PIERCING THE MARKET BUBBLE – POSITIONS AGAINST HYPERCAPITALISM

Companies which were once labelled as ‘visionary’ thanks to a combination of a personal cult, substantial start-up capital and riding on a utopian wave of technology, have degenerated into unscrupulous multinationals. It is no longer the intrinsic quality or durability which determines the price of the product, but rather its branding and image. Large companies easily maintain their financially comfortable market bubble and are sometimes able to impose their own norms and value systems on the unsuspecting consumers. The artists brought together for Piercing the Market Bubble react incisively to this globalised, hyper-capitalist situation with caustic humour; a culture in which everything is about the exterior, about showing the self, to the detriment of the content (the art world also plays a role in this which is not to be ignored). Experimenting with various strategies – such as a staged interview with a ‘successful’ entrepreneur, a film letter to Steve Jobs, or a direct address from the potential consumer – they succeed in conveying their subtly concealed but deeply cynical commentaries with great conviction.

Program:
Speech Bubble
Adam Leech, 2008, 5’, colour, English spoken.
Der Flexible Unternehmer
Alexander Kluge, 2001, 15’, colour, German spoken, English subtitles.
The Good Life (a guided tour)
Katleen Vermeir & Ronny Heiremans, 2009, 16’, colour, English spoken, Dutch subtitles.
Beste Steve
Herman Asselberghs, 2010, 45’, colour, Dutch spoken, English subtitles.

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Dit evenement is onderdeel van THEMATIC SERIES - SCREENINGS