Artist Talk: benandsebastian
Onsdag den 15. december kl. 17.00 inviterer FABRIKKEN Open til artist talk med kunstnerduoen benandsebastian, der er en del af FABRIKKENs World Wide Air residentprogram. Læs mere om arrangementet her.
Åbent for offentligheden. English below.
Kunstnerduoen benandsebastian fortæller om deres kunstværk ‘Tavse Parter’ til Retten i Aarhus og om processen med at lave en ledsagende bog, en technokoncert og et lydværk.
‘Historien om hvordan vi forholder os til ’non-humans’ kaster et nådesløst og indsigtsfuldt lys over hvordan vi beslutter hvilke liv vi værdsætter, og afslører en ny forståelse for hvordan vi relaterer – ikke kun til ikke-mennesker, men også til hinanden.’
Kate Darling, forsker på Massachusetts Institute of Technology
’Tavse Parter’ er et permanent kunstværk af kunstnerduoen benandsebastian, der består af Ben Clement og Sebastian de la Cour. Værket om dyre- og robot-retssager er integreret i den store, centrale læsesal i Aarhus’ tidligere stadsbibliotek, Hack Kampmanns fredede bygning ’Smykkeskrinet’, som Bygningsstyrelsen har erhvervet og renoveret, og som fremover skal huse Retten i Aarhus.
’Tavse Parter’ kredser omkring otte historiske retssager, der involverer dyr eller robotter. Sagerne spænder fra en sag fra det 15. århundrede, hvor en hane blev stillet for retten, fordi den havde lagt et æg, til en nutidig tvist angående, hvorvidt legemsstore, syngende og dansende robotter på en amerikansk restaurantkæde kunne betragtes som optrædende kunstnere.
Kunstprojektet består af 54 negative trærelieffer, der er som ”hulet ud af” den eksisterende arkitekturs tidligere reolsystemer, hvor de udskårne figurer repræsenterer ikke-menneskelige aktører i faktiske historiske retssager. Relieffernes dyre- og robotmotiver bygger videre på den allerede eksisterende industrielt-organiske symbolik, der findes overalt i bygningens skønvirke-arkitektur, hvor edderkopper holder kabler i deres spind, og sølvsmede bærer lysekronernes fatninger.
Læs videre under billedet.
benandsebastian har som en del af projektet, samarbejdet med 17 forskellige fagfolk, der spænder fra en kurator på Serpentine Gallery i London, over en ekspert i kunstig intelligens på Alan Turing Institute i London, til formanden for Dyreetisk Råd i Danmark. Forskerne beskriver og diskuterer de otte retssager i forhold til nutidige retsfilosofiske spørgsmål, og deres tekster er blevet integreret, som en permanent del af kunstværket, i de specialdesignede montrer, som også oprindeligt indgik i bygningens interiør.
‘Tavse Parter’ stiller spørgsmål ved, hvordan ikke-menneskelige væsner såsom dyr og robotter, både historisk set har været og også i fremtiden vil blive aktører i retssager. Disse sager rummer flertydige dilemmaer i forhold til strafværdighed og ansvar. Værket bidrager bl.a. til at belyse, hvordan dyr tidligere er blevet personificeret ’som menneskelige’ i henhold til loven, men også hvordan den aktuelle debat om hvordan opdagelser inden for biologi, neurovidenskab og kybernetik sår yderligere tvivl om begrebet om den enestående frie menneskelige vilje.
‘Tavse Parter’ er udført af benandsebastian med bidrag af:
Adam Bencard (Medicinsk Museion)
Lasse Blond (UC Berkeley)
James Bridle, (Forfatter af ‘New Dark Age’)
Ryan Calo (University of Washington)
Raffael Fasel (Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law)
Louis de Gouyon Matignon (Toucan Space)
Lulu Anne Hansen (HEX Museum of Witch Hunt)
Bengt Holst (Dyreetisk Råd)
Michael Listner (Space Law and Solutions)
Yoriko Otomo (SOAS)
Lucia Pietrouisti (Serpentine Galleries)
Laurie Shannon (Northwestern University)
Jessica Sorenson (Syddansk Universitet)
Mette Svendsen (Københavns Universitet)
Karina Vold (Alan Turing Institute)
Kumar Yogeeswaran (University of Canterbury)
Eyal Weizman (Forensic Architecture)
Lydværket er udviklet i samarbejde med komponisten Sage Charles Deeping (Sternum).
Kunstnerduoen benandsebastian, som udgøres af Ben Clement (f. 1981) og Sebastian de la Cour (f. 1980), skaber værker, der befinder sig i krydsfeltet mellem jura, arkitektur og kunst. De arbejder med at udforske tvivl igennem tekster, materielle genstande og installatoriske greb. benandsebastian har udstillet på bl.a. Trapholt og Den Frie. Kunstnerduoen har modtaget flere præmieringer fra bl.a. Statens Kunstfond, og deres værker er repræsenteret i samlinger som 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa i Japan.
Læs mere om benandsebastian her.
World Wide Air (WWA) er et residentprogram for etablerede kunstnere og kuratorer verden over. Programmet har til formål at sikre kulturel udveksling og styrke vidensdeling mellem professionelle aktører på den danske og internationale kunstscene, samt et dansk publikum. WWA byder kunstnere og kuratorer velkommen i en varighed på 3 måneder.
WWA er støttet af Københavns Kommune, Statens Kunstfond, Det Obelske Familiefond og Beckett Fonden.
FABRIKKEN Open er støttet af Ny Carlsbergfondet.
English below:
Meet the artist duo benandsebastian in talk about their permanent artwork ‘Silent Parties’ at the Court of Aarhus and their process of making an accompanying book, a techno concert and sound artwork.
The artist talk takes place at FABRIKKEN on Wednesday the 15th of December 2021 at 5pm. benandsebastian is part of FABRIKKEN’s World Wide Air residency programme. Read more about it here.
‘Our history of relating to nonhumans shines a harsh and insightful light on how we choose which lives have value, revealing a new understanding of how we relate – not just to nonhumans but also to each other’
Kate Darling, researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
‘Silent Parties’ is a permanent artwork by artist duo benandsebastian, composed of Ben Clement and Sebastian de la Cour. The artwork involving animal and robot cases is integrated in the large, central reading room in Aarhus’ former city library, Hack Kampmann’s listed building ‘Smykkeskrinet’ (The Jewellery Box), which the Danish Building and Property Agency has acquired and renovated, and which in future will house the Court in Aarhus.
‘Silent Parties’ revolves around eight historical cases involving non-human participants. Spanning from a 15th century case involving a cock being tried for allegedly laying an egg, to a contemporary case examining whether life-size, singing, and dancing robots at an American restaurant chain should be considered live performers.
The art project comprises 54 negative bas-reliefs “hollowed out” of the existing architecture’s former library bookshelves, where the carved figures represent non-human participants in real historical legal cases. The animal and robot motifs of the reliefs integrates into the existing building’s industrial-organic architecture, that is found throughout the building’s art deco architecture, in which iron spiders carry electric cables in their webs and dragonflies diffuse the chandeliers’ lights.
As part of the project, benandsebastian has collaborated with 17 different specialists, ranging from a curator at the Serpentine Gallery in London, over an expert in artificial intelligence at the Alan Turing Institute in London, to the chairman of the The Danish Animal Ethics Council. The researchers describe and discuss the eight lawsuits in relation to contemporary legal philosophical issues, and their texts have been integrated, as a permanent part of the artwork, into the specially designed display cases, which were originally included in the building’s interior.
‘Silent Parties’ raises questions about how non-human beings, such as animals and robots, have both historically been and will continue to be actors in legal trials. These cases pose ambiguous dilemmas in relation to punishment and liability. The work contributes i.a. to illustrate how animals have previously been personified ‘as human’ according to the law, but also how the current debate about how discoveries in biology, neuroscience and cybernetics cast further doubt on the concept of the exceptional free human will.
‘Silent Partners’ by benandsebastian with contributions by:
Adam Bencard (Medical Museion)
Lasse Blond (UC Berkeley)
James Bridle (Writer of ‘New Dark Age’)
Ryan Calo (University of Washington)
Raffael Fasel (Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law)
Louis de Gouyon Matignon (Toucan Space)
Lulu Anne Hansen (HEX Museum of Witch Hunt)
Bengt Holst (The Danish Animal Ethics Council)
Michael Listner (Space Law and Solutions)
Yoriko Otomo (SOAS)
Lucia Pietrouisti (Serpentine Galleries)
Laurie Shannon (Northwestern University)
Jessica Sorenson (Syddansk Universitet)
Mette Svendsen (Københavns Universitet)
Karina Vold (Alan Turing Institute)
Kumar Yogeeswaran (University of Canterbury)
Eyal Weizman (Forensic Architecture)
The sound artwork is made in cooperation with composer Sage Charles Deeping (Sternum).
The artist duo benandsebastian, composed of Ben Clement (b. 1981) og Sebastian de la Cour (b. 1980), create works that intersect between law, architecture, and art. Their work explores doubts through texts, material objects, and installation grips. benandsebastian has exhibited at i.a. Trapholt Museum of Modern Art, Craft and Design and Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art. The artist duo has received several awards from i.a. the Danish Arts Foundation, and their work is represented in collections such as 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa in Japan.
Read more about benandsebastian here.
World Wide Air (WWA) is a residency program for professional artists and curators worldwide. The program aims to ensure cultural exchange and strengthen knowledge sharing between professional agents on the Danish and international art scenes and a Danish audience. WWA welcomes artists and curators for a duration of 3 months.
The World Wide Air programme is supported by The Municipality of Copenhagen, The Danish Arts Foundation, The Obel Family Foundation and The Beckett Foundation.
FABRIKKEN Open is supported by New Carlsberg Foundation.