ARTIST ALEKSANDER KOMAROV WORK ESTATE 8.06. 2010 EDITION 750 ISBN 123456789
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artist
Aleksander
Komarov
work
Estate
8.06. 2010
EDITION 750
ISBN
123456789
Estate
work
Aleksander Komarov
artistAleksander Komarov
Aleksander Komarov
Estate
Highly magnified view of one of the three common types of commercially
mined asbestos, produced using a scanning electron microscope in the ana-
lytical laboratories of the USGS in Reston, Virginia. The sinuous asbestos
fibers in this view are the mineral chrysotile, or „white“ asbestos. The fibers,
many less than 0.00004 inches thick.Aleksander Komarov’s Estate:
Value, Work and Business:
Where is Art?Driven by questions about the connections between interpretive proximity to “rich reserves of energy and raw materials”. Yona Friedman: Vom
resources, production, values and the status of art, representations of the al- Überfluß zur Armut (From Affluence to Poverty). In:
Machbare Utopien. Absage an geläufige Zukunfts-
Aleksander Komarov undertook a journey to the open- ienation of man in an in- modelle (Feasible Utopias. A Rejection of Prevalent Models
of the Future). Frankfurt/Main, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag,
cast mines of the Ural Mountains and to the skyscrap- dustrially defined space, 1977, pp. 183-202
ers of Frankfurt am Main. The resulting video Estate like those found in Anto-
reproduces the reticent and inquisitive observations of nioni’s Red Desert of 1964, stand corrected. The
a contemporary investigator. In four chapters, Komarov people of the area connect the powerful industrial land-
examines the relationship between economics and art. scapes and the smoking chimneys, the deep mines and
He passes his knowledge, but also his questions, on to enormous machinery with a feeling of historical and
the viewer, creates experiential spaces for others and cultural belonging. A teacher, who peacefully looks into
puts his trust in visual and conceptual analogies. the camera while she talks about this, is standing on
Looked at in advance, the planned journey seems the viewing platform of an asbestos mine. Wedding
like a hypothetical expedition into the settings of Pavel parties come here after the registry office to take com-
Bazov’s Ural fairytales, which are familiar to everyone memorative photos. School groups also come here. In
who grew up in the Soviet Union. They are tales of para- handcraft classes they use asbestos fibre to create ar-
disiacal landscapes, enterprising miners and rich geo- tistic place mats with floral decorations. The identity of
logical resources, which are protected by the Mis- the entire region, its self-concept and pride, is based
tress of the Copper Mountain 1 The stories, on the mining of precious stone, gold and minerals. The
1 which were published by local patriotism is promoted by the state and encour-
See e.g. Die Herrin des Kupferberges (The Mistress of the Bazov in the 1930’s, are aged in the media by connecting it to episodes from
Copper Mountain) by Pavel Bazov and Margarete Spady. Berlin, Auf- based on traditional fa-
bau-Verlag, 1961; Die Malachitschatulle (The Malachite
the world of important, international events.3 Thinking
Casket) von Pavel Bazov und Maximilian Schick. Moscow, Ver- bles. Typical for this time, back here to the rotating 3
lag für Fremdsprachige Literatur, 1955
however, they also con- stone with the veins of Metaphors and symbols from Basov’s fairytales are often ex-
tain a utopic vision of a happy and untroubled life gold that Komarov placed ploited for political purposes. Here an anecdotal account of
Russian-German relations in 2003: at a meeting in Yekaterin-
shared by all the simple people of the Urals. at the beginning of the burg, Vladimir Putin presented the German Chancellor Ger-
hard Schröder with an artistic statuette of the Mistress of
What Komarov found there was a combination of film, we realise that the Copper Mountain. Although she fiercely defended the en-
entropy, ruin and dogged perseverance. The aban- artist has provided us trance to the treasure, she would open the doors for the vir-
tuous (in this case: investors from Germany). When Gerhard
doned industrial sites are left open and derelict, whilst with an appropriate sym- Schröder left the statuette standing on the lectern Putin re-
marked that Germany was squandering its riches. Hardly no-
new sites are opened up next to them. Ecological con- bol for our present per- ticed in Germany, this episode was frequently quoted in the
cerns don’t seem to be of great relevance. The ultra- ception of the Urals. The Russian media as a proof of national superiority.
modern fears of an imminent exhaustion of natural re- stone stands for the complete dominance of industry,
sources 2 seem like nothing but intellectual rubbish the exploitation of natural resources. Simultaneously it
2 when viewed in the light acts as a reference to the now defunct modernism,
See here the 1974 essay from the architect Yona Friedman “From of this vigorous activity. which connected a belief in the new man and in a better
Affluence to Poverty”. For Friedman “the most striking histori- And those that hope to
cal feature of the last half of our century was the sudden recog-
society with the esoteric and mystical concepts of the
nition of our poverty” — as a result of our squandering of the find in Komarov’s film an crystalline or of the “philosopher’s stone”.Anyone who starts to investigate interrelationships in In the language habitually used to describe both art and
the current economic system will automatically include economics (or the fictional economics often practised
reflections on the nature of the financial market in their on the stock exchange), phrases and concepts that
research. Ever since Marx, every analysis of capitalism, include the word “value” are frequently heard. We talk
even the less serious among them, has exploited a about projected value appreciation, about peak value
confrontation between the real-world production of ma- and about market value. “Can the connection between
terial wealth and the virtual trade in stocks and shares. art and business create added value?” an internet busi-
In times of economic crisis, this often leads to moral ness magazine asks.5 Artists constantly experience how
judgements: the example of the “good” productive the value of their work can 5
capitalists, who create jobs, is emphasised, while the be transformed, above all http://www.perspektive-blau.deartikel/0412b/041
“bad” financial investors, who with their virtual trading when the work becomes 2b.htm
throw society into chaos and bring it to the brink of de- part of the collection of
struction, are scorned. Aleksander Komarov wanted his a large bank or insurance company. In this instance, as
images of the Frankfurt stock exchange to be value- the British art historian Julian Stallabrass has dryly
free. It is exactly this “unintentionality”, this aim of cap- concluded, “both brands”, the brand of the artist and
turing a normal, unstaged day at the stock exchange, that of the business partner, enter into an “image en-
which provides the film with its most comical episodes. hancing and consequently profit enhancing” relation-
The viewer watches with amusement as a stock ex- ship with each other.6 How can an artist define their
change reporter prepares for her TV appearance — how personal role and their 6
she practises her mimic, her serious yet friendly report artistic identity against a Julian Stallabrass: Freier Handel, freie Kunst. (Free Market,
and the smile that appears in the middle of the last sen- background of a culture Free Art) http://www.artnet.de/magazine/features/stal-
labrass/stallabrass03-07-09-2.asp
tence to be wiped off in the exact moment that the last characterized by the over-
syllable has been spoken. The actions of a further pro- whelming dominance of economic strategies and struc-
tagonist seem absurd, who, before taking each step, tures? The position of the artist has seldom been so per-
throws a folder onto the floor in front of her, which she sonally instable and seldom so polemically discussed
then walks on. Descriptions of the stock exchange as and contradictorily defined by the various intellectual
a place of unreality and fiction, as a “spectacle of disciplines. Boris Groys provocatively states that the
speculation”4 can only be corroborated by such images. artist has degenerated into a consumer, borrowing im-
4 The scene in its entirety ages and objects from popular culture for the “creation
Urs Stäheli: Spektakuläre Spekulation (Spectacular Specula- is, however, principally of personal spaces” in a method comparable to shop-
tion). Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp, 2007, p. 115. dominated by those im- ping.7 The classification of artists as “itinerant produc-
ages which, despite their ers” (Toni Negri 8) emphasises not only the functional
frequent repetition, always manage to captivate any- element of art but also 7
one visiting or observing the stock exchange: brokers reveals the determining Boris Groys: Der Künstler als Konsument (The Artist as
crouched in front of monitors, surveillance cameras, conditions of the artist’s Consumer) In: Topologie der Kunst (Topology of Art).
Munich, Vienna, Carl Hanser Verlag, 2003, p. 49
the click-clack of the changing prices. practice: a drifting from8 one project to the next, ers of the Deutsche Bank. When we choose to ignore
Toni Negri, Maurizio Lazarato, Paolo Virno: Umherschweifende with an almost total loss the overblown self-promotion, we hear an essentially
Produzenten. Immaterielle Arbeit und Subversion of self-determination, and honest corporate statement. It speaks of commissions
(Wandering Producers. Immaterial Work and Subversion).
Berlin, ID Verlag, 1998. with all the consequenc- given to artists, who “react to the architectural and
es that come with it. Be- communicative conditions on site”, and of art as “an
cause this flexibility demands a melting of the bound- investment in the future”. The ambiguous combination
aries between the work place and the private realm, “ArtWorks” reveals that which has long determined the
discipline to the point of self-exploitation and perma- connection between business and art: art can really
nent availability. work. It works for the image and prestige enhancement
In light of this background, Aleksander Komarov of this corporation, or for that of the Austrian energy
found the Deutsche Bank’s collection concept “Art at company EVN-AG whose collection catalogue is cited
Work” particularly revealing. As a superlative “Corpo- in the film in the form of images, or also for that of the
rate Collector” — in this category the Deutsche Bank art-friendly office building, from which Komarov was
has been collecting art the longest, possesses one of filming. We can eagerly await the next evolution in this
the largest collections worldwide and its most well concept of exhibiting art for representative purposes.
known concept “Art in the Workplace” has been most Because the value and significance of a corporate
frequently imitated — the Deutsche Bank sends a signal passion for art isn’t equal to the sum of the values of
to society, a potent public declaration of its conception the exhibited works. And their staging in generous
of art. If you analyse the phrase “Art at Work”, you be- empty spaces has become inflationary.
come aware of the polarising nature of the concept. Levelling and assimilation appears once again in
Following this concept, a bank employee at work will the closing images to Aleksander Komarov’s film, in
be presented with an aesthetic object, which has enter- which he lets the shining surfaces from the emerging
tainment value and can incidentally broaden his hori- Ural metropolis Yekaterinburg and those of Frankfurt
zons. While over here share prices are being analysed slide into each other. The world is globalized — how
and customers are having appointments, over there pleasant that the art world meets the challenges arising
hangs an exceptionally auratic piece, which has emerged out of this with humour: “Art at Works” is the name
out of a genuine interiority. chosen by a recently established group of curators
In the course of his research for the film, Komarov from Italy.
received an advertising portfolio with information about
the Deutsche Bank’s engagement with art, in which he
learned that the corporation’s collection is being man-
aged under a new guiding motto: ArtWorks. The eluci-
dation of this altered concept is reproduced in his film.
While the text is read out by a narrator, the viewer looks
out of the panorama window of a stylish and artistically
furnished unused rental office space onto the two tow-The work is called 35g. g stands for grams. The creator
of the work, Aleksander Komarov, tossed his Belarusian
passport on the scales and thus established its weight,
the 35 grams mentioned above. This work of art appro-
The View from the Scales priately reminds us of a parascientific experiment, in
which, more than a century ago, an American doctor
had tried to find a proof for the existence of the soul.
Weighing people at the moment of their deaths, he es-
tablished that they had lost a certain amount of weight.
According to his measurements, they had lost an aver-
age of 21 grams, or to be more exact, between 8 and
35 grams. As a result, he concluded that this must be
the weight of the human soul, which, as we know, is
supposed to be immortal. The soul must then have a
material dimension, and must therefore also be quanti-
fiable. His hypothesis was, of course, quickly discredit-
ed: the recorded difference in weight, which could also
be measured in animals, for example mice, was traced
back to a both banal yet completely rational cause,
namely the loss of fluid that happens at the moment of
death. Water, and not the soul, weighed 21 grams.
Nevertheless, it still makes sense, even today, to re-
member this “experiment”. Despite its miserable fail-
ure, it was namely guided by logic — by a blind belief in
a rationalistic, scientific jurisdiction over not just every-
thing that actually exists, but also over everything that
can be conceived or imagined. The idea that we could
take the soul, that most sublime part of a human being,
and toss it on the scales like a piece of meat, was far
from being just the fantasy of a freak. Just the oppo-
site. The hypothesis that the soul possessed material-
ity and could be mechanically quantified was abso-
lutely in tune with the spirit of the time. This was the
epoch of the first great upsurge of industrial modern-
ism, when the belief in its unstoppable progress had
not yet been tarnished by global crisis or world war.At approximately the same time, also in America, Fre- rival perspective of the working class lobby, however,
derick Winslow Taylor formulated his Principles the intention was the optimisation and maximisation of
of Scientific Management (1911), the bible of the worker’s exploitation. Their physical movements
industrial rationalisation. His vision was a complete were “scientifically” measured, with the aim of estab-
rationalisation and standardisation of physical move- lishing a norm for the “appropriate daily output”: “…
ments, with the aim of increasing the productivity of in- one measures with a stopwatch the time required for
dustrial labour. This idea has a long history reaching every single operation/working procedure, to then try
back into the 15th and 16th centuries, when, with the in- and establish the fastest method for performing it”. 4 This
troduction of accountancy for the management of both rationalisation of work 4
material and spiritual goods, the secular trend began met with resistance, how- Ibid. p. 87
of the rationalisation of every domain of human exist- ever. According to Taylor,
ence. In the 17th and 18th century, this trend continued it was sabotaged by the unions. They were responsible
with the intensification of disciplinary measures and for all the wasted energy and squandered working time.
surveillance methods in prisons, hospitals and military For Taylorism, therefore, the class lobby on behalf of the
barracks (famously described in Foucault’s Discipline workers is implicitly irrational, in other words, unscien-
and Punish), to take on in the 17 th and 18th century tific. In the same historical context, i.e. also in America,
the form of various practices for the self-control of and also in pursuit of a radical rationalisation of indus-
temporal and physical behaviour.1 The best example trial work, Fordism was developed. Henry Ford, who
1 is the regulation of phys- incidentally shared Taylor’s animosity towards the un-
See Philipp Sarasin, Die Rationalisierung des Körpers. ical movements in gym- ions and banned them in his factories, standardised
Über ‘Scientific Management’ und ‘biologische nastics. To quote a stand-
Rationaliserung’ (The Rationalisation of the Body. On
the physical movements of the workers not on the level
‘Scientific Management’ and ‘Biological Rationalisation’) in: ard work on the theme of the individual body, but in relationship to the manu-
Michael Jeismann (Ed.), Obsessionen. Beherrschende Ge-
danken im wissenschaftlichen Zeitalter, (Obses- of “hygiene”, published facture of the final product. He divided the requisite la-
sions. Dominant Concepts in the Scientific Age) Frankfurt/ in France in the 1880’s:
Main: Suhrkamp, 1995, pp. 78-116, here p. 81.
bour into simple, discrete, single movements and had
“every musculoskeletal them performed by several workers in series. Thus the
system can be trained; every pattern of movement mod- modern factory was born, in which the lives of the peo-
ified, regulated”.2 In Taylorism, on the other hand, the ple of industrial modernism were reproduced, and which
2 rationalisation of physi- so decisively shaped the historical world of the 20th
Ibid. p. 83. cal movement is applied century. And this, beyond any ideological or political
to a particular realm of divisions. Millions of people worked in Fordist factories
commercial life, that of industrial labour. Taylor wanted in Detroit and Turin, in Nazi Germany and in the Soviet
to create a system, or rather an organisation, “in which Union, in metropolises and colonies, under liberal dem-
man and machine are merged into a unity of maximum ocratic and real socialist regimes. Regardless of how
output and efficiency”.3 In short, he wanted to increase much, or how little, political, individual, cultural etc.
3 the productivity of the freedom they otherwise enjoyed, in the area of the ma-
Ibid. p. 86 workers. Seen from the terial reproduction of their lives they were not master oftheir physical movements. These were alienated from politics, articulated by the discourse of human rights. them by a hegemonic rationality, quantified as units of In short, his work wants more justice for the excluded energy, time or money, then standardized, to be ulti- and disadvantaged. mately reimposed onto them in the objectified form of If this were its only political meaning, however, then this mechanical labour. work would be not only politically irrelevant, but also This is the real historical context, in which Aleksander artistically uninteresting. With 35g, Komarov has already Komarov’s 35g both makes sense and speaks to us as gone a decisive step further. He reflects on and docu- art. If we ignore this context, we only see a familiar cli- ments the conditions of his own work as an artist. More ché: with 35g, Komarov is protesting against the injus- exactly, he assesses it using the tried and tested crite- tice of the contemporary world. He draws our attention ria for the rationalisation of industrial work, for example, to the situation of the excluded, to the fate of all those the time wasted, and the money squandered, in obtain- who are not in possession of a “first-world travel doc- ing residency permits and transit visas, in order to ex- ument”, meaning that their freedom of movement is pose the control mechanisms that his movements, the extremely limited and made more difficult — as docu- movements of a working artist, are subjected to. Tay- mented in 35g by every reproduced and annotated lorism rationalised and standardised the movements page, together with all the visas and stamps of other of individual workers, Fordism did it on the level of the countries, in his (Belarusian) passport. Seen in this light, organisation or factory. In the world of post-industrial, it seems as if his work wants to say to us: look at every- post-Fordist production, the movements of working thing that I have to put up with in order to be allowed bodies are now globally regulated, but undoubtedly to move around in the world. As if the work was com- for the same old purpose, of optimising exploitation plaining about a denied right, the right to free move- and maximising profit. This is what Komarov talks ment, which was such a motivation in the fight against about in 35g. He doesn’t toss his passport on the communist totalitarianism. We only have to think about scales just to present his identity — and a passport is the image that stands symbolically for the defeat of per se the ultimate document of identity ( ID) — in all communism, the image of the masses who, in 1989, its material nakedness, to demonstrate the utter arbi- went over the Berlin Wall to freedom. In this context trariness of its imaginative and cultural, that is to say, 35g seems to be the artistic processing of a personal political character. Komarov doesn’t show us identity trauma — if not to say a private resentment — that, de- in the lie of its existential pretensions, but in the truth spite everything, follows a completely objective aim, of its capitalistic utility. He doesn’t scream: “The king namely the completion of the fight for freedom and is naked!” Far more he is saying to us: “The naked democracy. More accurately, as an excluded subject one is in control!” In other words: “My identity may be (as a “frustrated East European”) Komarov speaks to nothing more than these 35 grams of paper and ink, but the western public and demands his inclusion — a it still essentially determines my entire life”. 35g isn’t classic case of the fight, well known since Hegel, for then a demand for a more inclusive and democratic recognition. Seen like this, the political relevance of identity politics, but exposes the contemporary identity Aleksander Komarov’s work exhausts itself in identity politics that are already democratic as a regulation
mechanism of post-industrial and post-Fordist exploi- mensional Man, as an example of what he called re- tation. Ultimately with his work, the artist is exposing pressive desublimation. Art doesn’t enter the work place himself as a cognitive proletarian in the global art and in order to breathe soul into it, and thus refine it. Instead, culture market, bound by the chains of its identity-based art wants to aesthetically sensualise it, to affectively control mechanisms. Artist at work: that is what 35g is charge it. Art wants to make working sexy. Why? To actually showing us. extend the control over the working body. It is art that As we then enter the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in now takes over the old assignment of rationalisation Komarov’s Estate, his camera behaves like the scales and standardisation, which industrial modernism once in 35g. It desublimates the found reality and shows it used to kick off its historical boom. Instead of engi- in its everyday banality. In the very place where capital- neers like Taylor, it is art that is mobilized to increase ist means of production take on their most sublime productivity, or, in other words, to increase the efficien- form, as a trade in shares, Komarov chooses to focus cy of exploitation. on the simply terrestrial: the stock brokers sit in front of But here, Aleksander Komarov also takes it a step fur- screens and chew their sandwiches, a TV journalist ther. In Estate he brings to our attention a further prepares for her live stock market report, a monotone “progression”, which Deutsche Bank has in the mean- noise signals the constant changing of numbers on the time made in its conception of art collecting. The com- large display board etc., in short, a not particularly ex- pany no longer calls its collection Art at Work, but Art- citing atmosphere. Works. Although the difference might not sound so But where there’s so much money to be found, art can’t dramatic — from one ambiguity: “art in the workplace” be far away. And, sure enough, in the neighbourhood or “art while working” to another: “works of art” or of the stock exchange in Frankfurt we find the Deut- “art works” — it explicitly marks the transition to a post- sche Bank — world famous, not lastly, for its art collec- industrial and post-Fordist method of production. Art tion. Art has been collected here for years, and collect- can now really work, and not just stimulate and monitor ed under the concept: “Art at Work”. This is taken to the working process from the outside. Art is no longer mean “Art in the Workplace”, which literally means that there to make working with money more efficient, it the collected art works decorate the working spaces makes money itself. of this financial institution, and in doing so, as it is typ- The same thing can be said for the sublime. It has also ically believed, can somehow refine a dry, bureaucrati- become a worker. cally alienating working atmosphere. We could choose The first part of Komarov’s Estate undeniably evokes to believe that the role of art in the work place is to im- in us an experience of the sublime, and this in the Kan- part a sublime dimension to the essentially rational and tian sense: it is images of nature — the opencast mines pragmatic working with money, to, as it were, elevate it in the Urals — which create the feeling of vastness and artistically from the dirt of reality. Exactly the opposite is boundlessness. It is a vision of the inexhaustibility of the case. It was exactly this artistic redesigning of the natural resources, in this case, the natural reserves in work place, this “going artistic”, which was viewed at the Urals, and, taken still further, of the boundlessness the time by Herbert Marcuse, in, for instance, One Di- of nature itself, which is communicated to us by these
images; in other words, exactly that feeling of exalta- tion, of the sublime, as defined by Kant. In addition to this, Komarov documents — to use another Kantian INTERVIEW concept — subjective awareness, which goes beyond Jule Reuter / Aleksander Komarov the sensual to attain the realm of ideas: in the tran- scendence of nature — in its boundlessness, which both implies the inevitability of the industrial exploitation of natural resources and provides it with ideological legiti- macy — people have found their authentic world to work and live in. In other words, it is their identity, a soul breathed in from their reality. Identity is after all nothing more than soul at work, and Komarov has exactly meas- ured it. It weighs 35 grams.
Your video work Estate from 2008 deals with the evident
dominance of economics since the financial crisis, and its
as Frankfurt is known for its high density of bank build-
When you ask about the
interrelation with other spheres of society using Germany ings and the stock exchange.
and Russia as examples. What determined your choice of
choice of location, I would
these two locations? Do they represent in general the “first” Economics has interested me for some time. For
say that source. In the
and “second” world and their relation to each other; or are
there more personal reasons that have to do with your ori-
me it is rather personal issue. Because of my migratory
same way one might read
gins from Belarus, a post-socialist country, and your current lifestyle I have learnt that identity is directly related to
residence in Rotterdam and Berlin?
an entire book in order economics.
to find the passages that work for your theme, I travel There were no thoughts about the first and sec-
to a place and while I’m there I take stock of all the ond world, but I would be curious to discuss with you
things related to my current subject to find the images your thoughts about the terms in relation to today.
for the film. “First”, “second” and “third” world are terms from the politi-
cal context of the Cold War which, although they are less
The starting point for my film Estate was the fairy- In Estate the image of frequently used today, still codify a ranking of the world or-
der. My question aimed to find out to what extent you want-
tale. This fairytale comes from the tales of the miners production of value is ed to draw attention in Estate to the systematic connec-
in the Ural Mountains. Marking the border between Eu- related to the economy tion between spaces (here, raw material production, there
sales and production of value) within the global economy.
rope and Asia, the Urals are the oldest mountain chain of the places I chose to You mention that as a migrant, you discovered that iden-
tity is closely connected to economy. Could you be more
in Russia and are well-known as a source of precious film. The ideologies pow- specific and say to what extent these experiences had some
stones and metals, including gold and copper ores. ered by the government influence on the film?
The most famous character from these stories is the cannot be suppressed,
Mistress of Copper Mountain, a protector of gems and but they cannot be explicitly communicated either.
stones in the Urals. The choice to go to Yekaterinburg In the city of Asbestos, which is situated in the
was there from the very beginning. Ekaterinburg region, I had a guide, a teacher from the
Frankfurt came into the picture afterwards: I read local school. She explained the history of the city to
in the financial news about speculation on moving the me and we went up onto the platform where I could
headquarters of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt to London, look out over the excavation site of asbestos. It was an
and that the Frankfurt “twin towers” (the building has incredible experience: the grey landscape sculpted into
been a popular backdrop in print media and television the earth, and big trucks and trains scaled down to
as a symbol of the German economy) will be closed miniatures, repeating the same movement over and over
and the art collection will be relocated by 2010. Imag- again. I realized the political implications of the name
ining the empty towers from inside, and at the same that were given to the city Asbestos: it expresses the
time being confronted with the impossibility of filming duration of its existence and its relation to larger eco-
or even seeing them empty, I wondered how the media nomic structures. The guide told me people used to
shaped my imagination. In the end, I filmed in a show celebrate weddings in front of the mine. I filmed her
room in Frankfurt, which has a view onto the Deutsche there, standing without speaking a word as if she em-
Bank Towers. bodied the production of asbestos. If she had spoken,
In the film, the notion of value passes from materi- we would have been looking at her, but as she stayed
al value to ideal value systems. The Ural area is as well silent I get the feeling she was looking at us. She looks
known for a seemingly endless capacity of resources through the camera to an unknown spectator.The issue of migration, with regards to the migration of dividing it into four chapters. Another one is by filming
people, as an economic factor is not part of the con- most scenes with a static camera. It allows a more
tent of Estate. But certainly the displacement of ma- concentrated way of observing and layering.
terial, from location to location, from value to value and As you mention the political intention of your work, I’d very
much like to go into the third chapter in more detail in which
therefore the economics of displacement, play a role in As an artist, one’s work you question the role of art in this context. You point to the
tight interconnectedness, albeit a very discreetly managed
my film. Actually, the issue of migration is very much value is not determined one, between the financial market and the art market and
part of my personal life. My place of birth and nationali- by one’s economy of pro- the related art collection activities of banks and companies.
The “discretion” even goes so far that the questions you
ty, as well as where I currently live, play a vital role in duction, or the other way asked Deutsche Bank on their art concept Art at Works were
not answered.
the organization of the financing of my films. around. And because of For me, your film convey that art today has become an
In the film, you join together very different areas under the
heading of global value production –– simply put, these are
this, it is important to extremely important part of the cultural representation of
banks but that their critical potential is not welcome at the
I chose subjects that are,
raw material production, the financial market and art. In do- maintain a certain criti- same time. What possibilities do you foresee for yourself as
ing so, you choose a fairly calm narration, structuring the an artist to meet these issues or react to them?
as you say, the focus of
film material into four chapters which is reminiscent of a lit- cal distance towards val-
much discussion usually
erary form. This creates space, I find, for observation and
concentration. Is this an intentional ‘anti-concept’ to all the
ue related to the modes of production in contempo-
nervousness and confusion? related to moral issues. rary art.
At the Deutsche Boerse The production of an art object, the surroundings
in Frankfurt, I precisely recorded one day in the every- that facilitate its value, and these methodologies seem
day routine at the stock exchange. During my filming, to fit perfectly well together with the bank’s desire for
I focused on the place itself, as a medium where every- continuity of value. Deutsche Bank was actually one of
thing reveals the spirit of value production, both in the the first companies in the 1970s which began to place
location and with its workers. The persistent clicking large scale works of art in offices and conference
sound of numbers establishes the omnipresence of rooms; in this concept, entitled ‘Art at Work’ by the
Dax, FTSE 100, Nikkei 225 –– the “global’ stock market Deutsche Bank, aesthetic resources of the artworks
index of large companies regardless of where they are are not only related to questions of representation and
based or traded. At first the clicking sound stands for art investment but also become a resource of contem-
the change in value, but the numbers sometimes do porary mythology for the employees. When a piece of
not change and yet the clicking continues. art joins the collection, a material value is given to that
When you deal with issues like trade or value pro- work: where to store it, when and where to show it, to
duction as an artist, I think first about my public, and whom to give rights of reproduction. The bank be-
I am sure that it is very aware of political themes. comes a producer of the external value of the art ob-
These subjects are definitely part of daily discussion, ject and therefore collecting is a subject that is itself
so that information or content doesn’t need to be add- a complex and rich economy. In chapter three of my
ed on my part. The actual political act that I exercise film, there are only two components of the triumvirate
with the work is to point out that the more nervous- of art: there is a voice-over about “Art at Works” con-
ness exists around these subjects, the more the sub- cept, and the working space for art, but the art object
jects stay excited and confused. itself is missing.
There is one reference to the book in the film byYou touch upon the absence of art; there is a discussion
about art and the space or context it is shown in. That leads
and renders it absurd.
The film Estate does
me to the motif of travelling in Estate. There is an artist As you mention the political intention of your work, I’d very
who visits locations that are far apart, observes, draws his
not actually deal with a
own conclusions, and thinks laterally. To what extent does In “On Translation Trans- much like to go into the third chapter in more detail in which
you question the role of art in this context. You point to the
personal motive concern-
the search for new spaces of art activity connect to this
value cycle?
parency / Architecture tight interconnectedness, albeit a very discreetly managed
ning the value of art. The acoustique” I emphasize one, between the financial market and the art market and
the related art collection activities of banks and compa-
work takes a more methodological approach, docu- on the articulated spec- nies. The “discretion” even goes so far that the questions
you asked Deutsche Bank on their art concept Art at Works
menting a certain system of value creation. tacle of transparency, a were not answered.
For me, your film convey that art today has become an
You ask about my personal search within the sys- spectacle equally pro- extremely important part of the cultural representation of
tem of value creation, and I think that Estate actually voked by the mass me- banks but that their critical potential is not welcome at the
same time. What possibilities do you foresee for yourself
refuses a personal statement on this subject. It was im- dia and the recipients. as an artist to meet these issues or react to them?
portant for me to keep it away from my own life. And at Translation in my film re-
the same time, I think that during the process of mak- fers to the interpretation of meaning of one language
ing Estate, it became an inevitable subject for a new into another, here into the language of film. The mate-
body of work, which is this book. Therefore, the imag- rial itself is transparent and can only be consumed by
es used in this book are not illustrations of the film means of projection. The montage then collides differ-
Estate acquire another value through the relocation ent shots, which I understand as thesis and antithesis.
into another materiality. On Translation Transparency / Architecture acous-
Estate is your fourth film. Is there a connection to other
works such as “See You in Disneyland” and “On Transla-
tique reflects on the modern, Western urge for trans-
Both of the films you
tion: Transparency / Architecture Acoustique”? Both of these parency –– as if one could endow power with good
films to a certain extent pursue the change in the signifi-
mention deal with a cer-
cance of aesthetic concepts as a political expression against spirit by building houses of glass. In the film, elements
tain locality and its archi-
the background that a country wishes to redefine itself, and
so space, symbols and signs disappear and others are cre-
of nature work against human forces, and a team of
ated. tectural condition, quest- window cleaners are constantly working on keeping the
ioning meanings of labour glass clean and preserving the illusion of an immateri-
value systems and spatial inscriptions. The moment of al wall between power and the world.
construction or deconstruction perhaps builds the con- When working on Estate, I followed different man-
nection between all the works. “See you in Disneyland” ifestations of value systems –– like the mythical trans-
was my first film. It witnesses the deconstruction of figured ideas of mine workings at the Urals –– in order
the Palast der Republik in Berlin in 2006. The film be- to go further into a human desire to abstract, demateri-
gins with an extract of a Dutch radio documentary, alize, obscure possession.
which reports about the night of 9 November 1989, re- All my film works are filmed with a reserved view
corded next to the Palast der Republik. The recording on their subjects and offer the viewer space to take
of the people’s celebration mood and euphoria is col- position in the political circus of power, labour and es-
laged with images of the deconstruction of the Palast tate. The films could be seen as “essays about who is
der Republik. The filming took equally place at night. in charge, who is in and out, who awakens desires, who
“See you in Disneyland” points to an actuality made by knows –– without explaining, judging or commenting
media for a certain territory at a certain moment in time on it”.1Where will you go next in your artistic development?
Cape Canaveral…
1
Renate Wagner for eflux film sceening at The Building, Berlin,
February 2009Lena Prents:
Aleksander Komarovs Estate:
Wo steht die Kunst?Geleitet von den Fragen nach dem Zusammenhang tatorische Nähe zu den 2
von Ressourcen, Produktion, Wertschöpfung und dem Darstellungen in der RO- Hingewiesen sei hier z.B. auf den Essay des Architekten Yona
Status der Kunst hat Aleksander Komarov eine Reise ten Wüste von Mich- Für Friedmann aus dem Jahr 1974 Vom Überfluß zur Armut.
Friedmann ist „das markanteste historische Merkmal der
zu den Tagebaugruben im Ural und den Wolkenkratzern elangelo Antonioni (1964) zweiten Hälfte unseres Jahrhunderts die plötzliche Erkenntnis
von Frankfurt am Main unternommen. Die dabei ent- sehen will, der damals die unserer Armut“ – als Folge der Vergeudung des „Reichtums
an Energie- und Rohstoffmengen“. Yona Friedmann: Vom Über-
standene Videoarbeit Estate gibt den registrierenden, Entfremdung des Men- fluss zur Armut, in: Machbare Utopien. Absage an
geläufige Zukunftsmodelle. Frankfurt/Main 1977, S.
zurückhaltenden und neugierigen Blick eines forschen- schen in einem industri- 183-202.
den Zeitgenossen wieder. In vier filmischen Kapiteln ell definierten Raum zeigte, wird eines Besseren belehrt:
untersucht Komarov das Verhältnis von Ökonomie und Mit den gewaltigen Industrielandschaften und rauchen-
Kunst. Sein Wissen, aber auch seine Fragen gibt er an den Schornsteinen, den tiefen Baugruben und riesigen
den Betrachter weiter, schafft Erfahrungsräume und Maschinen verbinden die Menschen im Ural durchaus
setzt auf visuelle und inhaltliche Analogien. das Gefühl historischer und kultureller Zugehörigkeit.
Ein gedanklicher Streifzug im Vorfeld der Reise führt Eine Lehrerin, die davon berichtet und dabei ruhig in
zu den Schauplätzen jener Ural-Märchen von Pavel die Kamera blickt, steht auf der Aussichtsplattform ein-
Bazov, die jeder, der in der Sowjetunion aufgewach- er Asbestabbaugrube. Hochzeitsgesellschaften kom-
senen ist, kennt: Erzählungen, die auf volkstümlichen men nach dem Standesamt hierher und machen Er-
Überlieferungen gründen und von Bazov in den 1930er innerungsfotos, auch Schulklassen. Aus Asbestfasern
Jahren veröffentlicht wurden. Sie handeln von paradie- stellen sie im Werkunterricht kunstvolle Deckchen mit
sischen Landschaften, kühnen Bergbauern und reichen Blumenmustern her. Die Identität der ganzen Region,
Bodenschätzen, die von der Herrin des Kupfer- ihr Selbstverständnis und Stolz basieren auf dem Ab-
berges gehütet werden.1 Sie enthalten aber auch bau von Mineralien, Gold und Edelsteinen. Der lokale
1 eine für die Zeit typische Patriotismus wird staatlich gefördert und medial mit
See e.g. Die Herrin des Kupferberges (The Mistress of the utopische Vision von ei- Episoden aus der Welt der großen internationalen Er-
Copper Mountain) by Pavel Bazov and Margarete Spady. Berlin, Auf- nem glücklichen und un-
bau-Verlag, 1961; Die Malachitschatulle (The Malachite
eignisse bedient.3 Wenn man an dieser Stelle an den
Casket) von Pavel Bazov und Maximilian Schick. Moscow, Verlag für beschwerten Leben für rotierenden Stein mit den 3
Fremdsprachige Literatur, 1955
alle einfachen Menschen goldenen Adern zurück- Metaphern und Symbole aus Bazovs Märchen werden vielfältig
im Ural. denkt, den Komarov am für politische Zwecke benutzt, so wie in dieser anekdotischen
Begebenheit aus den russisch-deutschen Beziehungen von 2003:
Was Komarov auf seiner Reise vorgefunden hat, ist Anfang des Films ins Bild Bei einem Treffen in Ekaterinburg überreichte Wladimir Putin
dem Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder eine kunstvoll angefertigte
das Nebeneinander eines entropisch-ruinösen Zustands gesetzt hat, glaubt man, Statuette der Herrin des Kupferberges. Zwar hätte diese
und ein unerschütterlicher Wille zum Weitermachen. der Künstler habe damit den Zugang zu den Reichtümern sicher bewacht, aber für die
Rechtschaffenen (hier: Investoren aus Deutschland) würde sie
Alte Industriegebäude verfallen, während daneben neue ein Sinnbild für den heu- ihre Tore öffnen. Als Gerhard Schröder die Statuette am Rednerpult
ließ, kommentierte Putin, Deutschland würde seine Wert-
gebaut werden. Die Sorge um das ökologische Gleich- tigen Ural gefunden: Die- stehen
sachen verschleudern. Kaum bemerkt in Deutschland, wurde
gewicht scheint keine große Rolle zu spielen, die Ängste ser Stein steht für einen diese Episode in den russischen Medien vielfach als Beleg der
nationalen Überlegenheit kommentiert.
der Hochmoderne vor dem Ende der Naturressourcen 2 alles dominierenden In-
muten angesichts der regen Fördertätigkeit geradezu dustriezweig und die Ausbeutung von Naturressour-
lächerlich an. Und wer in Estate Komarovs interpre- cen. Gleichzeitig stellt er einen Bezug zu der abgek-lungenen Moderne her, die den Glauben an den neuen cher und Beobachter der Börse immer wieder aufs
Menschen und eine bessere Gesellschaft mit den eso- Neue in ihren Bann ziehen: vor den Monitoren hock-
terischen, mystischen Gedanken an das Kristalline oder ende Makler, die Überwachungskameras, das Ticken
den Stein der Weisen verband. und Klacken schwankender Geldwerte auf den An-
Wer über die Zusammenhänge des gegenwärtigen schlagtafeln.
Wirtschaftssystems nachdenkt, wird Reflexionen über Wenn über Kunst und Ökonomie gesprochen wird,
den Geldmarkt in seine Untersuchungen zwangsläufig sind oftmals Wortbildungen mit „Wert“ anzutreffen: Es
mit einbeziehen. Seit Marx bedient sich jede auch weni- ist von Marktwert, Wertsteigerung und Spitzenwert die
ger seriöse Kapitalismus-Analyse einer Gegenüberstel- Rede. „Kann die Verbindung von Kunst und Wirtschaft
lung von real stattfindender Produktion des materiellen Mehrwert schaffen?“ fragt ein Internet-Wirtschaftsmag-
Reichtums einerseits und dem virtuellen Handel mit azin.5 Fortwährend machen die Künstler Erfahrungen
Wertpapieren andererseits. Tritt eine Finanzkrise ein, mit dem sich wandeln- 5
wird häufig moralisch bewertet: Man hebt das Beispiel den (Tausch-) Wert ihrer http://www.perspektive-blau.de/artikel/0412b/0412b.htm,
der „guten“ produzierenden Unternehmer hervor, die Kunst, vor allem dann, 13.12.2009.
Arbeitsplätze schaffen, und mokiert über die „schlech- wenn diese in die Sammlung einer großen Bank oder
ten“ Finanzinvestoren, die mit ihren virtuellen Transak- einer Versicherung aufgenommen wird. „Beide Mar-
tionen die Gesellschaft in Unordnung bis an den Rand ken“, die des Künstlers und des Geschäftspartners,
des Untergangs bringen. Aleksander Komarov hat seine werden dabei „image- und somit profitfördernd“ mit-
Aufnahmen aus der Frankfurter Börse wertfrei gehalten. einander verknüpft, stellt der britische Kunsthistoriker
Gerade dieser „Absichtslosigkeit“, mit der der Künstler Julian Stallabrass 6 nüchtern fest. Wie definiert man die
den uninszenierten Alltag an der Börse aufgenommen eigene Rolle und das 6
hat, hat der Film seine amüsantesten Episoden zu ver- künstlerische Selbstver- Julian Stallabrass: Freier Handel, freie Kunst. http://www.
danken. Belustigt beobachtet der Zuschauer die Vor- ständnis vor dem Hinter- artnet.de/magazine/features/stallabrass/stallabrass03-07-09-2.
asp, 13.12.2009.
bereitungen für den TV-Auftritt einer Börsenachrichten- grund einer starken Do-
Sprecherin – ihre Mimik-Übungen, ihr sachlicher und minanz von ökonomischen Strategien und Strukturen
freundlicher Bericht, ein mitten im Schlusssatz aufkom- in der Gesellschaft? Die Position des Künstlers war
mendes Lächeln, das zeitgleich mit den letzten Silben selten so instabil, wurde so polemisch von den ver-
erlischt. Absurd wirkt die Szene mit einer weiteren Un- schiedenen wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen diskutiert
bekannten, die vor jedem ihrer Schritte eine Mappe und so gegensätzlich definiert wie heute. Boris Groys
auf den Fußboden wirft und sich darauf fortbewegt. formuliert die provozierende Behauptung, der Küns-
Mit solchen Aufnahmen wird die Börse als Ort der Ir- tler sei zum Konsumenten verkommen, der aus der
realität und der Fiktionalität beschrieben, als „Spektakel Massenkultur Bilder und Objekte entnehme und „sie
der Spekulation“.4 Die gesamte Szenerie wird den- für die Erschaffung eigener Räume“ verwenden würde –
4 noch von den Bildern eine dem Shopping ähnliche Vorgehensweise. 7 Die Zu-
Urs Stäheli: Spektakuläre Spekulation. Frankfurt beherrscht, die trotz ihrer ordnung von Kunstschaf- 7
am Main, Suhrkamp, 2007, S. 115. Bekanntheit jeden Besu- fenden zu den „umher- Boris Groys: Der Künstler als Konsument, in: Ders.: To-
pologie der Kunst. München, Wien 2003, S. 49.schweifenden Produzenten“ betont dagegen nicht nur Während der programmatische Text ertönt, blickt der
den produktiven Aspekt der Kunst, sondern verweist Zuschauer aus dem Panoramafenster eines stilvoll
auf die Rahmenbedingungen ihrer Produktion: das eingerichteten Frankfurter Hotels auf die beiden Türme
kaum mehr selbstbestimmte Driften von Projekt zu der Deutschen Bank. Wenn man den erhabenen Unter-
Projekt mit allen Konsequenzen.8 Denn die Flexibilität ton einer Selbsthuldigung überhört, bekommt man hier
8 bedeutet nicht nur die ein im Grunde genommen ehrliches unternehmerisches
Toni Negri, Maurizio Lazarato, Paolo Virno: Umherschweifende Verschmelzung der Gren- Statement vorgetragen. Da ist von Auftragsarbeiten an
Produzenten. Immaterielle Arbeit und Subversion. zen zwischen Arbeitsplatz
Berlin 1998.
die Kunstschaffenden die Rede, die „auf die architekto-
und Privatsphäre, sie er- nische und kommunikative Situation vor Ort Bezug
fordert auch Disziplin bis zur Selbstausbeutung und nehmen“, und von Kunst als „einer Investition in die
eine permanente Verfügbarkeit. Zukunft“. Die doppelsinnige Kombination „ArtWorks“
Vor diesem Hintergrund musste für Aleksander führt vor, was die Verbindung zwischen Wirtschaft und
Komarov das Sammlungskonzept der Deutschen Bank Kunst bereits seit Längerem prägt: Kunst soll arbeiten –
„Art at Work“ besonders diffizil erscheinen. Unter ihres- für das Image und die Prestigesteigerung von Unterneh-
gleichen ist die Deutsche Bank ein „Corporate Collec- men wie dem österreichischen Energiekonzern EVN-
tor“ der Superlative – sie sammelt Kunst am längsten, AG, dessen Sammlungskatalog in Form von Bildern
besitzt eine der größten Sammlungen weltweit, und ihr zitiert wird, oder auch für kunstfreundliche Hotels wie
bekanntes Konzept der „Kunst am Arbeitsplatz“ wurde jenes, in dem Komarov seine Aufnahmen machte. Man
am häufigsten nachgeahmt. Sie tut öffentlichkeitswirk- darf gespannt sein auf die Renaissance des Konzeptes,
sam ihr Verständnis der Kunst kund, sendet regelmäßig Kunst zu Repräsentationszwecken auszustellen. Die
Signale ihres Engagements aus. In der Wortverbindung „Investition in die Zukunft“ erschöpft sich für einen Un-
„Art at Work“ zeigt sich jedoch nicht nur der Esprit eines ternehmer offenbar bis heute nicht im Marktwert der
erfolgreichen Unternehmens, sondern auch die Polar- gezeigten Kunstwerke. Und deren Inszenierung in groß-
ität der beiden Begriffe: Während hier Aktienkurse aus- zügigen leeren Räumen ist ebenfalls nichts Neues mehr:
gewertet und Kundengespräche geführt werden, hängt Es beherrschen sie sowohl einflussreiche Konzerne als
dort ein „besonders auratisches Stück“, das ausschließ- auch weniger renommierte Sammler.
lich dem inneren Antrieb eines Künstlers zu verdanken In den letzten Einstellungen von Estate werden
ist. Für einen arbeitenden Bankangestellten ein ästhe- sich die Bilder nicht zufällig immer ähnlicher, wenn
tischer Gegenstand mit dekorativem und bestenfalls Komarov Glanzansichten aus der aufsteigenden Ural-
Horizont erweiterndem Wert. Metropole Ekaterinburg und aus Frankfurt am Main in-
Als Komarov im Zuge seiner Recherchen ein Wer- einander übergehen lässt. Innerhalb einer globalisierten
bepaket mit Materialien zum Kunstengagement der Wirtschaft wird auch die Kunst nach globalisierten
Deutschen Bank erhielt, stellte er fest, dass die Standards instrumentalisiert. Doch auch auf diese Her-
Sammlung des Unternehmens seit einiger Zeit unter ausforderungen reagiert die Kunstwelt mit einer über-
einem neuen Motto steht – „ArtWorks“. In seinem Film raschenden Rückhand: „Art at Work“ nennt sich eine
lässt er das gewandelte Konzept für sich sprechen: kürzlich gegründete Kuratorengruppe aus Italien.Boris Buden: Die Waage im Blick
Die Arbeit heißt 35 g. „G“ wie Gramm. Der Autor, Alek- haltbaren Fortschritt noch durch keinerlei Weltkrisen
sander Komarov, warf seinen weißrussischen Reise- und Weltkriege getrübt worden war. Ungefähr zur
pass auf die Waage und stellte so dessen Gewicht gleichen Zeit, ebenfalls in Amerika, verfasst Frederick
fest, die genannten 35 Gramm. Zu Recht erinnert uns Winslow Taylor seine Principles of Scientific
diese künstlerische Arbeit an jenes parawissenschaftli- Management (1911), die Bibel der wissenschaftli-
che Experiment, mit dem ein amerikanischer Arzt vor chen Betriebsführung. Sein Ideal ist eine vollkommene
mehr als hundert Jahren versuchte, den Beweis für die Rationalisierung und Normierung der Körperbewegun-
Existenz der Seele zu liefern. Er wog Menschen im Mo- gen mit dem Ziel einer Steigerung der Produktivität
ment ihres Sterbens und stellte dabei einen gewissen industrieller Arbeit. Diese Idee hat eine lange Vorge-
Gewichtsverlust fest. Dieser betrug seine Angaben zu- schichte, die bis ins 15. und 16. Jahrhundert reicht, als
folge zwischen 8 und 35 Gramm, durchschnittlich 21 mit der Einführung des Rechnungswesens für materi-
Gramm. Daraus zog er den Schluss, dass es sich um elle wie geistige Güter der säkulare Trend zur Ration-
das Gewicht der menschlichen Seele handeln müsse, alisierung aller menschlichen Lebensbereiche beginnt.
die bekanntlich unsterblich sein sollte, und diese also Im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert setzt sich dieser Trend mit
eine messbare materielle Dimension habe. Natürlich der Verschärfung von Disziplinierungsmaßnahmen und
wurde seine Hypothese bald widerlegt: Die genannte Überwachungsmethoden in Gefängnissen, Spitälern
Gewichtsdifferenz, die auch bei Tieren, etwa Mäusen, und Kasernen fort (wovon bekanntlich Foucault in
festzustellen war, wurde auf eine banale, doch zugleich Überwachen und Strafen berichtet), um im 17.
durchaus rationale Ursache zurückgeführt, nämlich auf und 18. Jahrhundert die Form unterschiedlicher Prak-
den im Augenblick des Sterbens eintretenden Flüssig- tiken der Selbstkontrolle Verhaltensweisen in Zeit und
keitsverlust: Wasser, und nicht die Seele wog jene 21 Raum anzunehmen.1 Das beste Beispiel bietet die
Gramm. Regularisierung der Kör- 1
Trotzdem macht es Sinn, auch heute noch an dieses perbewegungen in der Siehe Philipp Sarasin, „Die Rationalisierung des Körpers.
Experiment zu erinnern. Trotz seines miserablen Schei- Gymnastik. In einem Stan- Über ‚Scientific Management‘ und ‚biologische Ra-
tionaliserung‘“, in: Michael Jeismann (Hg.), Obsessionen.
terns folgte es schließlich einer bestimmten Weltan- dardwerk zum Thema Beherrschende Gedanken im wissenschaftlichen Zeitalter,
schauung dem blinden Glauben an eine rationalistisch „Hygiene“, das im Frank- Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1995, S. 78–116, hier S. 81.
szientistische Beherrschung nicht nur von allem Be- reich der achtziger Jahre des neunzehnten Jahrhun-
stehenden, sondern auch von allem Denk- und Vorstell- derts erschien, heißt es wortwörtlich: „Jeder Bewe-
baren. Die Idee, dass man das Sublimste des men- gungsapparat ist erziehbar; jede Bewegungsform kann
schlichen Wesens schlechthin, die Seele, wie ein Stück modifiziert, reguliert werden.“2 Doch im Taylorismus
Fleisch auf eine Waage werfen kann, ist keineswegs gilt die Rationalisierung 2
die Spinnerei eines Freaks. Im Gegenteil: Die Hypoth- der Körperbewegungen Ibid. S. 83.
ese von der mechanisch messbaren Materialität der einem ganz bestimmten
Seele entspricht durchaus dem Geist ihrer Zeit. Es ist Bereich des gesellschaftlichen Lebens, dem der indus-
die Epoche des ersten großen Aufschwungs der in- triellen Arbeit. Taylor will ein System bzw. eine Organi-
dustriellen Moderne, als der Glaube an deren unauf- sation schaffen, „in der Mensch und Maschine zu einerYou can also read
