VOX POPULI(ST)

Through the observation of history, artistic, social and discursive flows in time, we arrive to the 20th century, the beginnings of which have been, inter alia, marked by the loud calls of futurists to celebrate the changes, caused by industrial and political revolutions. Futurism, a relatively minor movement that did not convince the general public at the time, is being realized now, a hundred years later, and at all levels of our existence. That is why I draw the content of the composition Vox populi(st) precisely from the futuristic manifests, and place in the present. It proves to be not a particularly hard task, as the futuristic imaginarium and the social situation today appear to be incredibly similar to each other.

The installation Vox populi(st) brings life on a street. Literally so. In her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the urban planner and theorist Jane Jacobs emphasizes the importance of clear separation of privacy from the public for the provision of security in large cities. But the futurists said that space does not exist. A century later, the dividing line between public and private is indeed disappearing. There either is no space or everything is space. In this context, there is no more public and private space. The authority has entered the homes of the lonely, its communications ideological apparatuses are talking about a new man and this new man then goes out, private conflict takes place in public, violence takes place in public, even when it takes place in the private (at home), it takes place in public. This is exactly what I recorded and exactly what Vox Populi(st) represents. And furthermore: ideology of the new man was realized with the virtualization of space. Speed, the core of the futuristic fascination, is no longer concentrated solely in the external (cars, machines, airplanes) but also (or especially) in the cognitive aspect. But if the virtual space is practically borderless – it can spread indefinitely, so to speak – this definitely does not apply to the virtual time – the time required for a person to process information. The human mind is thus driven to a constantly accelerated speed of communication, while it keeps bumping into its processing limits. Therefore one is in a constant state of panic and frustration at the same time, not being able to reach the demanded speed. This means that one is never able to catch up with the system that dictates the speed and acceleration; even more, he or she is always competing with everyone else, but never wins. What does all this make out of people?

The motor bus rushes into the houses which it passes, and in their turn the houses throw themselves upon the motor bus and are blended with it, the futurists said. And it is true, the roaring mechanised outdoors has occupied the homes, the last refuge of individuals. But it does not end here, and at this point, the futurism hits the present; because this bubble, know as life, that is moderate on the outside, painted with manners and courtesy, strikes back. Anxiety, frustration, unrealisability and insatiability that a subject acquires through learning the loudness outdoors and transferring it inside, pile up and round up the space loop by manifesting in the public sphere (which can now also be private). Particularly when we are talking about abstract concepts such as public and private, or even our lives, by carefully listening we can find the changes happening exactly in auditory expressions. It is no coincidence that the so-called noise is at the forefront of the current alternative music genres. Sound is at the centre of our lives. Also because sound is the basis for formation of language, which is the basis for communication, which is the basis for civilization. And also because we do not strive to cultivate our auditory expressiveness, we do not even regulate it, but rather perceive it as totally different from the visible expressions, less threatening and harmful than, for example, physical violence. More specifically: it is not acceptable to hit (a person) but it is acceptable to scream (at them). What does all this make out of people?

There are many forces at work. The suffering of a man is of the same interest to us as the suffering of electric lamp, said the futurists and that is what seems to be the case today. A hyper-individualized subject of the 21st century is persistently separated from her points of reference. She takes care of her own survival – she is a warrior – encouraged to take care of her body, to nurture it with workout sessions and healthy nutrition, and when she finds herself in distress, the system will encourage her to resolve it through self-funding, on her own-initiative, in short, by self-help. What does all this make out of people?

Speed, desensibilization, warrior as a survival role, devaluation of man, pushing in seclusion, virtualized and therefore simplified communication, the so-called noise, are all symptoms of death of civilisation. But the elementary building blocks of civilisation are man and her language. Therefore, when the first one is simultaniously lonely and universalized, and the second one is impoverished and is acquiring a shape of unreflected noise, it is no longer possible to talk about either man or communication. The words are, in accordance with the destruction of all cultural diversity, poured into a single harmony of unarticulated sounds that are becoming the standard of communication. This complex process that represents the public as well as the private life in its essence is thematised in Vox Populi(st).

Nina Dragičević

 

 

 

V sodelovanju z:

Galerija Kapelica / http://www.kapelica.org/

Sonoretum / http://www.egonmarch.org/sonoretum/

In collaboration with:

Kapelica Gallery / http://www.kapelica.org/

Sonoretum / http://www.egonmarch.org/sonoretum/