Fire has been strongly associated with human society since early civilization. For the first hunters and gatherers, and even more for settled societies, fire defined the central gathering point and meeting place. As civilizations became more complex and villages evolved more and more into cities, fire started to become the power that forged the tools and weapons of this complexity, and hence initiated the progress of technology. Its symbolic representation rose to its highest form with the industrial revolution, where steam engines converted this power directly into usable energy, which eventually became the main driving force of the cities.
Forgotten fire
At the same time, however, this power was taken from the hands of the public and placed under the control of a few. When fire and its accompanying customs and traditions started to disappear from the cities, the people lost their say in the rules that governed them and their cities. Both fire and the mechanisms of the city became invisible, disappearing from sight and becoming incomprehensible to its citizens. Flame by Tamer Aslan (TR) und Onur Sönmez (TR) wants to give the fire back to the people, to help them forge the tools of the new century, and to burn to the ground the institutions that restrain them, if necessary.
Metal work, fire sculpture: Bernhard Ranner (AT)
Fire hardware: TBFpyrotec (AT)
Supporting Music
10:15-10:45 PM
Songs about Fire by Tracy Redhead (AU) and Michael Mayr (AT), two musicians from opposite parts off the world team up to reinterpret and resurrect songs from the past and present. With their minimalist setup of acoustic guitars and vocals, they don’t want to set the world on fire but start a little flame in the hearts.
10:45-10:55 PM
Die Kreativbeamten (Creative Clerks / AT): Brutal Germanization of tragic English love songs from the former lost century full of war and anger. Singing and Banjo – Guaranteed without emotion!
10:55-11:00 PM
Tragic romantic danube tune interpreted on the accordion by Stefan Mittlböck-Jungwirth-Fohringer (AT).
Connecting Cities is initiated by Public Art Lab in cooperation with Ars Electronica Futurelab Linz, Medialab-Prado Madrid, FACT Liverpool, Videospread Marseille, iMAL Brussels, Riga 2014, BIS Istanbul, m-cult Helsinki, Media Architecture Institute Vienna, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, in association with Aarhus University, Marseille-Provence 2013, MUTEK Montreal, Quartier des Spectacles Montreal, Foundation Bauhaus Dessau, Verve Cultural Sao Paulo, Federation Square Melbourne, xm:lab Saarbrücken, Sapporo Media Arts Lab, ETOPIA Zaragoza, The Concourse Sydney and 403 International Arts Center Wuhan.
With support of the Culture Programme 2007-2013 of the European Union.
Find more information on www.connectingcities.net