THE ATLAS GROUP JEAN- PIERRE AUBÉ BUREAU D ’ ÉTUDES CENTER FOR TACTICAL MAG I C DATAESTHETICS IRWIN MARC LOMBARD I READER TREVOR PAGLEN DATA MARKO PELJHAN/ I - TASC MARTHA ROSLER TH BALINT SZOMBATHY WI MLADEN STILINOVIĆ VISIBLE COLLECTIVE/ NGS MOHAIEMEN, ROY, HUQ, LIN W HO TO DO T H I DATAESTHETICS Data cover.indd 1 2/22/07 1:29:43 PM Data cover.indd 2 2/8/13 3:57:51 PM 01 TITLE / NASLOV: DATAESTHETICS 02 EDITOR / UREDNIK: Stephen Wright 03 AUTHORS / AUTORI: Bureau d’Etudes • Media Farzin • Rene Gabri • 04 Aaron Gach • Brian Holmes • Naeem Mohaiemen / Visible Collective • 05 Trevor Paglen • Nataša Petrešin • Martha Rosler • Gregory Sholette • 06 McKenzie Wark • Stephen Wright 07 MANAGING EDITORS / IZVRŠNI UREDNICI: Što, kako i za koga / What, How and 08 for Whom | WHW 09 TRANSLATIONS / PRIJEVODI: Brian Holmes • Nataša Ilić • Tomislav Medak • 10 Goran Vujasinović • Stephen Wright 11 DESIGN / DIZAJN: Dejan Kršić 12 TYPOGRAPHY: Verlag [ J. HOEFLER & T. FRERE JONES ] 13 PAPER / PAPIR: Munken Cream [ ARCTIC PAPER ] 14 PRINTED BY / TISAK: Grafički zavod Hrvatske • Zagreb 15 December / prosinac 2006 17 This publication was produced in the framework of the project Contemporary Art 18 of Western Europe / Ova publikacija realizirana je u sklopu projekta Suvremena 19 umjetnost Zapadne Evrope 21 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 22 License. To view a copy of this license, visit 23 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 24 Ovo djelo je ustupljeno pod licencom Creative Commons Imenovanje - Dijeli 25 pod istim uvjetima 2.5. • Kopiju ove licence možete vidjeti na 26 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 28 PUBLISHERS / IZDAVAČI: 29 30 Arkzin d.o.o. Revolver Što, kako i za koga / WHW 31 B. Trenka 4 / ııı Archiv für aktuelle Kunst B. Trenka 4 / ııı 32 HR-10000 Zagreb Bethmannstrasse 13 HR-10000 Zagreb 33 D-60311 Frankfurt am Main T / F: +385 [0]1 49 22 478 34 T: +49 [0]69 44 63 62 E: [email protected] 35 E: [email protected] 36 www.revolver-books.de 37 ISBN: 953-6542-85-4 ISBN: 3-86588-369-9 39 The publishing of this book was made possible by the Ministry of Culture of the 40 Republic of Croatia / Objavljivanje ove knjige omogućilo je Ministarstvo kulture RH 00 Data intro En 1.indd 1 2/12/07 4:29:41 PM 01 DATAESTHETICS is part of the project Zagreb – Cultural Kapital of Europe 3000 02 / DATAESTHETICS je dio projekta Zagreb – Kulturni kapital Evrope 3000 • 03 www.kulturnikapital.org 05 Galerija NOVA / Gallery NOVA • Teslina 7 • Zagreb • Hrvatska / Croatia 06 01 / 12 /2006 – 06 /01 /2007 08 DATAESTHETICS 09 PARTICIPANTS / SUDIONICI: The Atlas Group • Jean - Pierre Aubé 10 • Bureau d’Études • Center for Tactical Magic • IRWIN • Mark 11 Lombardi • Trevor Paglen • Marko Peljhan / I-TASC • Martha 12 Rosler • Bálint Szombathy • Mladen Stilinović • Visible Collective / 13 Mohaiemen, Roy, Huq, Lin, Nimoy 14 CURATED BY / KUSTOS: Stephen Wright 15 All events in Gallery Nova are co-organized by What, How and for Whom / WHW & 16 AGM / Sva događanja u Galeriji Nova suorganiziraju WHW i AGM 17 19 Teorijsko kino / Theoretical Cinema 20 kino Mosor / cinema Mosor • Zvonimirova 63 • Zagreb 21 30 / 11 / 2006 22 How to Do Things with Data / Kako raditi s podacima 23 a dataesthetics discussion forum / okrugli stol o estetici podataka 24 PARTICIPANTS / SUDIONICI: Léonore Bonaccini & Xavier Fourt 25 / Bureau d’Études • Aaron Gach / Center for Tactical Magic 26 • Miran Mohar & Borut Vogelnik / IRWIN • Trevor Paglen • 27 Naeem Mohaiemen / Visible Collective 28 MODERATED BY / MODERATOR: Stephen Wright 29 30 CO-ORGANIZERS / SUORGANIZATORI: Multimedijalni Institut mi2 31 • Platforma 9,81 • Što, kako i za koga / WHW 33 SUPPORTED BY / UZ PODRŠKU: 34 Gradski ured za kulturu, obrazovanje i šport Grada Zagreba 35 Ministarstvo kulture RH 36 Nacionalna zaklada za razvoj civilnog društva 37 Kontakt. The Arts and Civil Society Program of Erste Bank Group in Central Europe 38 Hrvatski fond za privatizaciju P A G E 2 DATAESTHETICS 00 Data intro En 1.indd 2 2/12/07 4:29:53 PM 00 Data intro En 1.indd 3 2/12/07 4:29:57 PM This reader is one component of a three-part collective DATAESTHETICS project, comprising an exhibition of the same name at WHW’s GALLERY NOVA in Zagreb, and a discussion forum organised at KINO MOSOR. My preliminary research into the use of data as a material in contemporary art practices owes a great deal, both practically and intellectually, to a number of stimulating discussions with Nataša Petrešin. Those discussions were intended to culminate in our guest- editing an issue of an art journal; though that particular project remains to be done, it is fair to say that without her suggestions and broad knowledge of the field, this reader would not have been possible. I am grateful to all of the authors and artists who have contributed Visible to this volume, producing insightful texts in record time. Collective/ I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Ivet Ćurlin, Ana Dević, Mohaiemen, Nataša Ilić, Sabina Sabolović and Dejan Kršić of WHW, both for Roy: Nahnu their invitation to undertake this project and the unfailingly infectious Wahaad, But enthusiasm and efficacy with which they helped organise it. Without Really Are We their attention to detail and gentle insistence that things get done, well, One? things would not have gotten done. By “things” I mean not only this instalation view, reader, but very broadly the sort of bonds created by their energy and detail / detalj generosity which, when all is said and done, makes an artworld a life- postava, sustaining environment – and not a thing at all. ¶ 2004 P A G E 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 00 Data intro En 1.indd 4 2/12/07 4:30:02 PM Ovaj zbornik jedan je od triju dijelova kolektivnog projekta DATAESTHETICS koji se sastoji još i od istoimene izložbe u GALERIJI NOVA u Zagrebu koju vodi WHW, te javne rasprave priređene u KINU MOSOR. Svoje preliminarno istraživanje upotrebe podataka kao građe za suvremenu umjetničku praksu u velikoj mjeri dugujem, i u praktičnom i u intelektualnom smislu, mnogobrojnim poticajnim raspravama s Natašom Petrešin. Bilo je planirano da te rasprave dosegnu vrhunac u broju jednog umjetničkog časopisa koji bismo uredili kao gosti-urednici; a iako taj projekt tek treba ostvariti, pravedno je reći da bez njezinih sugestija i opsežnog poznavanja područja ovaj zbornik ne bi bio moguć. Zahvalan sam svim autorima i umjetnicima koji su sudjelovali u radu na ovoj knjizi i napisali oštroumne tekstove u rekordnom roku. Ne mogu dovoljno istaknuti svoju zahvalnost Ivet Ćurlin, Ani Dević, Nataši Ilić, Sabini Sabolović i Dejanu Kršiću iz WHW-a, na tome što su me pozvali i poduhvatili se ovog projekta, kao i na postojano zaraznom entuzijazmu i efikasnosti kojom su pripomogli da ga se organizira. Bez pažnje koju su posvećivali detaljima i bez blagog inzistiranja da se stvari obave – stvari se naprosto ne bi obavile. Pod “stvarima” podrazumijevam ne samo ovaj zbornik nego, u širokom smislu, spone koje su nastale njihovom energijom i velikodušnošću, zbog kojih, na kraju krajeva, svijet umjetnosti postaje okolina pogodna za život – a ne tek neka stvar. ¶ Stephen WRIGHT P A G E 5 ZAHVALE 00 Data intro En 1.indd 5 2/12/07 4:30:05 PM Mark Lombardi: Oliver North, Lake Resources of Panama and the Iran Contra OperOperationation c. 1984-6 [4th version], 1999, [ detail / detalj ] DATAESTHETICS 00 Data intro En 1.indd 6 2/12/07 4:30:09 PM 09 | 01 • STEPHEN WRIGHT : How to Do Things with Data 17 | 02 • BRIAN HOLMES : Drifting Through the Grid 25 | 03 • BUREAU D’ETUDES : Resymbolizing Machines: • Artwork after Oyvind Fahlström 35 | 04 • NATAŠA PETREŠIN : Sonic Psychogeography and Orbital Viewing 43 | 05 • TREVOR PAGLEN talks to Rene Gabri : • Certain forms of space / Blank spots on maps 55 | 06 • McKENZIE WARK : Information / A Hacker Manifesto 61 | 07 • AARON GACH / CENTER FOR TACTICAL MAGIC, • talks to Gregory Sholette : Secret Pockets 69 | 08 • NAEEM MOHAIEMEN / VISIBLE COLLECTIVE talks to Media Farzin 79 | 09 • BUREAU D’ÉTUDES : Administration Aesthetics 86 | MARTHA ROSLER : Vital Statistics of a Citizen, Simply Obtained 97 | 01 • STEPHEN WRIGHT : Kako raditi s podacima 105 | 02 • BRIAN HOLMES : Tumaranje mrežom 113 | 03 • BUREAU D’ÉTUDES : Presimboliziranje strojeva: • Umjetnost nakon Oyvinda Fahlströma 123 | 04 • NATAŠA PETREŠIN : Zvučna psihogeografija i orbitalno promatranje 131 | 05 • Razgovor između TREVORA PAGLENA i Renea Gabrija : • Određeni oblici prostora / Prazne mrlje na kartama 143 | 06 • McKENZIE WARK : Informacija / Hakerski manifest 149 | 07 • Razgovor između AARONA GACHA / CENTER FOR TACTICAL • MAGIC i Gregorya Sholettea : Tajni džepovi 157 | 08 • Razgovor između NAEEMA MOHAIEMENA / VISIBLE • COLLECTIVE i Medie Farzin 167 | 09 • BUREAU D’ÉTUDES : Estetika administracije 176 | Biographies / Biografije C O N T E N T S • S A D R Ž A J 00 Data intro En 1.indd 7 2/12/07 4:30:12 PM Mladen Stilinović: Dictionary – Pain, 2000 - 2003 P A G E 8 DATAESTHETICS 01 Data Stephen En 1.indd 8 2/12/07 7:12:30 PM AUTHOR STEPHEN WRIGHT TITLE How to Do Things with Data 05 Data has become the most pervasive – and intangibly invasive – feature of contemporary life; of life become data. Life systems have been the object of sustained data gathering since the time of the Enlightenment, and cartography, flow charts, graphs and statistical databases have played a preponderant role in the shift 10 from a society based on discipline to contemporary regimes of biopolitical control. Art production long sought to protect the relatively autonomous sphere it had eked out for itself from any incursion by the potentially deadening logic of knowledge production and data 15 gathering and display.