Seminar. Five Short Texts on the Possibility of Creating an Economy of Equivalence. First appointment: "The day before closure of an experimental factory".
Seminar
Five thirty minute lectures, followed by drinks in the bar at unitednationsplaza.
The outline of a possible text. Five parts will be tested and developed, quickly.
Day 1: The day before closure of an experimental factory.
Day 2: Redundancy following the lure of infinite flexibility.
Day 3: Reoccupation, recuperation and aimless renovation.
Day 4: Reconfiguring the recent past.
Day 5: Relations of equivalence – three potential endings.
“The text looks again at the dynamic that exists within a group when one set of
people thinks that there will ‘have to be change’ and ‘things won’t be able to
continue this way’ and the other believes that change will only occur as a result of
direct action.”
“We are interested in the cone shaped gap that you could argue is perceivable in the
trajectory between modernity and modernism. Modernity leading to both Wal-Mart and
memory sticks on one hand and modernism as a kind of ‘circling the drain’ complex of
striated, layered forms of self-referentiality which at the same time attempts a way
to envision creating continual and endless possibilities of critique in relation to
modernity, modernism or any of its late and post iterations.”
“The question is whether they return to the abandoned factory to play out a new
economy of equivalence or finally put it to rest and focus on other places that
remain fixed and secure in earlier models of spectacular exchange masquerading as
revelation or mere reflections of dominant models that currently leave all
relationships intact.”
Liam Gillick is based in New York and London. Numerous solo exhibitions since 1989
include ‘Literally’, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2003; ‘Communes, bar and
greenrooms’, The Powerplant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto, 2003; ‘The Wood Way’,
Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2002; ‘A short text on the possibility of creating an
economy of equivalence’, Palais de Tokyo, 2005. Selected group exhibitions include
‘Singular Forms’, Guggenheim Museum, 2004; 50th Venice Biennale, 2003; ‘What If’,
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2000 and documenta X, 1997. Numerous public projects and
interventions include Ft. Lauderdale Airport in 2002; the new Home Office government
building in London in 2005 and the Lufthansa Headquarters in Frankfurt in 2006.
Since 1995 Liam Gillick has published a number of books that function in parallel to
his artwork including Literally No Place (Book Works, London, 2002); Five or Six
(Lukas & Sternberg, New York, 1999); Discussion Island/Big Conference Cen
tre (Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg, and Orchard Gallery, Derry, 1997),
Erasmus is Late (Book Works, London, 1995) and most recently PROXEMICS: SELECTED
WRITINGS 1988–2006 (JRP|Ringier, Zurich, 2007). Liam Gillick has contributed to many
art magazines and journals including Artforum, Parkett, Frieze, Art Monthly and a
regular column for Metropolis M in Amsterdam and has taught at Columbia University,
New York, since 1997.
unitednationsplaza is exhibition as school. Structured as a seminar/residency
program in the city of Berlin, it will involve collaboration with approximately 60
artists, writers, theorists and a wide range of audiences for a period of one year.
In the tradition of Free Universities, most of its events will be open to all those
interested to take part. unitednationsplaza is organized by Anton Vidokle in
collaboration with Liam Gillick, Boris Groys, Martha Rosler, Walid Raad, Jalal
Toufic, Nikolaus Hirsch, Natascha Sadr Haghighian and Tirdad Zolghadr.
unitednationsplaza
Platz der Vereinten Nationen 14a - Berlin
All sessions will start at 7:30 PM
Admission is free but space is limited, please register by email with magdalena@unitednationsplaza.org