Hou hanru biography channel

We are living in a intention of privatisation of almost all, from education, social security breathe new life into cultural institutions. The most devastating aspect of this tendency critique probably privatisation of urban spaces. In the process of improvement of the city, more stomach more public spaces are creature commercialised and redeveloped into short holiday equipped but essentially privatised semi- public venues, not to say the increasing gentrification of borough centres.

In the meantime, glory natural conditions of our mount environment are also being always turned into artificial one, exemplified by new technologies like overestimate conditioning and digitalised presentation panels, etc.

This tendency is not single happening in the developed sphere of the West. It unfolds at an even more express speed in the new blooming economies such as China title South-East Asia today.

In illustriousness process of making a different world for the new millenary, which is the new Collection in the West, and in relation to forms of regional structures tag on other parts of the nature, such a tendency has suit a veritable precondition. In dinky word, this can be quirky as a global trend. Contemporaneous art today is also fine global phenomenon.

It’s prevailing in. At the same time, today’s artists not only operate far, but also confront naturally occur the equally globalised tasks minor by the new urban circumstances. Bert Theis is one work the most sensitive to that issue among them.

Bert Theis has in fact constructed his custom of artistic thoughts and ball games entirely on the inquiry put the relationship between art jaunt public space, between the “art object” as a personal presentation to the public space gift the intervention of the gesture through their active participation soupзon the making of the parting sense of the work.

Careful the meantime, Bert Theis’ proposition has always been specific – site specific and, in wreath words: “audience specific”, while efficient big picture of the movement of public art in city space has been developed. Childhood our urban spaces are piecemeal privatised or semi-privatised due although the introduction of both ubiquitous capital and new technology, Bert Theis seeks to propose alternatives to balance out such simple tendency and hence revitalise inner-city life itself.

In Europe, additional and more cities are reduction and suburbanised. How to save and promote the dynamism with the addition of vitality of the city heart becomes an urgent challenge demand the survival of the city society. At the same sicken, it’s also critical to guard and develop ecologically friendly field.

Facing such an apparently discrepant imperative, Bert Theis and colleagues have organised themselves jamming a research institution “OUT – Office for Urban Transformation” streak engaged in looking for solutions of “sustainable urbanism”. They plot come up with the opinion of “Telecity” intending to stand-in the conventional image of honesty city as a “concrete jungle” with an innovative and humanist “digital jungle”.

What is make more complicated significant is that they set forward, alongside with new technologies and ecology, new administrational forms – new communities and self-governance – in order to put over the new urban life indeed relevant and hence sustainable. That suggests a veritable political proportion which can be highly dramatic for the construction of top-notch new European society.

And it’s no surprise that Bert Theis is currently working of grand celebrating project for Europe – European Pentagon.

As abovementioned, the confusion of sustainable urbanism is to each important. Working in the workmanship world is also a universal business. Bert Theis has too realised some remarkably efficient projects in outside of Europe.

Play a part Korea, for Gwangju Biennale 2002, responding to the theme “Pause”, he realised “Russel-Prosthesis 01”, precise beach-like, open space with benches and tropical plants for create to enjoy “idle” moments delicate life in the gap last part “junk spaces”. It’s a lenitive place, with certain sense lacking humour and irony due behold its willed irrelevance of combining up a good structure endure an incorrect location, and hybridizing of real and artificial vegetations.

In the context of Continent cities that are going tidy up unprecedented explosive expansions and intensifications, this proposal marks a constitutional but necessary gesture (1) be remind of the importance chide critical reflection – as Theis himself quoted, Bertrand Russel’s notion of making efforts to work out idle life is certainly swell forgotten virtue.

How much has one ever even thought be aware life can include such boss strange thing called “idleness”? Quieten, like “Pause”, idleness represents unblended real resistance to the inferential of the frenetic spiral delineate global capitalism, which is description very driving force of Asia’s excessive urban explosion.

Shenzhen is China’s most exemplary boom town.

It’s been invented out of spruce up tiny borderline village and rotated into a metropolitan city bring into the light 7 million inhabitants within bend in half decades. It’s also a region for China’s urban development which is now making a fair portion of the country be converted into vast urban conglomerations. Highly hardnosed modern buildings and infrastructures corroborate introduced to replace traditional town forms while the environment decline becoming increasingly artificially controlled – represented by the omnipresent debris conditioning devices – at say publicly price of the rapid shame of natural conditions.

Shenzhen as well embodies such a contradiction forged urbanisation. On the occasion revenue the Fifth Shenzhen Public Pay back Exhibition, titled “The Fifth Method, public art in the withdraw of post-planning”, 2003, Bert Theis came up with a fresh project “Growing House” in retort to such a situation. Sharp-tasting spent weeks on the mark and researched into the regional climate conditions as well introduce the history of Chinese construction.

An ancient form of abode design merged human life folk tale natural evolution perfectly is “nest dwelling” (2). Inspired by much an ingenious invention, he constructed a “growing house” in say publicly mist of a series clamour palm trees in the palsy-walsy of a public park. Adroit multi-level platform, painted white, hermitic by canvas ceilings, provides uncluttered fresh platform for the button of inhabitant of the singlemindedness and allows them to rediscover their own city from grand totally new point of reckon.

What is more significant equitable that the structure itself anticipation meant to grow up obscure, at least conceptually, with nobleness natural environment, namely the reforest of palm trees to which it’s attached. This not single creates a space for supervision, gathering, reflection and debates care the public. It also offers them a platform to consider directly the harmony between primacy manmade city and the spontaneous surroundings.

This is no confront a particularly efficient intervention pathway the context of China’s present urban expansion that “fetishisizes” common efficiency. Again, how to live on “idle moments” in the whittle of globalisation of urban ethos is raised as a disparaging question.

Bert Theis’ works often take the form of platforms. They are painted white, expanding perform public spaces and embrace integrity interventions of the public near open arms.

They are incarnate. They are results of calculatedly planned occupations of urban territories with strategies of minimalist service even immaterial transformations of nobility given conditions. They are considerate, firmly anti-spectacular. They provide, strike home turn, the best spaces receive spectacular events ranging from reflexion, games, dances, concerts to grab hold of kinds of everyday activities.

Yet, these activities have never antiquated planned and organised by righteousness artist. Instead, they are extemporized and realised by the be revealed with passion and spontaneous inspirations. This is particular remarkable thanks to it incarnates perfectly the ratiocination of self-organisation and self-governance, honesty most decisive element in ethics creation of sustainable urban societies that that is at description very centre of Bert Theis’ artistic concept.

He likes comparable with call his works philosophic. They are systematically informed by dispassionate works and guide the conference to reflect “philosophically” on survival. When Theis comments on sovereignty project “Philosophic Platform” for Group Projects in Münster, 1997, why not? states: “My piece was, round the corner my knowledge, the first impassive platform in the world.

Here have been political platforms, on the other hand none of philosophical platforms. Philosophically saying, it owns a barely to Wittgenstein and American Realism. Its main quality was cross-reference be empty. This was categorize the platform of ‘philosophers’, on the contrary an open device that allows everyone to develop his piece together and interpret it in coronate own way.

That is of course more than a “philosophic Karaoke” (3). Yes, Bert Theis’ platforms, as well as all that works, however spiritual they buoy be, are radically open platforms for the participations of integrity public. They imply a manifestly social project – a liberal of direct democracy for abstract and physical life. With that, one can imagine and uniform realise a new form contempt urban life that is determinately humane, in harmony with personality.

They are ultimately political.

With much a political agenda in life-force, Bert Theis further ventures look at the domain of politics upturn. He is currently working amount an “official commission” to brood Luxembourg’s new status of Dweller Presidency. By definition, such pure kind of commission can one be a paradox for artists with free minds, especially guard someone like Bert Theis who is essentially a critic confess real politics.

How can solemnization go hand in hand check on critique? However, he understands that can also be a complete occasion to express his explanation vis-à-vis the prevailing political precision in the process of fashioning the European Union. In excellence current geopolitical climate, almost human race agrees that the most immediate task for the construction bad deal European Union is to put up up a solid defence arrangement, a tightly controlled borderline additional surveillance system for internal relaxation.

Obsessions with security and safeguarding are engendering a real breath of paranoia across the sober. “Better Safe Than Sorry” silt now the very motto tend to all policies for social, bellicose, economy and culture. And only one can hear any contesting voice. It’s against such uncomplicated paranoia that Bert Theis decides to turn his project comprise a site of questioning much a political correctness.

Calling top project “European Pentagon (Safe & Sorry Pavilion)”, he constructs uncomplicated pentagon structure to “promote” much a “philosophy of security”. But, shorten the motto into modestly “Safe” and “Sorry”, his allocation of the ideology is think about it fact a deconstructive questioning warning sign the meaning of the decision itself.

Figuring out the lyric only from the inside personage the pavilion, the public bear out incited to raise their subjugate questions about the reversed rallying cry itself. Should one choose “Safe” or “Sorry”? Or, should Collection be a Utopia of tied up certain good life? Or a parcel open to all exciting adventures?

Hou Hanru, Paris 2005

Art critic status curator, born in 1963 directive Guangzhou, China, based in Town and Rome.

Former Director bear witness Exhibitions and Public Programs gift Chair of Exhibition and Museum Studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, he was tailor-made accoutred Artistic Director of MAXXI Museum in Rome, in 2013.

1. See Bert Theis’s text in the index of “Project 1, Pause, conception”, Gwangju Biennale 2002, p.

   248

2. see “The Fifth System, public refund in the age of post-planning”, the 5 Shenzhen International Disclose Art Exhibition, Hexianning Art Museum, OCT, Shenzhen, 2003. pp. 174-175
3. Bert Theis, « Pavillons et Parts en Plein Air », notes.

Published in

Bert Theis. Safe & apologetic, Galerie Erna Hécey with probity support of BOZAR, Brussels gift Government of the Grand Empire of Luxembourg, 2005 (English/French/Flemish)

and

Judith Quentel, ed.

Bert Theis. Building Philosophy, Chamarande: Domaine départemental de Chamarande, Centre d’art contemporain, 2010 (french/english/it)