[Nettime-nl] public intervention in amterdam, een project van oliver ressler

[geert <geert@xs4all.nl>]

From: Oliver Ressler <oliver.ressler@chello.at>

Alternative Economics, Alternative Societies

A public intervention in De Pijp, Amsterdam
by Oliver Ressler

These days it is becoming extremely difficult to imagine alternative 
social and economic structures for a society radically different from 
the capitalist society in which we are forced to live. This project, 
which is being carried out in public inner-city spaces in De Pijp, 
Amsterdam, is based on ideas that might be of interest when considering 
the principles on which an alternative to the existing system could be 
based. The project consists of a series of postcards and many hundreds 
of posters, put up at different locations in De Pijp, a district in 
which gentrification, as part of a larger economic transformation 
process, has been causing social conflicts in recent years. The poster 
and postcard texts, with their large and highly visible fonts, are in 
the form of appeals, questioning existing dominant power relationships 
and indicating alternatives that share the rejection of the capitalist 
system of rule. Some of the ideas presented in this project have been 
elaborated upon in concepts such as "Participatory Economy” or 
"Inclusive Democracy”.

The project in De Pijp uses the format of posters and postcards as 
arenas for the imagination during the next weeks. "Imagination is a very 
powerful liberating tool. If you cannot imagine something different you 
cannot work towards it”, explains Marge Piercy in a video interview 
conducted for the ongoing exhibition project "Alternative Economics, 
Alternative Societies”, to which this project is related (check out 
www.ressler.at).

The poster texts read:

IMAGINE A SOCIETY IN WHICH PEOPLE HAVE A SAY IN DECISIONS IN PROPORTION 
TO THE DEGREE THAT THEY ARE AFFECTED

IMAGINE A SOCIETY IN WHICH ORDINARY PEOPLE GAIN MORE INFLUENCE AND 
GREATER CONTROL OVER THEIR LIVES

IMAGINE AN ECONOMY IN WHICH THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION BELONGS TO EACH 
COMMUNITY AND IS LEASED TO THE EMPLOYEES OF EACH PRODUCTION UNIT FOR A 
LONG-TERM CONTRACT

IMAGINE TO GET REMUNERATED FOR EFFORT AND SACRIFICE, NOT FOR PROPERTY OR 
POWER

IMAGINE A DEMOCRATIZATION OF HOUSING AND A REMOVAL OF HOUSING FROM THE 
SPECULATIVE MARKET WHICH ONLY WORKS IN FAVOR OF A FEW LANDLORDS

The intervention "Alternative Economics, Alternative Societies” is 
curated by Amiel Grumberg and takes place in the framework of the 
project "Quicksand in De Pijp” by SKOR and Combiwel. Quicksand is a 
program of artistic interventions taking place in De Pijp neighborhood 
starting in September 2004. This public art project brings together six 
international contemporary artists from a wide range of age groups and 
backgrounds: Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil (France, 1968), Mircea Cantor 
(Romania, 1977), Jota Castro (Peru, 1965), Jean-Luc Moulène (France, 
1955), Oliver Ressler (Austria, 1970), Sebastian Romo (Mexico, 1973).
I dedicate my intervention in De Pijp to Amiel Grumberg, who died last 
week in Amsterdam.

The exhibition project "Alternative Economics, Alternative Societies” is 
currently or very soon on display at:

Wyspa Progress Foundation, Gdansk (PL), till 03.10.04 ("Health and Safety”)
Itaucultural Institute, Sao Paulo (BR), till 26.09.04 ("Emoção 
Art.ficial II”)
Conde Duque Cultural Centre, MediaLabMadrid, Madrid (E), 30.09.04 – 
31.10.04 (solo-show)
Forum Stadtark, Graz (A), Steirischer Herbst, 08.10. – 28.11.04 ("There 
must be an alternative”)


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