Benjamin Vautier : Einführung in das Werk und Überlegungen zur autothematischen Reflexion des künstlerischen Selbstverständnisses

Obwohl der seit 1949 in Nizza lebende und arbeitende Benjamin Vautier (geb. 1935), genannt „Ben“, zu den wichtigsten französischen Künstlern der sogenannten „Neo-Avantgarde“ gehört, wurden sein Werk und Wirken bislang kaum gewürdigt. Vor diesem Hintergrund bietet die Dissertation die erste wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit Vautiers Oeuvre, dessen immenser Umfang bedingt, dass sich die Untersuchung auf die frühen Schaffensjahre bis etwa 1975 konzentriert. Anhand der Analyse ausgewählter Werkgruppen aus dieser Zeit werden Vautiers Kernanliegen, die Suche nach Innovation und die autothematische Reflexion, fokussiert. Im Sinne der soziologisch-kulturwissenschaftlichen Methodik wird zur Kontextualisierung von Vautiers Schaffen zunächst die Situation der Kunst in Frankreich, speziell in Nizza, in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts skizziert, um darauf folgend die Eingliederung des Künstlers in die Niçoiser Kunstszene nachvollziehen zu können. In diesem Zusammenhang wird auch die Bedeutung des von Vautier in Nizza geführten Schallplattenladens „Laboratoire 32“ herausgestellt, dessen künstlerisch ausgestaltete Fassade sich heute im Besitz des Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris befindet. Im Hauptteil werden die von Vautier bereits zwischen 1949 und 1955 formulierten Ansprüche an seine Kunst vorgestellt und an Werkbeispielen überprüft. Die Forderung nach „Neuem“ wird dabei anhand der Schriftbilder verdeutlicht, die nach „Wahrheit“ anhand der Appropriationen und Gesten und die des „Allmöglichen“ anhand der Fluxus-Aktivitäten des Künstlers. Die theoretischen Texte Vautiers bieten im Folgenden die Möglichkeit, den Aspekt der „Ego“-Reflexion, der dem Gesamtwerk zugrunde liegt, nachdrücklich zu vertiefen. Zur Mitte der 1970er Jahre sahen sich viele Künstler im Dilemma der Postmoderne, nichts Neues mehr schaffen zu können, gefangen. Die Untersuchung stellt daher im Anschluss heraus, wie auch Vautier sich in dieser Zeit neu zu definieren suchte, indem er den tradierten Werkbegriff in seiner „Déconstruction (de l’oeuvre d’art)“ ausdifferenzierte und in seiner „Exercice envers l’Ego“ Strategien zur Veränderung seines Ego-Anspruches entwickelte. Dass er sich in seiner Gedankenwelt verfangen hatte und nur Resignation bzw. Akzeptanz des Scheiterns seiner Ansprüche als Lösungen aus dem Konflikt blieben, wird schließlich anhand der Arbeit „Autocritique“ aufgezeigt. Mit der „Freien Figuration“ und dem „Ethnisme“, widmet sich das Schlusskapitel der Dissertation Vautiers Arbeiten nach der Einsicht in das Scheitern seiner Theorien. Ausblickartig wird hier auch die Frage aufgeworfen, inwiefern dieses Scheitern mit dem für Vautier so bedeutungsvollen „Erfolg“ korrespondiert, bzw. wie letzterer überhaupt zu beurteilen ist. Der Anhang bietet neben Abbildungen und erstmals publiziertem Archivmaterial mehrere Interviews mit dem Künstler, einen tabellarischen biografischen Überblick, eine umfassende Bibliographie und ein Ausstellungsverzeichnis des „Laboratoire 32“.Benjamin Vautier - Introduction into the work and considerations on auto-thematic reflection of the artistic self-concept Though Benjamin Vautier (called Ben) – born 1935, living and working in Nice since 1949 – belongs to the most important French „neo avant-garde” artists, so far his work and activities have hardly been appreciated. Against this background the dissertation offers the first scientific examination of Vautier’s oeuvre. Its immense volume defines the study’s concentration on the early creative period until circa 1975. Vautier’s central concern, the quest for innovation and auto-thematic reflection, is being focused within the analysis of selected groups of works. In terms of sociological-cultural studies’ methodology, as a start the situation of art in France, especially in Nice, in the first half of the 20th century is being drafted in order to associate Vautier’s producing, so as to comprehend the artist’s integration into the Nice art scene. In this context also the importance of the Nice record shop „Laboratoire 32” managed by Vautier is being emphasized. Its artistically designed front now belongs to the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. The main part presents Vautier’s demands towards his art expressed already between 1949 and 1955 and revises them with work examples. The call for „newness” is being clarified with his „écritures”, that for „truth” with appropriations and gestures and that of the „allpossible” with the artist’s Fluxus activities. In the following Vautier’s theoretical texts offer the possibility to deepen profoundly the aspect of „Ego” reflection being at the bottom of the complete works. Towards the middle of the 1970ies many artists felt trapped in the post-modern dilemma of not being able to create anything new. Therefore the survey exposes subsequently how also Vautier tried to re-define himself at that time by finally differentiating the traditional concept of work in his „Déconstruction (de l’oeuvre d’art)” and developing strategies to change his ego – demand in his „Exercice envers l’Ego”. That he had become entangled in his world of ideas and the only way to resolve this conflict was to resign respectively accept that his claims had failed, is finally being shown with his work „Autocritique”. With „Free Figuration” and „Ethnisme” the final dissertation chapter addresses Vautier’s works after his realisation that his theories had failed. As a forecast also the question is posed to what extent this failure corresponds with „success” having been so significant for Vautier respectively how the latter has to be judged. The annex besides images and archive material being publicised for the first time offers several interviews with the artist, a tabular biographic review, a comprehensive bibliography and an exhibition register of „Laboratoire 32”

Dialectical design dialogues: negotiating ethics in participatory planning by building a critical design atlas

This article explores 'dialectical design dialogues' as an approach to engage with ethics in everyday urban planning contexts. It starts from Paulo Freire’s pedagogical view (1970/2017), in which dialogues imply the establishment of a horizontal relation between professionals and amateurs, in order to understand, question and imagine things in everyday reality, in this case, urban transformations, applied to participatory planning and enriched through David Harvey’s (2000, 2009) dialectical approach. A dialectical approach to design dialogues acknowledges and renegotiates contrasts and convergences of ethical concerns specific to the reality of concrete daily life, rather than artificially presenting daily life as made of consensus or homogeneity. The article analyses an atlas as a tool to facilitate dialectical design dialogues in a case study of a low-density residential neighbourhood in the city of Genk, Belgium. It sees the production of the atlas as a collective endeavour during which planners, authorities and citizens reflect on possible futures starting from a confrontation of competing uses and perspectives of neighbourhood spaces. The article contributes to the state-of-the-art in participatory urban planning in two ways: (1) by reframing the theoretical discussion on ethics by arguing that not only the verbal discourses around designerly atlas techniques but also the techniques themselves can support urban planners in dealing more consciously with ethics (accountability, morality and authorship) throughout urban planning processes, (2) by offering a concrete practice-based example of producing an atlas that supports the participatory articulation and negotiation of dialectical inquiry of ethics through dialogues in a 'real-time' urban planning process

Can local be the new organic? Food choice motives and willingness to pay

Due to growth and changing distribution channels for organic food in Germany, there is some concern that organic food will lose against local food in the competition for conscious consumers. In this paper we will present the results of a survey in Bavaria searching for consumer motives and label recognition. A choice experiment using different prices, brands and labels is conducted for bread, beer and milk. Results show the importance of local production to the surveyed consumers, similarly for conventional as for organic products

Work, labour and action: the role of participatory design in (re)activating the political dimension of work

This article discusses the difficult task of Participatory Design (PD) to design for/with the political dimension of work, such as the work environments' care for inclusion of different groups. It first describes PD's role through time in giving form to this political dimension after the crisis of Fordism and detects some challenges PD is confronted with in addressing this task today. It then explores how Hannah Arendt's reflections on the political dimension of work can contribute to addressing these challenges, researching how her definitions of 'work', 'labour', 'action', 'agorà', 'heroes' and 'interests' can be used as steering concepts that support the (re)activation of this political dimension. We describe how we used Arendt's concepts to steer a PD case in urban design with a group of architects, companies and citizens on how to reintegrate work into the city space of Antwerp. This paper ends with a discussion on the implications of using Arendt's concepts in PD for work

Dialectical Design Dialogues: Negotiating Ethics in Participatory Planning by Building a Critical Design Atlas

status: publishe

Verbraucherschutz im Grenzgebiet: eine Befragung deutscher und tschechischer Konsumenten

This article focuses on cross-border shopping for goods and services by consumers in the European Union. Specific attention is given to the importance of cross-border trade for consumers, different barriers that impede trade, and the type of work which is created for the consumer policy field. Strengthening the consumer's position in cross-border consumption by offering specific information and consultation by connecting local consumer associations with the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) seems to be a reasonable approach to providing consumers competent information about and assistance with cross-border issues. Der grenzüberschreitende Einkauf von Waren und Dienstleistungen durch Verbraucher innerhalb der Europäischen Union ist Thema dieses Beitrags. Konkret wird der Frage nachgegangen, welche Bedeutung der grenzüberschreitende Handel für die Verbraucher hat, welche Hindernisse ihm entgegenstehen und welche Aufgabenfelder sich für die Verbraucherpolitik daraus ergeben. Die Stärkung der Verbraucherstellung beim grenzüberschreitenden Konsum über gezielte Informations- und Beratungsangebote infolge einer Vernetzung der regionalen Verbraucherorganisationen und des Netzwerkes der Europäischen Verbraucherzentren (ECC-Net) wird als sinnvoller Ansatz erachtet, um Verbraucher vor Ort bei grenzüberschreitenden Fragen fachkundige Auskunft und Hilfe zu bieten.Cross-border shopping behaviour, consumer policy, Consumer Network (ConNet), European Integration

Elastic photoproduction of J/ψ and Υ mesons at HERA

Cross sections for elastic photoproduction of J/ψ and Υ mesons are presented. For J/ψ mesons the dependence on the photon-proton centre-of-mass energy W(γp) is analysed in an extended range with respect to previous measurements of 26 ≤ W(γp) ≤ 285 GeV. The measured energy dependence is parameterized as σ(γp) α W(γp)/δ with δ = 0.83 ± 0.07. The differential cross section dσ/dt for J/ψ mesons is derived, its dependence on W(γp) and on t is analysed and the effective trajectory (in terms of Regge theory) is determined to be α(t) = (1.27 ± 0.05) + (0.08 ± 0.17) · t/GeV2. Models based on perturbative QCD and on pomeron exchange are compared to the data. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.0SCOPUS: ar.jH1 Collaboration.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Measurement of event shape variables in deep inelastic e p scattering

Deep inelastic e p scattering data, taken with the H1 detector at HERA, are used to study the event shape variables thrust, jet broadening and jet mass in the current hemisphere of the Breit frame over a large range of momentum transfers Q between 7 GeV and 100 GeV. The data are compared with results from e+e- experiments. Using second order QCD calculations and an approach to relate hadronisation effects to power corrections an analysis of the Q dependences of the means of the event shape parameters is presented, from which both the power corrections and the strong coupling constant are determined without any assumption on fragmentation models. The power corrections of all event shape variables investigated follow a 1/Q behaviour and can be described by a common parameter ᾱ0.© 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.0SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe