Research Journal of Armin Medosch
Eleonore, part 2: Mobile Desires
Posted August 15th, 2010 by Armin MedoschIn my last article, I described Eleonore as a conceptual art work, a non-utopian 'social sculpture'. It carries a proposal for the role of artists in society, working out alternative routes for social-artistic-technological development. It does so without the universalistic-totalitarian notions inscribed into previous avant-garde projects. Yet still, it contains 'future' - therefore its' characterisation as non-utopian. It is real and realistic: small, cheap, livable and as far as possible, environmentally friendly. After spending one week here, I try to summarise my insights.
Eleonore: a really existing non-utopian social sculpture
Posted August 10th, 2010 by Armin Medosch(notes, Artist in Residency, Day 2) Yesterday I arrived at the Eleonore in Linz. Already before leaving I had the first insight. I was packing and couldn't find any suitable string to tie together my Yoga map. So I took a Cat 5 ethernet cable because I thought I might need that as well. And then I thought what connects Linux with Yoga? That both can show up, sometimes painfully, the limitations of the human being, especially in my case.
Stress Test for Regulation Theory
Posted July 11th, 2010 by Armin MedoschOn 8th and 9th of July 2010 I attended the conference "Regulationstheorie in der Krise" (Regulation theory in the era of crisis) jointly organised by the University of Vienna and the Renner Institute (political academy of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, SPOE). The title transports a double meaning, it refers to the crisis of regulation theory as well as to what has regulation theory to say about the current crisis? I do not claim to be an expert in economics and I am also a newbie to the regulation approach. However, I found this conference very interesting and thought provoking, so I try a summary in English.
Radiokolleg - Kommunikation statt Kommando? Arbeitsbilder im Postfordismus
Posted June 29th, 2010 by Armin MedoschDas vierteilige Radiokolleg -"Kommunikation statt Kommando? Arbeitsbilder im Postfordismus" beschäftigte sich mit den seit einigen Jahrzehnten vor sich gehenden Umbrüchen in der Arbeitswelt seit der Krise und dem Ende des Fordismus. Freundlicherweise und ausnahmsweise hat der ORF die Links zu den Sendungen bereitgestellt.
Floating Structure: A Platform for Artistic Measurements and Research
Posted March 10th, 2010 by Armin MedoschThis text is the preliminary outcome of a research project going back to 2003/2004 and developed jointly by Franz Xaver and Armin Medosch. It has a theoretical and artistic dimension as well as an activist one. At the point of its inception stood questions relating to the crisis of art in informational capitalism. The project sets out to bring some clarifications by word and deed about the relationships between art and technology, art and science and the role of the artist at the beginning of the 21st Century.
Post-Privacy or the Politics of Labour, Intelligence and Information
Posted January 15th, 2010 by Armin MedoschThis text argues that the erosion of privacy is not a by-product of information and communication technologies, but a systemic property of informational capitalism. The foundational myths of the information society motivate and legitimise the building of control systems applying probabilistic techniques to control future risks. At the root of this configuration are antagonistic labour relationships which have determined the path of technological development since the Industrial Revolution. Those tendencies have reached a culmination in the recent neo-liberal crisis. The digital commons offers itself as an incomplete and tentative remedy.
THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF WORK
Posted December 1st, 2009 by Armin MedoschThis text is a first draft, trying to identify key topics for an inquiry into the new organisation of labour. It starts with a historic analysis and then explores the notion of Post-Fordism.Specific sections are devoted to cognitive capitalism, the creative industries, informational capitalism and the split between manual and mental labour. It ends with a modest proposal for an alternative path of development.
More Lennon than Lenin: Imaginal Machines by Stevphen Shukaitis
Posted November 24th, 2009 by Armin MedoschIt is not often that left-wing politics is associated with attributes such as humour and wit. Stevphen Shukaitis' book Imaginal Machines (2009) is not only abundant with it but shows that certain strands of imaginative revolutionary politics in the 20th century were also endowed with those precious qualities. This journey through the radical imagination of the left, written in a compelling and entertaining style, is definitely worth a read for everybody interested in radical and antagonistic politics.
Technological Determinism in Media Art (republished)
Posted November 24th, 2009 by Armin MedoschThe most influential discourse on media art up to and around 1995 uncritically based itself on techno-science and the techno-imaginary which it creates. It offers a technologically deterministic interpretation of the relationship between societies and social change. This discourse was successful in institution building and is still very influential today, even though its foundations can shown to be problematic. This is the essence of my 2005 MA thesis on "Technological Determinism in Media Art" which I republish here due to difficulties with my old site.
Review: Labor and Monopoly Capital. The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century, by Harry Braverman
Posted November 2nd, 2009 by Armin MedoschThis excellent book by Harry Braverman revolves around the main thesis, that labour in the 20th century has become 'degraded'. The combined effects of mechanization, scientific management and other control techniques allowed management to wrest control from workers and enforce, under ever changing circumstances, alienating practices onto workers across all industries, including office and service jobs.