysis, wants to see the bad guy lose and the good guy win.

4. It's stupid to worry about verisimilitude (absurd because talent and worth have little to do with it).

5. It's stupid to want to explain with logical minuteness everything taking place on the stage, when even in life one never grasps an event entirely, in all its causes and consequences, because reality throbs around us, bombards us with squalls of fragments of interconnected events, mortised and tenoned together, confused, mixed up, chaotic. E.g., it's stupid to act out a contest between two persons always in an orderly, clear, and logical way, since in daily life we nearly always encounter mere flashes of argument made momentary by our modern experience, in a tram, a cafe, a railway station, which remain cinematic in our minds like fragmentary dynamic symphonies of gestures, words, lights, and sounds.

6. It's stupid to submit to obligatory crescendi, prepared effects, and postponed climaxes.

7. It's stupid to allow one's talent to be burdened with the weight of a technique that anyone (even imbeciles) can acquire by study, practice, and patience.

8. IT'S STUPID TO RENOUNCE THE DYNAMIC LEAP IN THE VOID OF TOTAL CREATION, BEYOND THE RANGE OF TERRITORY PREVIOUSLY EXPLORED.

[7]

Dynamic, simultaneous. That is, born of improvisation, lightning-like intuition, from suggestive and revealing actuality. We believe that a thing is valuable to the extent that it is improvised (hours, minutes, seconds), not extensively prepared (months, years, centuries) .

[8]

We feel an unconquerable repugnance for desk work, a priori, that fails to respect the ambience of the theatre itself. THE GREATER NUMBER OF OUR WORKS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN IN THE THEATRE. The theatrical ambience is our inexhaustible reservoir of inspirations: the magnetic circular sensation invading our tired brains during morning rehearsal in an empty gilded theatre; an actor's intonation that suggests the possibility of constructing a cluster of paradoxical thoughts on top of it; a movement of scenery that hints at a symphony of lights; an actress' fleshiness that fills our minds with genially full-bodied notions.

[9]

We overran Italy at the head of a heroic battalion of comedians who imposed on audiences Electricita and other Futurist syntheses (alive yesterday, today surpassed and condemned by u's) that were revolutions imprisoned in auditoriums.--From the Politeama Garibaldi of Palermo to the Dal Verme of Milan. The Italian theatres smoothed the wrinkles in the raging massage of the crowd and rocked with bursts of volcanic laughter. We fraternized with the actors. Then, on sleepless nights in trains, we argued, goading each other to heights of genius to the rhythm of tunnels and stations. Our Futurist theatre jeers at Shakespeare but pays attention to the gossip of actors, is put to sleep by a line from Ibsen but is inspired by red or green reflections from the stalls. WE ACHIEVE AN ABSOLUTE DYNAMISM THROUGH THE INTERPENETRATION OF DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERES AND TIMES. E.g., whereas in a drama like Piu che L'Amore [D'Annunzio], the important events (for instance, the murder of the gambling house keeper) don't take place on the stage but are narrated with a complete lack of dynamism; in the first act of La Figlia di Jorio D'Annunzio] the events take place against a simple background with no jumps in space or time; and in the Futurist synthesis, Simultaneita, there are two ambiences that interpenetrate and many different times put into action simultaneously.

[10]

Autonomous, alogical, unreal. The Futurist theatrical synthesis will not be subject to logic, will pay no attention to photography; it will be autonomous, will resemble nothing but itself, although it will take elements from reality and combine them as its whim dictates. Above all, just as the painter and composer discover, scattered through the outside world, a narrower but more intense life, made up of colors, forms, sounds, and noises, the same is true for the man gifted with theatrical sensibility, for whom a specialized reality exists that violently assaults his nerves: it consists of what is called THE THEATRICAL WORLD.

[11]

THE FUTURIST THEATRE IS BORN OF THE TWO MOST VITAL CURRENTS in the Futurist sensibility, defined in the two manifestoes: "The Variety Theatre" and "Weights, Measures, and Prices of Artistic Genius," which are: (1) our frenzied passion for real, swift, elegant, complicated, cynical, muscular, fugitive, Futurist life, (2) our very modern cerebral definition of art according to which no logic, no tradition, no aesthetic, no technique, no opportunity can be imposed on the artist's natural talent; he must be preoccupied only with creating synthetic expressions of cerebral energy that have THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF NOVELTY.

[12]

The Futurist theatre will be able to excite its audience, that is make it forget the monotony of daily life, by sweeping it through a labyrinth of sensations imprinted on the most exacerbated originality and combined in unpredictable ways.

Every night the Futurist theatre will be a gymnasium to train our race's spirit to the swift, dangerous enthusiasms made necessary by this Futurist year.

CONCLUSIONS
1. TOTALLY ABOLISH THE TECHNIQUE THAT IS KILLING THE PASSEIST THEATRE.

2. DRAMATIZE ALL THE DISCOVERIES (no matter how unlikely, weird, and antitheatrical) THAT OUR TALENT IS DISCOVERING IN THE SUBCONSCIOUS, IN ILL-DEFINED FORCES, IN PURE ABSTRACTION, IN THE PURELY CEREBRAL, THE PURELY FANTASTIC, IN RECORD-SETTING AND BODY-MADNESS (E.g., Vengono, F. T. Marinetti's first drama of objects, a new vein of theatrical sensibility discovered by Futurism.)

3. SYMPHONIZE THE AUDIENCE'S SENSIBILITY BY EXPLORING IT, STIRRING UP ITS LAZIEST LAYERS WITH EVERY MEANS POSSIBLE; ELIMINATE THE PRECONCEPTION OF THE FOOTLIGHTS BY THROWING NETS OF SENSATION BETWEEN STAGE AND AUDIENCE; THE STAGE ACTION WILL INVADE THE ORCHESTRA SEATS, THE AUDIENCE.

4. FRATERNIZE WARMLY WITH THE ACTORS WHO ARE AMONG THE FEW THINKERS WHO FLEE FROM EVERY DEFORMING CULTURAL ENTERPRISE.

5. ABOLISH THE FARCE, THE VAUDEVILLE, THE SKETCH, THE COMEDY, THE SERIOUS DRAMA, AND TRAGEDY, AND CREATE IN THEIR PLACE THE MANY FORMS OF FUTURIST THEATRE, SUCH AS: LINES WRITTEN IN FREE WORDS, SIMULTANEITY, COMPENETRATION, THE SHORT, ACTED-OUT POEM, THE DRAMATIZED SENSATION, COMIC DIALOGUE, THE NEGATIVE ACT, THE REECHOING LINE, "EXTRA-LOGICAL" DISCUSSION, SYNTHETIC DEFORMATION, THE SCIENTIFIC OUTBURST THAT CLEARS THE AIR.

6. THROUGH UNBROKEN CONTACT, CREATE BETWEEN US AND THE CROWD A CURRENT OF CONFIDENCE RATHER THAN RESPECTFULNESS, IN ORDER TO INSTILL IN OUR AUDIENCES THE DYNAMIC VIVACITY OF A NEW FUTURIST THEATRICALITY.

Futurism more than 100 years- imagining the future I: "(biological) flying tools" Is it time for an "biotool" ethic?

Étienne-Jules Marey's "insect flight machine"

Watercolour by E Valton, 1869



Flying machine

Renaissance scientists began to find mechanics rather than mystery or the workings of God. Anatomical surveys of animals and plants revealed complex systems of pulleys and levers. As Leonardo wrote:
"...a bird is an instrument working according to mathematical law, which ...is within the capacity of man to reproduce..."

Between 1480 and 1505 Leonardo made a series of studies of birds and bats and developed sketches of 'ornithopters' or flying machines. At first he experimented with rather hopeful designs for human powered flight, but then worked on sketches reminiscent of modern day hang-gliders--prescient of developments in the 1890s lead up to the first powered airplane in 1903.

The so-called 'flying machine' recreated here has the operator activating the wings by essentially imitating the flapping of bird wings. Working out the relationship between the energy required to power a flying machine, the weight and its aerodynamics, was to fascinate people for the next five hundred years.



I Entoprompter Project
see: http://angel-strike.com/entomopter/EntomopterProject.html

II "Hybrid Insect MEMS (HI-MEMS)
a project of DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the central research and development office for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). DARPA’s mission is to maintain the technological superiority of the U.S. military and prevent technological surprise from harming our national security. We also create technological surprise for our adversaries.

Research is focused in a number of scientific disciplines including biology, medicine, computer science, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, materials sciences, social sciences, and neuroscience. Our contracted researchers build information systems, aircraft, robots, spacecraft, microcircuits, lasers, sensors, rifles, advanced networks, medical devices, and much, much more.

"Hybrid Insect MEMS (HI-MEMS)
Program Manager: Dr. Amit Lal


Animal world has provided mankind with locomotion over millennia. For example we have used horses and elephants for locomotion in wars and conducting commerce. Birds have been used for sending covert messages, and to detect gases in coal mines, a life-saving technique for coal miners. More recently, olfactory training of bees has been used to locate mines and weapons of mass destruction. The HI-MEMS program is aimed to develop technology that provides more control over insect locomotion, just as saddles and horseshoes are needed for horse locomotion control.
Developing tightly coupled machine-insect interfaces by placing micro-mechanical systems inside the insects during the early stages of metamorphosis.

The HI-MEMS program is aimed at developing tightly coupled machine-insect interfaces by placing micro-mechanical systems inside the insects during the early stages of metamorphosis. These early stages include the caterpillar and the pupae stages. Since a majority of the tissue development in insects occurs in the later stages of metamorphosis, the renewed tissue growth around the MEMS will tend to heal, and form a reliable and stable tissue-machine interface. The goal of the MEMS, inside the insects, will be to control the locomotion by obtaining motion trajectories either from GPS coordinates, or using RF, optical, ultrasonic signals based remote control. The control of locomotion will be investigated using several approaches. These include direct electrical muscle excitation, electrical stimulation of neurons, projection of ultrasonic pulses simulating bats, projection of pheromones, electromechanical stimulation of insect sensory cells, and presentation of optical cues with micro-optical visual presentation. The intimate control of insects with embedded microsystems will enable insect cyborgs, which could carry one or more sensors, such as a microphone or a gas sensor, to relay back information gathered from the target destination.

HI-MEMS derived technologies will enable many robotic capabilities at low cost, impacting the development of future autonomous defense systems. The realization of cyborgs with most of the machine component inside the insect body will provide stealthy robots that use muscle actuators which have been developed over millions of years of evolution. The basic technology developed in this program could also be used as a biological tool to understand and control insect development opening vistas in our understanding of tissue development, and provide new technological pathways to harness the natural sensors and power generation from insects."
From: http://www.darpa.gov/mto/programs/himems/

About the presence of Things: João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva first time in Germany kunstverein-hannover// II. Abissologia III. Escolha Bienal Veneza

João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva, The Occult, 2007

João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva
About the Presence of Things

http://www.kunstverein-hannover.de/ausstellungen_vorschau.php

Die Kurzfilme, Skulpturen und Installationen von João Maria Gusmão und Pedro Paiva bewegen sich im Bereich zwischen Mythos und Wissenschaft und erzählen von den Mysterien und der Magie der Natur. Die räumliche Kombination und Gegenüberstellung von Dokumentationen einfacher quasi-wissenschaftlicher Experimente, Naturbeobachtungen, kurzer wundersamer Narrationen und übersinnlicher Phänomene fordert die gewöhnliche Wahrnehmung der Welt heraus und bewegt sich in metaphysische Dimensionen. In den Arbeiten finden sich dabei Referenzen zu Alchemie und Okkultismus, positivistischen Experimenten und spekulativer Philosophie bis hin zum Absurden Theater und zur Science Fiction-Literatur.
Die Filme sind auf 16-mm Celluloid-Filmmaterial gedreht und verbinden in Ästhetik und Choreografie Referenzen an den Stummfilm der Anfänge mit Anleihen an wissenschaftliche Schulfilme der 1960er und 1970er Jahre. Sie visualisieren meist kurze Experimente, ohne eine Einheit zwischen dem Ereignis und möglichen Bedeutungen herzustellen. Die Ästhetik des 16-mm-Films vermittelt den Eindruck von Authentizität der gefilmten Vorgänge, die durch den Verzicht auf Ton, selbst wenn die Akteure ihr Handeln anscheinend erläutern, gleichzeitig unterlaufen wird.
João Maria Gusmão und Pedro Paiva überführen den Ausstellungsraum in eine Art alchimistisches Labor, in dem die technologisch geprägte und rationale Erkenntnissuche von einer mythischen, phänomenalen und paranormalen Wahrnehmung überlagert wird. So bezieht sich eine Serie von Filmen auf die nicht existierende Wissenschaft Abissology aus dem Roman La Grand Beuverie (1938) von René Daumals. Dort ist Abissology als das Studium der Unendlichkeit beschrieben, die als das Nicht-Wahrnehmbare einen kontradiktorischen Gegenpol zur wahrnehmbaren Welt bildet. Gusmão und Paiva reintegrieren mit ihren filmischen Allegorien das Staunen und die Ehrfurcht vor dem Unerklärlichen in die rationale Gegenwart. Die Verknüpfung kulturell und historisch unterschiedlicher Ansätze des Umgangs mit den Grundfragen menschlicher Existenz verweist auf die Ursprünge unserer Kultur und betont die ursprünglich enge Verknüpfung von Wissenschaft, Philosophie und Religion.

Die Arbeiten von João Maria Gusmão und Pedro Paiva werden erstmalig in Deutschland gezeigt; 2009 werden sie Portugal auf der 53. Biennale von Venedig vertreten.


Para uma ciência transitória do indiscernível: a Abissologia

http://www.zedosbois.org/abissologia/p4.htm

"Victor: Não duvides, só a Abissologia pode descrever o movimento dos acontecimentos desconexos. Estamos a falar: do déjà vu, da paralaxe, do sincronismo e também do milagre...
Octave: Mas certamente que o Milagre não pertence a esse campo de investigações. Ambos sabemos que o Milagre tem uma causalidade metafísica.
Victor: Caro Octave, os Abissologistas pensam muito pouco no invisível. Eles têm uma ideia muita avessa às coisas transparentes: faz-lhes confusão pensar que na sua própria casa possam estar sempre a chocar com entidades aéreas, sejam elas Deus, muito grande e por todo o lado, ou fantasmas do passado. Para eles nada de transcendente se esconde na sombra dos objectos, é apenas menos luz. Uma escuridão que provoca no olho o indiscernível.
Octave: E não é esse indiscernível a prova do transcendental?
Victor: Sim, para alguns parece que assim é. Para outros, é a condição mais material dos fenómenos."
****************************************************************************
II.
Excerto de Diálogos Abissologistas, João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva

1 – Introdução

A obra de João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva tem-se concentrado numa tarefa sistemática, a saber, a construção de uma filosofia experimental acerca do transitório. A estrutura do seu trabalho é desenhada a partir de blocos conceptuais que se sobrepõem e que são lançados de uma forma articulada com uma terminologia desenvolvida pelos autores. Desta maneira, nunca um trabalho exposto aparece isolado, sozinho e sem referências, porque, paralelamente à sua obra plástica, existe a produção de textos que nomeiam as articulações fundamentais do seu ideário especulativo.

Associado aos artistas vamos encontrar, ao longo dos últimos anos, o nome de um efeito ou de um fenómeno incalculável (Exposições Deparamnésia, 2002, Para que haja questão: o (Des)Aparecer in publicação Eflúvio Magnético 2), a ficção de uma lei geral de afectação dos corpos ou de uma lei da singularidade dos acontecimentos (Exposições Eflúvio Magnético, 2004-2006, A Apresentação da Multiplicidade Inconsistente in publicação Eflúvio Magnético 1), ou, entre outros conceitos, a ideia de negação de uma finalidade teleológica (Exposição Fiasco, JMG 2004, Identificando um fundo Patafísico in publicação Eflúvio Magnético 1).

O que surge como inusitado é que a obra parece não ter conhecimento do resto do seu corpo, nem percepção do território discursivo que os seus autores ocupam. No seu todo, a obra é completamente heterogénea; intercalam-se as modalidades distintas da sua apresentação entre o objectual e o disseminado; os filmes são apresentados em sequências aparentemente arbitrárias e tão pouco, um texto de JMG+PP cita uma composição artística da sua autoria.

Este afastamento particular é, ao contrário do que possa afigurar-se, uma autonomização intelectual das modalidades expressivas, exemplo: o cinema não precisa da palavra para ser pensamento, mas exige a palavra para se formarem ideias acerca da sua natureza.
Quanto mais autónomo for este pensar/falar do cinema, menos este se constitui como um discurso substitutivo ao pensamento estrito do cinema (tempo/imagem), pelo contrário, contrai a necessidade desse pensamento ser processado por uma proposição exclusivamente artística.

É nessa qualidade, de cinema experimental, instalação e fotografia, que João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva desenvolvem, à semelhança de um sistema filosófico, um edifício para uma ontologia que não serve como conhecimento do ser em si (de uma verdade definitiva), mas que elabora as complexidades pelas quais não é possível ter acesso ao ser em si. O seu propósito retrata-se na elaboração de uma narrativa/percurso verídico ficcional (e não de uma verdade) sobre a questão ontológica, explorando as interdições que lhe são intrínsecas.

O projecto mais extenso da dupla de artistas, reunido nas duas exposições anteriores: O Eflúvio Magnético: o nome do fenómeno, 2004 e O Eflúvio Magnético, 2ª parte, 2006, apresenta-se na forma de uma pseudo-ciência, como um ensaio acerca da mecânica da realidade, que considera preferencialmente um "modelo hidráulico".

Neste sentido, as suas divagações encontram um eco com os pré-socráticos, nomeadamente com toda a corrente inaugurada por Heráclito, desenvolvida pelos atomistas e epicuristas e que na filosofia contemporânea e do século XIX tem ecos e revisitações de grande interesse. Trata-se de perscrutar a realidade pela intensidade das flutuações, pela intersecção da matéria em fluxo perceptivo, de forma que, a partir do devir da heterogeneidade, se possa produzir um certo modelo.

Esta aparente contradição entre o objecto em permanente movimento, o fluxo, e a imobilização deste num arquétipo, só se explica pelo facto de esta ciência estudar a apresentação do fluxo, ou melhor, pelo facto de ela mesma ser a apresentação da apresentação impossível do fluxo, uma vez que este não tem um tratamento objectivo. É preciso, como para toda a ontologia, um terceiro termo.

Daí advém que esta ciência seja vaga: "nem inexacta como as coisas sensíveis, nem exacta como as ciências ideais, porém anexata e contudo rigorosa ("inexacta por essência e não por acaso")", uma vez que o seu objecto, a multiplicidade inconsistente, não admite a medida ou a conta-por-um.

O novo projecto da dupla de artistas, Para uma ciência transitória do indiscernível: a Abissologia pretende propor uma nova disciplina ficcional, a Abissologia, avançada como o estudo discreto do indiscernível enquanto categoria negativa.

2 - A sombra da Lua

O problema ontológico recai de uma forma inevitável para a questão da apresentação. Para dar um seguimento específico a esta observação, nada melhor que percorrer a análise de Popper do poema "Sobre a Natureza" de Parménides de Eleia. Como é sabido este poema constitui uma libertação da teia mitológica politeísta grega e o início do raciocínio filosófico. Sucintamente, a tese de Parménides resulta da exposição como dois caminhos opostos de duas doutrinas distintas para entender a realidade: a primeira, seria a via da ilusão, e a segunda seria a do conhecimento verdadeiro das coisas (esta tese desenvolve-se em Platão na teoria das ideias, Timeu).

O curioso da interpretação de Popper é que ele só aceita esta brusca progressão intelectual - da explicação divina do cosmos para uma inquietação ontológica - a partir de um salto científico. Popper sugere a hipótese de um avanço cognitivo, como o abandono do imaginário mitológico, avanço esse que implicaria a reformulação do paradigma do Universo. Existe nos pensadores pré-socráticos, indícios que levam Popper a concluir que o antigo grego possui, a partir de certa altura, a ideia de uma tela celeste constituída por objectos diferenciados, corpos celestes autonomizados, e já não a concepção de uma superfície a uma distância fixa.
Esta mudança na compreensão do céu e no entendimento do dia e da noite faz com que a observação da lua se constitua num dado de interpretação da realidade de extrema importância.

O fenómeno lunar transporta consigo um dualismo perceptivo durante as fases crescente e decrescente: existe uma parte da lua visível e existe outra invisível. O grego teria a consciência de que a lua seria um objecto unívoco revelado pela lua cheia e que durante as outras fases, a invisibilidade não retirava o ser ao corpo lunar, pelo contrário, o grego produzia a intuição de que apesar de escondida, a lua estava lá, isso porque lhe adivinhava a sombra. É a articulação essencial da ontologia: onde está o ser na apresentação?

A lua vai transportar, desta forma, uma relação arquetipal do sujeito com todos os objectos que constituem a realidade, produzindo, ao mesmo tempo, a questão ontológica projectada na lua: qual o ser da Lua? E a resposta metafísica: a lua não é o seu fenómeno visível, sempre em mutação e constante movimento, a lua em si é a sua parte invisível, que sendo mais do que a sua sombra própria, é uma desmaterialização completa, uma transcendência.

Para Popper, esta progressão acerca do entendimento da Lua é projectada para todos os outros entes. Como se a sombra pudesse realizar um desaparecimento completo e essa noção negativa (sim, porque se a condição material dos corpos é o seu desaparecimento, estamos a falar do vazio), pudesse ser a causalidade maior de todas as coisas que existem.

Começa-se a esboçar uma tese para o indiscernível, investigando a génese do problema da sombra. Tendo em conta a tese de Popper, Parménides e de forma geral os Eleatas (paradoxo de Zenão), incorrem num erro fundamental que estigmatiza toda a história do pensamento, eles confundem a sombra com a transcendência, quando a discussão que a sombra levanta é a de falta de discernimento: impossibilidade de descriminar e distinguir a composição do ente - um assunto estritamente ontológico e não metafísico.

Podemos ir mais longe e afirmar que o problema da sombra só se constitui como questão ontológica para uma filosofia materialista. Porquê? Porque a sombra é o inominável do visível (pensemos no nosso poeta materialista, Caeiro, e de que forma a sombra pode esvaziar toda a Natureza da visão) - sombra como condição do ver.

3 - Da sombra da lua para o indiscernível atómico

"Victor: o abismo na Abissologia é só um disfarce. Todos pensam que nos deleitamos a observar a profundidade de longe e de cima. Pelo contrário, queremos ver antes a profundidade nessa indistinção que é estar no abismo ao mesmo tempo no topo e no fundo. Sim, a abissologia é o estudo da diferença de escala, mas na medida em que essa diferença é subtraída pelo indiscernível, o grande buraco do ser das coisas...
Vamos ainda ter que pensar como se forma esse efeito da sombra naquilo que existe, uma vez que as coisas existem mesmo."
Excerto de Diálogos Abissologistas, João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva

A primeira filosofia de carácter materialista surge precisamente na oposição a Parménides e ao dualismo transcendental que mencionamos atrás. Estamos a falar do Atomismo, mas mais precisamente do Epicurismo (Epicuro e Lucrécio). Estas correntes de pensamento descrevem os fenómenos recorrendo a uma física especulativa, de modo a conferir aos corpos, ao espaço e ao tempo uma realidade gnoseológica. Aqui, a ontologia encontra-se com o naturalismo duma forma específica - a questão do ser está antes remetida para um acontecimento genérico e constitutivo de todos os entes, o encontro dos átomos.

Este sistema revolucionário detém-se sobretudo num princípio categórico: o espaço é constituído por cheios e vazios, que na sua combinação complexa fundam perpetuamente um mundo composto por movimentos atómicos. O átomo, numa escala descendente de corpos, é a partícula indivisível que o olho humano não consegue discernir. Ele é concebido como um corpo mínimo, não visível, mas tão pouco transcendental. A sua qualidade ínfima faz com que seja indistinto, daí que não possa ser senão pensado. Os átomos, sempre em transição, num acto de combinação, de atracções e distracções, de humificações, formam o desenho que inscreve à superfície das coisas os elementos necessários para que as emanações mais sólidas ou mais frágeis existam.

Encontramo-nos perante uma grande encenação científica. O Epicurismo inventa uma filosofia para poder pensar o diverso do diverso, numa composição não totalizável entre elementos da Natureza. O método é essencialmente descritivo (daí o naturalismo), mas abstracto (indutivo): os átomos existem por todo o lado, mas não se vêm. Não obstante, esta parece ser a única possibilidade para agarrar fenómenos fugazes.
O problema da sombra entra completamente generalizado - a realidade estaria totalmente em sombra, todos os fenómenos seriam indiscerníveis, microscópicos e sempre em transformação constante - o atomismo tenta arrancar da sombra, não uma dimensão transcendente, mas uma ideia acerca da interacção difusa do real. Ideia essa, necessária para proporcionar um quadro existencial satisfatório e concordante com a compreensão dos processos da Natureza.

Desta forma, um ente (seja ele qual for, pode ser um som) é necessariamente composto por uma soma infinita de átomos que se entrelaçam com o vazio. No entanto, para se constituírem matéria, os átomos em queda têm que se juntar, sair inexplicavelmente da sua rota paralela. O termo chave utilizado para dar conta desse movimento espontâneo é o clinamen ou declinação, razão pela qual um átomo se encontra com outro.

Em Lucrécio e Epicuro a existência dos corpos está, então, dependente de um raciocínio especulativo sobre a concentração dos átomos em substância. Em Epicuro, entre o discreto atómico (a quantificação do átomo) e o indiscreto da substância (a heterogeneidade dos entes), é fundamental encontrar a causa pela qual os seres não são suprimidos pelo vazio interatómico. O encontro atómico funciona precisamente como a devolução à sombra: o átomo encontra outro átomo e torna-se indistinto face à sua condição formal anterior (a queda paralela e inconsequente). Quer dizer que o indiscernível é também o inominável desta situação: o átomo é uma entidade estritamente conceptual e de trato objectivo, de forma que, para estruturar um acontecimento material ele tem que se apresentar na sua qualidade indeterminada e própria. A queda atómica, infinita e vertical é quebrada pela necessidade do real e do ser.

"Octave: Victor! Victor! Onde estás?... Encostaste-te à sombra. Mal te reconheço. Não sei se envelheceste, se pareces mais novo.
Victor: Nunca mais me vais ver. Só daqui saio quando o sol for baixo."

Excerto de Diálogos Abissologistas, João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva

...............................

"Octave: Parece-me que essa doutrina que agora defendes retira o seu nome das expedições dos grandes alpinistas soviéticos.
Victor: Não podias estar mais enganado. A Abissologia refere-se ao abismo tão somente enquanto a imagem de um buraco do tamanho de um degrau. Um Abissologista nunca quis respirar o ar da montanha. Ele apenas sabe que deve subir ou descer o mais que puder para perscrutar a indiferença subtractiva. À beira de um precipício ou na sua encosta, consta que se é afectado por um sentimento paradoxalmente semelhante: a queda da pessoa no precipício ou a queda do precipício na pessoa.
Octave: Mas porque quererá um cientista mortificar-se com observações tão pueris?
Victor: Não conheces ainda a intensidade da negação, na verdade, à beira do abismo, nunca abrimos os olhos porque temos medo... Mas havemos de lá chegar."

Excerto de Diálogos Abissologistas, João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva

Estamos então em condições de nomear a esfera específica em que o indiscernível se refere à Abissologia:

1. O indiscernível revela-se (negativamente) na observação vaga da sombra própria. Entendido como o mínimo visível, ele é o lugar obscuro onde a permutação dos termos que o constituem é irrelevante para o seu sentido. Desta forma, um rosto em sombra, permuta a sombra da boca com a sombra do olho direito, sem deixar de ser rosto, não obstante, um rosto indistinto, impessoal. A indiferença subtractiva produz um grau latente de genericidade que dissolve qualquer tentativa de tornar concreto qualquer objecto em sombra.

2. O indiscernível não sustenta ser transcendência. Trata-se de uma condição material porque é o inominável do visível. Se o nome próprio da lua fosse a sua invisibilidade, estaríamos a nomear uma transcendência. Como sabemos, as sombras não têm nome, mas se quiséssemos dar nomes às sombras chamar-lhes-íamos sombras.

3. A Abissologia é a disciplina que estuda a profundidade indiferenciada da parte mais escura da silhueta. As suas teses, à semelhança da teoria atómica, têm que se referir a dados discretos pensáveis, de forma a aproximarem-se o mais possível do inominável da situação.

4. Não podemos entender por Abissologia um pensamento que não seja uma ficção - no sentido de uma grande encenação científica. O indiscernível comporta visibilidade zero; só pode ser abordado de esquiva por um aparelho conceptual que deliberadamente faz esse desvio para perseguir o seu objecto de estudo.

5. A componente subtractiva da sombra é apresentada como uma negação intransitável, não obstante, o Abissologista refere sempre o Indiscernível como uma potência genérica afirmativa."
****************************************************************************
Acerca da polémica da escolha "nacional" de Portugal para a Bienal de Veneza:

O FOLHETIM DE VENEZA
AUGUSTO M. SEABRA
2009-02-17


1 – Quando por oportuna iniciativa de um partido político, o CDS-PP, o plenário da Assembleia da República aprovou por unanimidade a chamada do Ministro da Cultura à comissão especializada a fim de prestar esclarecimentos sobre o atraso da definição da representação portuguesa na Bienal de Veneza (bem como da falta de apoio à presença de galerias na ARCO de Madrid), o complexo processo, sendo do campo artístico, tornou-se também político. A posterior indicação da dupla João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva, e de Natxo Checa como comissário, não encerra o processo; pelo contrário, as peripécias foram de tal ordem que solicitam mesmo uma reflexão sobre o conceito de “representação nacional” em que entrosam os campos da arte e da política.

2 – Bem antes de se consagrar o termo de “globalização”, houve uma “mundivência expositiva” associada à revolução industrial e aos impérios coloniais. A primeira Feira Mundial, “Great Exhibition of the Works of All Nations”, ocorreu em Londres em 1851 e a Exposição Universal de Paris ocorreu em 1900. Foi entre essas duas datas que se iniciou, em 1895, uma mostra assumidamente cultural, a Bienal de Veneza, e a partir da edição seguinte começaram a ser erigidos os diversos pavilhões nacionais. Evento artístico, a Bienal de Veneza é também assim um acontecimento inter-nacional, em que os diferentes países estão representados por artistas singulares.

3 – Entre o carácter geral do projecto e a singularidade dos artistas expostos, coloca-se agudamente o problema dos “artistas” em si mesmo, como Nathalie Heinich o analisou em L’Élite artiste – Excellence et singularité em régime démocratique (Gallimard, 2005). Ora os poderes artísticos e literários em regime democrático devem ser exercidos de forma transparente. É nessa transparência que tanto mais se exerce a mediação quanto a singularidade, e a excelência, têm um valor artístico para além do “senso comum”, sendo que os artistas se representam a eles próprios mas estão também na situação de representar um país.

4 – O que sucedeu no rocambolesco folhetim da representação portuguesa na próxima bienal foi uma dupla crise de mediação, da mediação política exercida através da Direcção-Geral das Artes e da mediação artística propriamente, na escolha de um curador responsável – mais do que falar na dupla João Maria Gusmão e Pedro Paiva, cabe aliás falar numa tripla Gusmão, Paiva e Natxo Checa, escolhida em recurso em funções das suas capacidades como plataforma produtiva.

5 – Chegou-se a essa solução, como foi noticiado, não sem que antes o Estado, através da DGArtes tivesse anteriormente contemplado a hipótese do cineasta Pedro Costa. É certo que a partir dos seus filmes ele vem realizando algumas mostras como “Fora – Out” com Rui Chafes em Serralves, mas uma tal hipótese ainda que entretanto malograda não deixa de suscitar alguns comentários. Pedro Costa é hoje um artista largamente reconhecido internacionalmente, e influente, mas não tem de modo nenhum um rasto expositivo comparável a outros artistas que vêm trabalhando com materiais fílmicos. Por outro lado, seria surpreendente na radicalidade do seu discurso um tal selo de “representação nacional”, colocando-se ele, como se coloca, numa híbrida categoria de margem. Enfim, tal hipótese seria parte de um processo negocial, ao cineasta, ao tal cineasta tão à margem, sendo necessário um apoio estatal para reaver a produtores, ou a um produtor, a posse de negativos de filmes seus.

6 – Por todas estas razões, a escolha de Gusmão e Paiva, dupla que é sem dúvida das mais importantes entre os ainda emergentes artistas portugueses, é uma opção de contingências, com o interesse de vir interromper a fila de candidatos mais óbvios em função de currículos mais estabelecidos, mas criando para eles próprios o imenso risco de os categorizar como “favoritos do poder”, o que de modo nenhum a sua obra deixava antever.

7 – Todo este processo foi por isso demasiado obscuro para se enquadrar na desejável mediação da excelência e da singularidade em regime democrático.

Augusto M. Seabra
www.letradeforma.blogs.sapo.pt
http://www.artecapital.net/estado_arte.php?ref=14

Interdisciplinary workshop DIAGRAMMATOLOGY AND DIAGRAMMATIC PRAXIS

Interdisciplinary workshop
DIAGRAMMATOLOGY AND DIAGRAMMATIC PRAXIS

23rd/24th of March 2009
(10-19h)


at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, Amphitheatre of the Foundation of the Faculty of Science, C1, 3rd floor
organized by the Center of Philosophy of Science (CFCUL).

The opening lecture will be given by the consultant of the research project "Image in Science and Art" Prof. Frederik Stjernfelt
http://ica.fc.ul.pt/index_en.html

workshop language: english

Prof. Frederik Stjernfelt (University of Aarhus, Denmark):
“The extension of the Peircean diagram category”
Abstract:
“Different semiotic schools have had different ideas about what counted as the prototypical semiotic phenomenon. In structuralism, the single word in the paradigm was probably the prototype; in Chomskyanism, syntax and recursion was seen as prototypical; in cognitive semantics - closer to Peirce's ideas - bodily based image schemata and metaphors are prototypical. Taking diagrams as prototypical invites us to a wholly different way of approaching semiotics, and by Peirce's operational criterion for iconicity, sign uses far from common sense diagrams - logic, algebra, aspects of grammar - must be reconceptualized as subtypes of diagrams. So Peircean diagrammatology not only develops our understanding of diagrams proper and their importance - it also invites us to redescribe the whole of semiotics and see its connections to logic in a new light.”

For more information:
CFCUL or:
Alexander Gerner (964152331)

Participants (in order of appearance):
Prof. Frederik Stjernfelt (University of Aarhus, Denmark); Jan Wöpking ("excellence cluster Topoi" FU Berlin, Germany); Dr. Irene Mittelberg " (excellence cluster “HumTec”, RWTH Aachen, Germany); Prof. Franco Oliveira (CFCUL, philosophy of mathematics); Prof. José Croca (CFCUL, Philosophy of Natural Sciences);Prof. Ahti-Veikko Pietarinnen (University of Helsinki, Finland); Prof. Olga Pombo (CFCUL); Dr. Catarina Pombo (CFCUL); Alexander Gerner (CFCUL); Prof. Matthias Bauer (University of Flensburg; Germany); Dr. Paulo Urbano (FCUL) ; Tiago Lança (Lisbon); Miguel Cardoso(Lisbon; University of Porto)/ Santiago Ortiz

A Evolução de DARWIN- Exhibition Gulbenkian 12 of February 2009

*EXPOSIÇÃO "A EVOLUÇÃO DE DARWIN"*

Tem lugar no dia 12 de Fevereiro, na Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, a apresentação da exposição A Evolução de Darwin e a inauguração do programa de extensão educativo daquela exposição, com o lançamento de um weblog (http://a-evolucao- de-darwin.weblog.com.pt/).

Estas iniciativas do Serviço de Ciência da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian são comissariadas pelo Prof. José Feijó, catedrático da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa e investigador no Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência.

A exposição é inaugurada a 12 de Fevereiro de 2009, data do bicentenário do nascimento de Charles Darwin. A Evolução de Darwin celebra também os 150 anos da publicação do livro fundador da Teoria Evolutiva, A Origem das Espécies. Os mil metros quadrados da galeria de exposições temporárias da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian servirão para mostrar como a evolução se tornou o princípio organizador da nossa compreensão da natureza: do estado das ciências naturais no final do século XVIII à biologia e à medicina contemporâneas -- A Evolução de Darwin funcionará como um todo interactivo capaz de aliciar público de todas as idades.

*A Evolução de Darwin* apresentará ao público a história da ideia de que todos os seres vivos, incluindo o homem, têm uma origem comum, e que o seu surgimento pode ser explicado por causas naturais. Veremos como o jovem Charles Darwin amadurece como naturalista na famosa viagem ao redor do mundo
do navio HMS Beagle e como as sementes intelectuais desta viagem levam à publicação, mais de duas décadas depois, de um autêntico best-seller instantâneo na sua época. A Origem das Espécies apresenta não só um impressionante conjunto de factos biológicos que fundamenta a descendência com modificação, mas também o principal mecanismo responsável por estas modificações, a selecção natural.

Em paralelo com a exposição A Evolução de Darwin, decorrerá um ciclo de conferências que será inaugurado pelo Prof. Niles Eldredge, curador da Exposição Darwin do American Museum of Natural History de Nova Iorque, coroando assim a colaboração entre aquele museu e a Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. A exposição será apoiada por diversas entidades entre as quais se pode destacar a Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.

Para mais informações contactar:
Rita Rebelo de Andrade
tel. 21 782 35 25
e-mail: darwin@gulbenkian.pt

More Information:

http://darwin-online.org.uk/

http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/

http://www.darwin.rcuk.ac.uk/

http://www.darwin200.org/