In this new experimental seminar we will delve into the problematic practice of taxonomy. We will explore the roots of this info-centric obsession engrained in modern as well as contemporary methods of understanding,
grasping and categorizing the world, and speculate together what alternatives to it we can conjure. Relying on a
plethora of pop culture phenomena, we will revel in abundance and wonder about and try to build the
conditions for writing new, strange performative stories.
Following my previous seminar “HOME-BEE-COMING” that was dedicated to Beyoncé Knowles as a marker
of a world of artistic and cultural phenomena, we will continue taking pop very seriously, and and will
playfully construct, deconstruct and reconstruct the building blocks of meaning making: our alphabet. The
words that comprise our alphabet, however, will not be strictly verbal: we will go from text to texture, and will
explore the poetry of objects, light and shadow, sounds, fashions, and many more. Through this expansive
engagement, we will learn how to engage with references in a playful way, have fun prioritizing quantity over
quality, question the archives of our values and unpack default beliefs and aesthetic inclinations. A great
emphasis in this block seminar will be put on experimentation in the class, improvising and workshopping
ideas in a group. In addition, each participant will be asked to prepare an individual presentation on a topic to
be determined following the initial introductory meeting.
- Lehrende/r: Ariel Efraim Ashbel