22 Oct 2009

springerin 4/09: Turn Return. Out now!

springerin 4/09: Turn Return. Out now!

Various »turns« have long been discussed in the world of culture. Many fields ring with optimistic announcements of new paradigms and modes of observation, whether we think of »cultural«, »translational«, »participatory« or »educational« turns. It is often not clear here whether the proclaimed innovations actually are conceptual or indeed systemic turns as well, or whether areas that have been neglected or insufficiently explored to date are now simply being dragged into the limelight. Whilst realpolitik discourse taking a retrospective look at the turning point in 1989 can draw on an absolutely endless reservoir of resources, proclamations of various different cultural turns are often little more than a rhetorical ploy.

That in itself is reason enough to look more closely at these »turns« so often cited nowadays, especially as seen in connection with the second key term of springerin's fall issue, namely »return«, which appears to be closely, albeit often subtly, related to cultural shifts. As a rhetorical motif, this term – referring either to the return of the real, of the political or something else that has purportedly been repressed – long occupied precisely the prominent position subsequently assumed by the idea of »turns«. Looking at contemporary art through this prism, the two intellectual models can be seen to intermesh in this field too. On the one hand, contemporary art is working its way through historical issues to a much greater extent than in the past, while on the other hand new turns and shifts in focus are constantly proclaimed. Return strategies range from reappropriations and »re-enactments« to simply borrowing or recombining retro elements; the spectrum of new angles pursued extends from repoliticisation right through to all kinds of newly conceived structures for participation.

In all these contexts we find ourselves having to consider to what extent the two conceptual motifs – a turn towards the new and the return of newly contextualised older material – are interlinked. Are the two perhaps different aspects of the same set of symptoms? Or does the current extensive proliferation of these motifs actually hint that rifts are opening up in contemporary culture and will not be easy to overcome in the foreseeable future?

Net Section

Alessandro Ludovico on online-platforms, friendships and enmities.
Max Jorge Hinderer in conversation with the editors of »Mute« magazine.
Franz Thalmair looks at Pall Thayer's »Microcodes«.
Britt Schlehahn discusses the form of the interview as an artistic practice.
Julia Gwendolyn Schneider on seeds as political players.
Dietrich Heissenbuettel on the global linked-up projects of the musician Victor Gama.
Futures & Pasts: Christian Hoeller on the Video Data Bank Chicago.

Main Section

Christian Hoeller talks with Doris Bachmann-Medick about the concept of »cultural turns«.
Suzana Milevska on the eternal return of racism.
Sureyyya Evren discusses New Anarchism and new art radicalisms.
Image Gallery: Anna Jermolaewa »Kremlin Doppelgaenger«.
Herwig G. Hoeller on turning points within Russian art scene.
Klaus Walter on the historicisation of pop culture.
Charlotte Bank looks at young art from Syria.
Roland Schoeny reviews Istanbul Biennial 2009.

Artscribe

Critical reviews of new publications as well as exhibitions in Berlin, Istanbul, Linz, Lyon, Munich, Prague, Vienna, Wolfsburg and Zurich.