Distributed for DIAPHANES
The Present of the Future
As the world teeters on the brink of crisis and potentially catastrophic change, outlooks for the future have come to be characterized by anxiety. The skepticism that meets utopian visions of the future has given rise to collective nostalgia for seemingly reliable ideas. But rather than stagnate in idealism, how can artists and scholars create the potential for real change?
The result of a lecture series held at the cx centre for interdisciplinary studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, The Present of the Future explores our current relationship to the future and considers strategies for artists and scholars to establish effective action for shaping alternative futures. Contributors to the book approach this problem from the perspective of diverse disciplines, including art, design, architecture, and philosophy.
The result of a lecture series held at the cx centre for interdisciplinary studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, The Present of the Future explores our current relationship to the future and considers strategies for artists and scholars to establish effective action for shaping alternative futures. Contributors to the book approach this problem from the perspective of diverse disciplines, including art, design, architecture, and philosophy.
Table of Contents
Editors’ Preface
In Search of the Future – Introduction and Epilogue
Susanne Witzgall
Reality of the Future and Future Reality
Elena Esposito
“Plans will not help realise a projected future”
In conversation with Elena Esposito and Nore Schultz
B-Levels
Nora Schultz
Project Class Nora Schultz
May You Live in Interesting Times
Andri Snær Magnason
“Cassandra is powerless”
In conversation with Wolfgang Lucht and Andri Snær Magnason
Occupying the Future. Time and Politics in the Era of Clairvoyance Societies
Frédéric Neyrat
“Each time I believe that things are predictable I get sick.”
In conversation with Frédéric Neyrat
Why the New Anyway
Jan St. Werner
“You cannot order scientific results like a pizza.”
In conversation with Hans-Jörg Rheinberger and Jan St. Werner
Negotiating the Future – Speculative Design between Claim and Reality
Karianne Fogelberg
“To explore the speculative is urgent and necessary”
In conversation with Liam Young
Infra-structuring the Future: Catastrophe, Crisis, Critique
Claudia Aradau
“The imaginary of catastrophe is actually incorporated more and more into the everyday.”
In conversation with Claudia Aradau and Daniel van der Velden
(Metahaven)
Catastrophic Reproduction: Science Fiction on the Far Side of the Subject
Kerstin Stakemeier
I’m that Angel
Tyler Coburn
Project Class Tyler Coburn
The Future of the Body
Karin Harrasser
Sugmented Embodiments
Johannes Paul Rauther
“Become parahuman!”
In conversation with Karin Harrasser and Johannes Paul Raether
The Authors
Tables of Figures
Colophon
In Search of the Future – Introduction and Epilogue
Susanne Witzgall
Reality of the Future and Future Reality
Elena Esposito
“Plans will not help realise a projected future”
In conversation with Elena Esposito and Nore Schultz
B-Levels
Nora Schultz
Project Class Nora Schultz
May You Live in Interesting Times
Andri Snær Magnason
“Cassandra is powerless”
In conversation with Wolfgang Lucht and Andri Snær Magnason
Occupying the Future. Time and Politics in the Era of Clairvoyance Societies
Frédéric Neyrat
“Each time I believe that things are predictable I get sick.”
In conversation with Frédéric Neyrat
Why the New Anyway
Jan St. Werner
“You cannot order scientific results like a pizza.”
In conversation with Hans-Jörg Rheinberger and Jan St. Werner
Negotiating the Future – Speculative Design between Claim and Reality
Karianne Fogelberg
“To explore the speculative is urgent and necessary”
In conversation with Liam Young
Infra-structuring the Future: Catastrophe, Crisis, Critique
Claudia Aradau
“The imaginary of catastrophe is actually incorporated more and more into the everyday.”
In conversation with Claudia Aradau and Daniel van der Velden
(Metahaven)
Catastrophic Reproduction: Science Fiction on the Far Side of the Subject
Kerstin Stakemeier
I’m that Angel
Tyler Coburn
Project Class Tyler Coburn
The Future of the Body
Karin Harrasser
Sugmented Embodiments
Johannes Paul Rauther
“Become parahuman!”
In conversation with Karin Harrasser and Johannes Paul Raether
The Authors
Tables of Figures
Colophon