 Invitation Reflection in art and theory is indivisible and theoretical formats have therefore often played a key role in the steirischer herbst festival: as self-assurance, interpretation, but often also as a driving force. In the context of steirischer herbst 2006, two workshops and a herbstCamp for twenty young, international artists and theorists will form a kind of backbone of the festival. In terms of their focus, the workshops will follow the underlying leitmotifs of the festival that revolve around questions of control, participation, collaboration and open source. The art of control central to all forms of society assumes different guises in different geographies, cultures, political systems and situations. Who controls, what is the effect of control, how is it avoided or necessarily required, these are aspects that are investigated, visualised and reviewed in a playing field research. Because politics and economy are no longer divisible today, one question that arises is that of models of society and relationships that depart from the idea that people can be modelled completely on the economy. Participation and collaboration are the buzzwords used to discuss the interplay between the controlled calculation and subversive uncontrollability of society. The theoretical field covers considerations of the critical art and net scene, the open source movement, aesthetic approaches and analyses of governmentality studies, that following the French philosopher Michel Foucault proceed on the premise that rule often exists in a strange alliance with those being ruled, which is why self-rules and foreign rules are often indivisible. Playing field research is not an academic programme that examines art as an object but rather seeks to find ways of exposing itself to art. With a rambling understanding of theory, in formats that allow visitors to meet artists, theorists and activists on location in the course of the festival programme. The workshops and the herbstCamp are limited to approx. 20 persons and the organisers will select the participants. Registrants may participate more than one of the events. The spoken language will be English; deadline for applications is 15/07/2006. Workshop I, 23/09-29/09/2006 ..if the skin is faster than the word (organiser: Bojana Cvejic) herbstCamp, 30/09-6/10/2006 Control knowledge / knowledge control / global control / self-control (organisers: Jochen Becker, Peter Spillmann & Michael Zinganel) Workshop II, 7/10-13/10/2006 Collaboration (organiser: Florian Schneider)  |
