artć + societate / arts + society #38, 2011 20 lei / 11 €, 14 USD - idea

vieflii øi creativitæflii lor... în esenflæ, asupra propriei libertæfli. Interesul meu faflæ de
D.I.Y. se bazeazæ pe potenflialul acestuia de autocontrol øi autodeterminare. E dezamægitor
sæ vezi acelaøi mecanism de creare a distracfliei [entertainmentalisation] în
inima a ceva ce ar trebui sæ fie parte a solufliei. Pe de altæ parte, restaurantul dovedeøte
cæ atunci cînd chiar faci ceva, toate acestea se schimbæ. În acel moment,
internetul devine un instrument minunat øi care-fli oferæ putere.
¬ Deci cum funcflioneazæ, de fapt?
√ Prima datæ alegem instrucfliunile øi refletele de pe site-ul instructables.com, apoi
organizæm mese pentru a testa meniul øi cîteva petreceri de producflie pentru a face
mobila.
¬ Sunæ foarte distractiv.
√ Da, sigur! Pentru a atrage masele, care doresc în principal sæ se distreze, folosim
un format øi un limbaj care sæ le atragæ. Nu sînt sigur dacæ e bine sau ræu, dar ai
nevoie de atenflia cuiva înainte de-a purta o conversaflie. Restaurantul sau bucætæria
apare în majoritatea proiectelor mele actuale, deoarece cred cæ sînt excelente puncte
de plecare pentru o discuflie pe aproape orice subiect. Sînt mediul perfect. Mænînci
øi discufli. Sæ apropii oamenii prin intermediul mîncærii, în contextul artei, e un truc
vechi. Spun truc, pentru cæ despre asta e vorba. Dar e un truc transparent, øi de
aceea e permis. Oricum, în cele din urmæ, decoræm un spafliu, gætim mîncarea øi
restaurantul e deschis pentru public. Este aproape la fel de simplu pe cît pare. Øi
pentru cæ implicæ atîflia autori diferifli, oameni care au încærcat pe site refletele øi instrucfliunile
originale, restaurantul creeazæ imediat o comunitate. Tot conflinutul restaurantului
este al lor. Le aparfline.
¬ Faptul cæ-fli dezvælui secretele nu îfli submineazæ calitatea de autor?
√ Metodele open-source modificæ definiflia tradiflionalæ a autorului. Aceastæ
accepflie tradiflionalæ este poate cel mai bine definitæ de metoda de scris preferatæ
de Kafka, prin care el se izola complet, pe el însuøi øi procesul de scriere, de tot øi
de toatæ lumea, pentru a-øi dezvælui lumea læuntricæ. El se îndepærta literalmente
de influenflele celorlalfli. În ceea ce priveøte restaurantul, auctorialitatea e ceva mult
mai fluent, o reflea de cunoøtinfle care e împærtæøitæ øi dezvoltatæ de cîteva persoane,
færæ o finalitate claræ. Deschidem øi punem în scenæ procesul de design. Fiecare
propoziflie este o invitaflie deschisæ altor persoane pentru a participa.
¬ Asta ajutæ øi, ca urmare, restaurantul se dezvoltæ împreunæ cu ei.
√ Aøa este. Unul dintre cele mai interesante efecte secundare ale transparenflei
totale e posibilitatea ca designul øi refletele sæ evolueze. Fiecare masæ øi design e
un spafliu deschis pentru încercæri øi erori. Împærtæøind ceea ce cunoaøtem, ne expunem
la cunoøtinflele øi critica altora, care ar putea øti mai multe decît noi. Ne invitæm
oaspeflii sæ comenteze øi sæ îmbunætæfleascæ lucrurile. Cel puflin, asta ne promite internetul.
Ca un experiment, am gætit cremæ-supæ de dovleac dupæ refleta unui membru
al Instructables 23 de zile la rînd øi în fiecare zi am îmbunætæflit refleta pe baza
feedbackului oaspeflilor noøtri. Supa chiar a devenit mult mai bunæ. Poate chiar perfectæ.
Teoretic, e posibil sæ transformi un demers amatoristic într-un fel de mîncare de
trei stele din Ghidul Michelin.
¬ Øi atunci de ce nu facem asta cu toflii?
√ Evident cæ existæ øi aspecte problematice. Permiflîndu-le altora sæ-fli îmbunætæfleascæ
activitatea, renunfli la o parte din calitatea ta de autor/proprietar. Nu toatæ
lumea e gata s-o facæ, øi înfleleg asta. Dar noi mai degrabæ punem în scenæ øi discutæm
aceste chestiuni decît încercæm sæ le rezolvæm. Iniflial, autor era ceva în genul
unei persoane care provoacæ o creøtere, aøa cæ, poate, restaurantul se apropie mai
mult de sensul original decît ceea ce consideræm a fi un autor în zilele noastre. Asta
funcflioneazæ ca un accelerator de sporire a îmbunætæflirii refletelor øi proiectelor de
design ale celorlalfli.
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√ No you’re right of course, but somehow it annoys me. It undermines
the promise of D.I.Y. culture as a movement of people who
want to regain control over their lives and their creativity, ... over
their freedom essentially. My interest in D.I.Y. is based on its potential
for self-control and self-detemination. To see the same mechanism
of entertainmentalisation in the heart of what should be part
of the solution is disappointing. On the other hand the restaurant
shows that the moment you actually do make something this all
changes. In that moment the Internet becomes an awesome and
empowering tool.
¬ So how does it actually work?
√ We first select instructions and recipes from the website
instructables.com, then we have try-out dinner parties to sample
the menu and several production parties to make the furniture.
¬ Sounds very entertaining.
√ Right ha! To appeal to the crowd, who is mostly there to be
entertained, we use a format and a language that will attract them.
I’m not sure if that’s wrong or right but you do need someone’s
attention before you can have a conversation. The restaurant or
kitchen features in most of my projects these days because I think
it’s an excellent point of departure for a discussion on almost any
subject. It’s the perfect medium. You eat and talk. Connecting people
through food, within the context of art, is an old trick. I say trick
because it is. But it is a transparent trick and that’s why it’s okay.
Anyhow, finally, we decorate a space, cook the food and the restaurant
is open for business. It’s really almost as simple as it sounds.
And because it involves so many different authors, the people who
uploaded the original recipes and instructions, the restaurant immediately
creates a community. All the content in the restaurant is
theirs. They own it.
¬ Won’t giving your secrets away undermine your position as
an author?
√ Open-source methods change the traditional definition of authorship.
This traditional view is perhaps best defined by Kafka’s preferred
writing method where he would completely isolate himself,
and the process of writing, from everything and everybody to unlock
his innerworld. He would literally lock himself away from the influences
of the other. In the restaurant authorship is a much more fluent
thing, a network of knowing that is shared and developed by several
people, without a clear end. We open up and stage the design proces.
Every sentence is an open invitation for others to participate.
¬ It facilitates but as a result the restaurant grows along with them.
√ Yes. One of the most interesting side-effects of total transparency
is the possibility of the evolution of the designs and recipes. Every
meal and design is an open space for trial and error. By sharing what
we know, we open ourselves up to the knowledge and criticism of
others, who may in fact know more then we do. We invite our guests
to comment and improve things. At least that’s what the the Internet
promises us. As an experiment I prepared Creamy Pumpkin
Soup by an Instructables member 23 days in a row and each day
improved the recipe based on the feedback of our guests. The soup
did indeed get a lot better. Maybe even perfect. In theory it’s possible
to turn something amateuristic into a 3 Michelin star dish.
¬ Why don’t we all do it then?
√ Obviously it has some challenging aspects. By allowing others to
improve your work you give part of your authorship/ownership away.
Not everybody is ready to do that and I understand that. But we
rather stage and discuss these issues than try to resolve them.
Author originally meant something like he who causes growth, so
perhaps the restaurant stays closer to its original meaning then what
we consider to be an author nowadays. It functions as a growthaccelerator
for the development of the recipes and designs of others.
¬ Why was the Instructables Restaurant invited to participate in this
specific art exhibition?
√ I think there was a shared interest to address the ideas of hospitality
and authorship. For the curator of the exhibition, Leo Delfgaauw