Julian Assange in the focus of art
The second volume in the «Edition Digital Culture» book series published by Migros-Kulturprozent focuses on the topic of hacking. Hackers break into systems and change the rules—a phenomenon that also fascinates artists.
Since the popularization of computer technology through personal computers and the Internet, the strategy of hacking has exerted a particular fascination on digital culture. Why is this the case? What messages do artists convey with these projects? The second volume in the Migros Culture Percentage's "Edition Digital Culture" series gets to the bottom of these questions.
A hack is actually a clever solution to a computer problem. But hacking also stands for the creative disruption of a technology and the associated systems. A hacker wants to do more than just follow predetermined rules, he wants to change the systems themselves. This makes the figure of the hacker and his activity dazzling and ambiguous.
The works of Ubermorgen and the Bitnik media group play an important role in the book. Mediengruppe Bitnik, for example, was able to send a package with a video camera to Julian Assange, who has been in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over two years. The action, which received a lot of attention, is documented in the book in text and pictures.
The volume is bilingual in German and English and contains texts by well-known authors in the field of cultural and media studies: Hannes Gassert, Verena Kuni, Claus Pias, Felix Stalder and Raffael Dörig. The publication series is part of the Migros Culture Percentage's funding policy. The editor Dominik Landwehr, Head of the Pop and New Media Department, Culture and Social Affairs Directorate, Federation of Migros Cooperatives, explains: "With our work contributions, we promote the production of interesting projects in the field of digital culture and media art. With this book series, we are also committed to promoting the works and want to help them reach as wide an audience as possible. We therefore deliberately maintain a simple style so that an audience outside the narrower media art scene can also find access to these works."
The book launch will take place as part of the exhibition "The Darknet - From Memes to Onionland. An Exploration" at the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen on Friday, October 17, 2014, from 6 to 8 pm.
