There will come soft rains

Artist Interviews

5 Questions with Mario Pfeifer

1. What does the idea of a non-human world mean to you? Do you see it as an inspiring artistic proposition or as a real possibility for the near future?

I would say it's a rather scary proposition. Therefore it can be an inspiring idea for an artist. In my case, I find it more inspiring to think about how to avoid such a scenario and wonder what would the conditions for a non-human world be: war, disaster—or an outlook on a better habitat than we currently live in. How realistic is it? Well, it's more realistic with world leaders who use language like, “We are going to bomb the shit out of you,” or, “Climate change is a hoax,” than with more progressive thinkers who want to make sure we live a sustainable life on earth. Another aspect is that innovators preparing for civilian space travel might conquer another habitat and make it unattractive to stay on Earth for a certain group of civilians, namely the rich, the smart, and the biologically most advanced human beings. It's inspiring to think critically about these conditions, but I am more in favour of making life on Earth more equal and sustainable.

2. What role does social, ecological and economical sustainability play in your artistic practice?

I would describe my works as based on social interaction with geopolitical dynamics that define the cultural situation I produce my work in. For me, the collaboration with protagonists is key. The ecological conditions of my artistic production are potentially problematic, asI board quite a lot of flights. However, in a current project I am trying to learn more about the future of energy by speaking to experimental and innovative thinkers about their concepts for sustainable, fairly produced, and distributed energy. The economy of artistic practice is certainly very complex to phrase. We talk about symbolic value and an art market that is very dynamic. I don't consider the market and the production value of an art work important. What is important to me is the symbolic value an art work carries and how much impact it can generate in the social, ecological, economic, and political sphere. I am interested in if and how art has a educational value, and I don't mean art is necessarily an educational tool per se.

3. On which level do you think could art contribute to social and ecological changes?

I believe that art, or in a larger context culture, has immense power to advocate social and ecological change. Because it speaks symbolically, it is larger than any campaign and has potentially longer-lasting effects. But all those ideas I mentioned are bound to individual performance, both from the producer and the one who reflects upon it. If you can reach a symbiosis between the two, it might generate a huge impact.

4. During the last decade the liaison between art and science has been a topic frequently discussed. In this context, art has often been considered a successful tool for the production of alternative forms of knowledge. What do you think about this idea?

Sure, I do agree that artists often think out of the box and therefore can help to develop alternative forms of knowledge. It all depends on who one references, since we must admit a lot of artists do also cater to standard forms of experience and knowledge production. Anyhow, I personally would focus more on how somebody thinks, feels, reflects, and rather not focus on the profession of artist or scientist. When an issue is of of tremendous importance, I guess these labels disappear and once joins forces to be innovative.

5. What is one of your favorite YouTube videos that deals with a certain aspect of the exhibition (e.g. the non-human scenario, environmental factors or sustainability)?

Maybe not a classical YouTube video, but let's try this: Spike Lee's documentary on Hurricane Katrina: When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xj1sHvIWA). It’s a realistic scenario that might  result in a non-human world ...

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Soft Rains – 

Mario Pfeifer (DE)
„#BLACKTIVIST“

Mario Pfeifer’s artistic practice is expressed in filmic works and video installations, by means of which he sheds light on representational systems and socio-political backgrounds from a number of different cultures. His works relate to specific questions about society, the wider contexts of which he explores and documents through extensive local research. At the same time the musical and acoustic dimensions of his works assume a special role, being frequently closely linked to the works’ thematic and visual aspects.

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1. What does the idea of a non-human world mean to you? Do you see it as an inspiring artistic proposition or as a real possibility for the near future? I do not get a kick out of the possibility of a non-human world. Since humans emerged as a species who dominated the planet, a world without humans would mean that our models for civilization failed us. I do not find inspiration in the mass failure of human cultures, to live harmoniously with other organisms inhabiting Earth. My inspiration comes from the intrinsic and undeniable beauty of the natural world in its all complexity to the point that we understand it with our science or by other means we have been endowed with. Yet it is very humbling to accept that human beings may or may not be around let’s say in the next 500 years. It is the same kind of humbling thought that one could get when one understands their own death.
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1. The exhibition is based on the narrative of a non-human world. This theme defines the context for the artists and visitors as well as for the additional education program. For your project you decided to stage holograms of bookshelves photographed in living rooms. What is your main interest in this topic? I got the idea when I read about the ancient mythology of Cassandra. Cassandra is the seer that herself isn’t seen. According to Greek mythology her prophecies are ignored by her fellow Trojan citizens because she is cursed by a god whom she refuses to have sex with. As a priest, as a seer, she states that this society will not sustain itself much longer. So she knows about the social crisis that surrounds her – a knowledge that is probably not supernatural given that Troy is besieged by Greek enemy soldiers. As a result, she is not only ignored but even considered a traitor. I think this story speaks a lot about those who still deal with the truth of the current and future social reality and it’s unfolding crisis, how powerless it can feel to analyse and speak about this crisis without being able to directly having an impact on it – just think of the hatred people can face in today’s “post-factual” media world. Allan Sekula once stated: “the old myth that photographs tell the truth has been replaced by the new myth that they lie.” So I decided to stage photographs of bookshelves in a Cassandrian setting. In my view Cassandra’s caves today are living rooms filled with knowledge about the ongoing crisis of the last 3000 years of class society. If humanity will really end in self-extinction one probably would find an answer for how and why this happened in these caves.
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1. What does the idea of a non-human world mean to you? Do you see it as an inspiring artistic proposition or as a real possibility for the near future? It's a world where we understand that processes of representation and of production of knowledge are not exclusively human. A non/human world is a pluriverse where many worlds are possible, instead of a Universe where everything is determined by the white male colonizer human experience.  In many places of Latin America the post human evidences itself today, the fact that the earth is a subject with rights as determined in the constitutions or Bolivia or Ecuador, or that in Colombia the Atrato River has also gained legal rights, are more institutional manifestations. But if you look at the everyday of indigenous and rural communities in the Andean regions, and the Amazon Basin, amongst others, you will find post human worlds, where water, rocks, stones, emeralds, fish, corn and other non/human spirits are considered social active agents in the everyday socio-politics of the community. The Colombian sociologist Arturo Escobar calls this 'Pensamiento de la Tierra' (Thought of the Earth), it manifests through a vast array of popular movements across the continent that are based on their unique and constitutive relation to localized nature and to their territories. For these communities, the rivers, the mountains, even the forest are like family, and they take on active roles in the collective efforts of territorial resistance against extractivist industries.  For example, a river can overflow to halt the construction of a dam, or the ground can tremble to complicate a mine operation.  So actually I think that there are non-human worlds happening today, they have been happening for millennia, but colonial and extractivist structures have made a great deal to erase them.
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