English

Financial Obelisks: on the return of the monumental

Written by Federico Campagna, 21.03.2013
A new age of monument-making is on its way. In this short article I will try to explain the geo-political, social and symbolic reasons for the (coming) renaissance of monuments as a means for political domination.
 
 
Preface: Eiffel Towers
 
When the first design of the Eiffel Tower was produced in 1884, France had just emerged from one of its bleakest periods. After the defeat against Germany in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, and the wave of civil revolts that originated from the Paris Commune of 1871, the French Nation needed to prove itself again as a believable power in the eyes of the world. The times were fluid and dangerous, and the European balance of forces was being reassessed. France had to show itself as a reliable, stable, united political and economic entity – and the 1889 Exposition Universelle provided a perfect opportunity for such a display of solidity and power.
 
In October 2008, when the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell agreed that ‘something extra’ was needed to celebrate the Olympics, the country had just begun to sink into the whirlpool of economic recession. When Anish Kapoor’s ArcelorMittal Orbit project was selected on 31st March 2010, the country had just admitted to the world to have entered its first double-dip recession since 1975, when Britain had to beg the IMF for rescue funding. The international credibility of the old Kingdom and of its Capital City-State was in peril, and immediate measures were required to show that stability, as well as power, was still part of the character of mighty Albion. What better way of achieving this, than investing on a monumental, non-functional artefact, such as Kapoor’s reinterpretation of the Eiffel Tower?
 

Solidarity in ruins. A reflection on the Freedom bookshop bombing.

Written by Paolo Mossetti, 17.03.2013

Much has been said on the coward aggression Freedom bookshop was victim of. Founded by Charlotte Wilson and Peter Kropotkin and based in Whitechapel since the 1970s, Freedom was the oldest anarchic bookshop in the English-speaking world, home of the renowned Freedom Press - which sent into print names such as Clifford Harper, Vernon Richards, Colin Ward and his 'Anarchy' magazine, Murray Bookchin, William Blake and Errico Malatesta. It was already attacked by fascists in 1993 and since then metal bars were installed on the windows and the entrance door.
 
All major publishers, bookshops and leftist groups promtly expressed their solidarity, especially because Freedom Bookshop wasn't exactly a steady market competitor, but - like many anarchic organisations - a volunteer-run entity, struggling to survive. A spontaneous 'clean-up' soon followed, and many sincere militants, armed with broom, took part in this Red Aid intervention.
 
Ironically, with all due respect to those affected by the bomb -no one was hurt-, we could look at the bombing as exciting news for anarchism: for once, radical literature wasn’t confined to the spider webs and dust of academia. Not just another talk, another conference of self-boosting egoes and parboiled lectures. Most importantly, not another publisher whining about censorship before billing their authors as 'dangerous' on the back cover of their books (dangerous for whom, and how?). It was, surprisingly, a physical target to be physically attacked.

Beppe Grillo's Children's Crusade - a brief examination of the first millenarian mass-movement of 21st century Europe

Written by Federico Campagna, 28.02.2013
On February 24th and 25th all Italian citizens above the age of 18 were called to vote for the new Parliament. After almost 20 years of declining stagnation under Berlusconi’s rule, and after the brief but devastating experience of ‘austerity politics’ as enforced by Monti, everybody expected the Italian Left to conquer absolute majority in both chambers of the Parliament. Electoral results came as a shock to most: Berlusconi caught up with the Left-wing coalition, gathering almost 30% of the votes, Monti’s party stopped at 10%, while Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S), an as-yet-unseen populist movement led by former TV comedian Beppe Grillo, conquered an unexpected 25% of preferences and became the single most voted party in a hung Parliament.
 
Although there are several interesting aspects to this situation – not least the Left’s astonishing inability to win even under the most favourable conditions, or Berlusconi’s equally astonishing ability to survive against all odds – I would like to focus on Beppe Grillo’s M5S, which constitutes an interesting and dangerous novelty in the Italian and European scenarios.
 

Points of Identification

Written by Richard John Jones, 25.02.2013
Transcribed from an introduction to Il Trasloco (Moving out of the Future) presented at Parasol Unit, 13th February 2013 by Richard John Jones.
 
Image courtesy of Parasol Unit
 
I wanted to introduce the film by considering two different encounters that I have had with it, prioritising the sensation and experience of my encounters and considering how these two encounters have shaped my understanding of the film and what it means to have screened it in a variety of locations over the past 3 years. It goes without saying that my experience of the film now is vastly different to how it was three years ago so this has not been the way in which I have introduced the film up to now and I am leaving the opportunity open to find alternative ways of learning from each encounter. That is to say, this is not going to be the only way to introduce it in subsequent screenings – this presentation now, is not a model for future presentations.

Triage Unit, Lewisham Hospital Psychiatric Observation Ward/ Schadenfreude

Written by Nathan Witt, 18.02.2013
We present a text that has been brought to us by Nathan Witt, as part of an on-going conversation on psychopathology, nature and suicide. Others authors included in the conversation so far have been Franco Berardi Bifo, Federico Campagna, Paolo Mossetti and Oana Parvan.
 
 
Notes:
 
7 days is the standard monitoring duration before they determine the course of treatment for the patient.
 
Description of the unit.
 
Lift> Hallway> Reception> Decompression/ Containment/ Screening> Main eating area and table tennis table> Kitchen to left> Laundry room to the right> Shared toilet> TV room to the right, off the main eating area> Quiet room on left> Followed by art room>Medication room on right> Followed by assessment room> Shower on same side> At end of hallway of all the rooms is the reception that faces you as you walk through these rooms. To the left of the reception are the female rooms and to the right is a sofa, waiting area followed by the mens rooms. On the right of the hallway is a unisex shower/ toilet and then the dorm rooms start, at the end of the corridor of the mens ward is the staff room. Most of the shouting comes from the women’s side.
 
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