Evasions of Power Conference / March 30-31, 2007
Slought Foundation is pleased to announce "Evasions of Power," a series of roundtable discussions exploring the relations between architecture, literature and geo-politics. The proceedings will take place in Philadelphia from March 30-31, 2007 and have been jointly organized by Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss, Aaron Levy, and Katherine Carl, on behalf of Slought Foundation and the Department of Architecture, Penn School of Design, in conjunction with the Centre for Architecture Research, Goldsmiths College, London, the Department of Art History, University of Pennsylvania, the Department of English, University of Pennsylvania, and Eastern State Penitentiary historic site and museum, Philadelphia. Major support for Evasions of Power has been provided by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Departing from the usual academic convention of presenting knowledge in the form of straightforward talks or presentations, this project will include a series of roundtable discussions, debates and interventions of varying duration, with an integrated online presence.
These events reveal an array of understanding about the consequences and implications of "spatial practice" today, with presentations by distinguished artists, architects, theorists, and curators whose work explores urban zones, state borders, enclaves, and extra-territorial sites throughout the world. The conference will explore the following questions: how are questions of politics, conflict, and human rights articulated today in fields such as architecture and literary study? How is power theorized? How is power evaded? How can institutions aspire not just to accumulate power but also to evade power and certain forms of authority? What practices and forms might such an institution occupy, invent or build?
The "Evasions of Power" project contributes to an ongoing discourse about human rights, war, extra-territoriality, and political and social enclaves. "Evasions of Power" continues these efforts and will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in fields ranging from art, literature, and political philosophy, to architecture, design, and urban studies.
Evasions of Power, Session 1: Introduction (2007-03-30)
Featuring: Detlef Mertins, Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss, Aaron Levy, Katherine Carl
Evasions of Power, Session 2: Territories (2007-03-30)
Featuring: Keller Easterling, Sanjay Krishnan, Laura Kurgan, Eyal Weizman, Manuel Hertz, Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss
Evasions of Power, Session 3: Institutions (2007-03-30)
Featuring: Anselm Franke, Sarah Herda, David Kazanjian, Thomas Keenan, John Palmesino, Katherine Carl
Evasions of Power, Session 4: Interventions (2007-03-30)
Featuring: Carlos Basualdo and Jeanne van Heeswijk, Lindsay Bremner, Deborah Gans, David Ruy, Nebojsa Seric-Shoba, Teddy Cruz, Shumon Basar, Helene Furjan, Goldsmiths Centre for Architecture Research members
Samuel Weber on Networks, Netwar, and Narratives (2007-03-30)
Featuring: Samuel Weber, Catherine Liu, Peter Krapp, Eduardo Cadava, Jean-Michel Rabaté
From Pennsylvania Panopticon to Experiential Site: Eastern State Penitentiary (2007-03-31)
Featuring: Sean Kelley
Tracking Tactics and Rhetorics: Thomas y. Levin on the Vicissitudes of the Panoptic from Surveillance to Dataveillance (2007-03-31)
Featuring: Thomas Y. Levin, Eyal Weizman, Goldsmiths Centre for Architecture Research members
Military forces install a shrine, created by the Serbian Orthodox Church, on the disputed border between Serbia and Montenegro. Photographer unknown, 2005.
Thanks jbeau!
From the Slought archives:
Cities Without Citizens: Statelessness and Settlements
Rosenbach Museum Holdings, Gans and Jelacic Architecture, Lars Wallsten, Katrin Sigurdardottir, Aaron Levy
Exhibit Duration: July 08 - September 28, 2003
Cities Without Citizens, curated by Aaron Levy of Slought Foundation, juxtaposes historical materials from the Rosenbach collections with contemporary works to examine the cities, settlements and peoples of early America and illuminate how our nation's past connects with contemporary life. As a commentary on art, archiving and human rights, the exhibition re-indexes Rosenbach holdings according to four social parameters - settlement, citizenship, discipline, and liquidation. "Cities Without Citizens presents an inquisitive look at the processes and idiosyncrasies of building and liquidating a city in both early and modern times," says Levy. "How did early American settlers determine borders? How did they identify citizens versus outsiders, criminals and slaves, and further negotiate the respective freedoms and limitations of each? And how are these functions handled in modern-day contexts?"
