Posts Tagged ‘progress’

A philosophical debate about Utopia and Progress was held at the WRF in July 2009, as part of the Dreams of Progress video art exhibition. The debate attracted around 50 people from various backgrounds, including professors from London universities, philosophical students, art curators and engineers.

In these days of economical, environmental and sometimes ideological uncertainties, the debate took a look back at our previous visions of the future, how they materialised and the way that they relate to the dreams we nourish today. The debate was punctuated by projections of videos, questioning the meaning of progress, between modernism and post-modernism, individuality and utopia, human nature as opposed to mega structures.

Philosophical debate on Utopia and Progress

The predictions for the 60s from General Motors in 1940 served as a perfect introduction to the concepts of Utopia and Progress. I asked the audience their first impressions, to describe the vision presented in the video, if it is realistic and what were the assumptions made. The video attracted a lot of interest because I think it embodies so many of the modern utopias.

In the second part of the debate, I showed the Productivity Vision for 2019 by Microsoft, the Future of Cities by the Danish Royal Academy of Architecture and the Tokyo.future by Ian Lynam. I asked people what kind of utopias and progress the videos showed, what were their assumptions and why they were made. The vision by Microsoft monopolised first the attention, it was perceived at the same time inhuman and very realistic. The Future of Cities was unexpectedly the most controversial video of the debate. Some people felt that its message was closer to their preoccupations, others thought it was not that different from the other visions and that its humanity was only superficial. The last video from Ian Lynam was sadly a little lost in the debate even if its screening got great reactions during the exhibition.

In the last part of the evening, I showed the Mardi Gras video from the artist Keith Loutit and McCool!!! from Julian Roberts and Namalee Bolle. I asked if the videos were showing utopias or dystopias. Because of the previous videos and the discussions that followed, the reference to McDonald’s was heavily debated. The Mardi Gras video was well received but came a little late in the debate to really be properly exploited.

I got many positive feedbacks from the participants of the debate. The use of the videos worked very well in engaging the audience and the contributions were challenging. It was only an introduction as two hours is just enough time to open up the conversation. Some important questions about the nature and role of contemporary utopias started to emerge by the end of the debate. One problem I didn’t anticipated though is that my selection of videos biased a little the debate towards a judgment on corporate visions, avoiding sometimes the more difficult question to define our own utopias.

You can find here the philosophical paper that I prepared for the debate, updated with some of the arguments that were raised during the evening.

(press release)

6^th – 18^th July, Westminster Reference Library, London, free admission

Short movies from international artists have been gathered along with corporate videos to form the Dreams of Progress art exhibition. Taking place at the Westminster Reference Library between the 6^th and 18^th July, the event will showcase past and present visions of the future.

In these days of economical, environmental and sometimes ideological uncertainties, the exhibition ‘Dreams of Progress’ will take a look back at our previous visions of the future, how they materialized and the way that they relate to the dreams we nourish today. Videos of utopian visions will be presented along with the sensitive perceptions of emerging video artists.

Predictions for the 60s from General Motors back in 1940 are juxtaposed with the recent vision of Microsoft for 2019; bitter-sweet feelings from early memories of the artists Richard Jerousek and Brian Phillips are confronted with the galactic voyage of Tokyo imagined by Ian Lynam.  These videos and more will question the meaning of progress, between modernism and postmodernism, individuality and collective dreams, human nature as opposed to mega structures.

The videos will be displayed at the Westminster Reference Library, in the heart of London’s West End. The exhibition space, opened to the art reading room, will provide a relaxed environment to view the videos in tranquillity.

The exhibition is curated by Christophe Bruchansky as part of the Curated Matter project, a non-profit venture dedicated to the organisation of exhibitions that catalyse social innovation. The Dreams of Progress exhibition features a philosophical debate which considers the existence and possibilities of utopias as well as the fear of dystopias. Part of the national Children’s Art Day program, a workshop will be organized to teach children how to create artistic films from pre-existing video material. They will be encouraged to exercise their critical thinking by remixing the utopian vision from the video ‘Design for Dreaming’ from General Motors (1956).

Christophe Bruchansky, curator of Dreams of Progress, says “I’m very proud of this exhibition. I was impressed by the quality and diversity of the art videos and I’m pleased to present the work of emerging talents to the London public. The theme of progress is particularly appropriate in a period aspiring for change. I hope that visitors will be as inspired as I was by the exploration of past and present utopias, obsolete ideals and forward thinking visions. I’m also very grateful that Microsoft and squint/opera allowed the display of their videos for the exhibition. They offer along with the corporate videos from the Prelinger archives a rich material for thoughts on utopias and progress.”

Rossella Black, event commissioner at the WRF, says “Our wish is to generate a sense of excitement and inspiration. The aim of these events is to use a creatively dormant space such a traditional Library as a resource, study and temporary hub of debate and interaction, a ‘creative city’ which opens up to a new and ever changing audience.”

Art videos by Adam Pelling Deeves (UK), Julian Roberts and Namalee Bolle (UK), Keith Loutit (Australia), Ian Lynam (Japan), Richard Jerousek and Brian Phillips (USA), Sam Fuller (USA), Urizen Freaza (Spain) and Misty Woodford (USA).

Visions of the future by Bell, The Danish Royal Academy of Art, General Motors and Microsoft.

Westminster Reference Library

6^th – 18^th July, Mon – Fri: 10am – 8pm, Sat: 10am – 5pm

35 St Martin’s Street, London WC2H 7HP

Nearest tube station: Leicester Square, map

Free admission

Supported by

More details on http://curatedmatter.org/dreams-of-progress/