A short visual essay about the DIY infrastructures that pop up amidst a global pandemic. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19."
Skrabs Lena Netto
It is just as reasonable to represent one kind of captivity by another as it is to represent something that really exists by something that does not exist.
– Daniel Defoe
In the old days you used to come across glass window panels with a small hole to reach through in old school bank buildings, post offices and train counters. With the modern idea of service these objects became a rare encounter.
Nowadays however you could see them pop up here and there in the super market, the corner store down the street or the print shop.
Almost covering the entire provision of basic supplies in society the variety of designs reaches from some more high-functioning devices in the big supermarket chains through to DIY style home-build in smaller family run stores.
In an oval shape like a riot police helmet these objects fulfil their inherent purpose in their functionality. Some made from milky acrylic glass the interaction with the person beyond the counter gets a somehow cloudy, pixilated experience. Attached to the shelf with silver lined duct tape — an all time favourite of the DIY-workmansship — or hanging on thin strings almost invisible from the ceiling this object-oriented design, with its hands-on, low-material concept, facilitates a broader key element of our ever secure environment.
In a genealogical juxtaposition the on-demand design do not have any natural voice transmission acrylic panel anymore, nor acrylic panels in aluminium frames, but rather simply a rectangular hole cut out with a Stanley knife. They are not build to hold a 16mm bullet or stop an attack with a knife. They are meant to protect from something non-tangible. A threat that is hard to grasp while opinions are updated in an instance.
The direct environment fades to design a more secure environment, the immediate surrounding has to disappear to create a secure space around everyone in everyday life.
In this on-time on-demand design object the inherent and ubiquitary belief in a secure environments in our everyday gets most visible. Describing and analysing the anatomy of a design object of this kind is casting light on the anatomy of a designed environment. This design object bypasses every professional approach and still spreads at a remarkable path through our everyday environment.
How do we encounter the world? What power is brought together by an abstraction to step in-between the fragments of our life-environment? Do we feel more comfortable in secure representation of a detached everyday in our heads or are we yearning to get in-touch with it physically? The everyday is long designed before we take any action.
Authors: Stefan Klein, Fred Unruh, with contributions by Lena Skrabs
1 / 0
Authors: Stefan Klein, Fred Unruh, with contributions by Lena Skrabs
“Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19” is the result of an open call for contributions launched by School of Commons in late April 2020. Shortly after COVID19 put much of the world into lockdown, the contributions form a collection of observations and different practices of learning, self-organisation, and building community amidst a global pandemic. The submitted contributions are varied in form and content, and have not been curated in any way, instead offering space to the diverse experiences and responses of all contributors.
Stefan Klein
Stefan lives in Berlin and works as an artist. His many interventions, which are recorded in notebooks often remain a mere assertion. At least this is what he says.
Fred Unruh
Fred is a Berlin-based artist, who doesn’t know what art is.
Lena Skrabs
Lena lives and works in Berlin. She holds an MFA in Public Art and New Artistic Strategies from the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
The Coffee Commons
This essay reflects upon the divergent responses to and asymmetrical consequences of COVID19 in McBride’s home country, South Africa, and her country of residence, Switzerland. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
Cuarentena Volumes I
Cuarentena Volumes is abbreviated as cv: “these times might become a dent in the curriculum vitae, allowing to focus on the work itself.” Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
Prom.run
«Prom.run» is the publishing project that consists of a selection of materials that have inspired their practice as an art collective and addresses topics relating to self-organization and knowledge-related commons. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
Somebody
Centering the body without other bodies, Marquedant questions the parameters of being singular. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
GCD Memes
GCD Memes is a rolling body of work that attempts to reflect on the collective experiences of those involved in the GCD course at CSM from the student perspective. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
Art On Demand - Radicalizing Access to Art in Times of Crisis
Art On Demand is a collaborative participatory project which creates a platform from and for artists, curators, writers, theorists and audiences to collectively share and experience the creation of and encounter with art. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
A short reflection on what COVID-19 teaches us about science
An essay which offers a welcome respite in thinking about the future of knowledge production and its rootedness in community. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
A Conditional Construction in the Making
A text reflecting Morrison’s interests in discursive frameworks; performative platforms for critical enquiry; and ways in which we can facilitate and mediate multiple spaces for the generation of knowledge. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
dream#1 2020
This video work is a dreamy, haunting piece that looks at the role our personal stories play in the making of history, as well as the actual political potency of our feelings. Part of 'Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19.' Read more
Bump Galaxy
BUMP GALAXY is a virtual world and community for mental health. In it, players can visit several different Care Commons and engage with mental health professionals from around the world. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
I spat on it to put it back together
A self-conducted interview which offers insight into Price's practice and reflects upon the ways in which she positions herself both in her work as well as her community during the pandemic. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
The Anatomy of DIY-Objects in an Epidemic Infrastructure
A short visual essay about the DIY infrastructures that pop up amidst a global pandemic. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
A three-minute excerpt from springtime 2020
A collection of found footage from the lockdown period. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
Kein Strom
A short story, written as a diary entry, describes a lockdown-specific encounter. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more
Wochenplan
A short video that shows the ways in which Rieger organised her activities into weekly schedules in order to maintain her singing practice as well as her social life. Part of "Learning from COVID19: Reflections on knowledge-related commons and practices of self-organization amidst COVID19." Read more