By: Jonas Blume / Created with: Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013)
Jonas Blume
Rhythm Zero Los Santos
Talk with Jonas Blume, Christoph Bareither and Janne Kummer
Video work also available from 20:00
Afterwards available at the HAUthek until 31.1.
- Dialogue
- Digital Art
- Online
What happens when an artist relinquishes all control in a violent game like “Grand Theft Auto”? In the video work “Rhythm Zero Los Santos”, Jonas Blume places the fate of his avatar in the hands of other players.
By surrendering his virtual alter ego to the game world of “Grand Theft Auto” without intervening, Jonas Blume becomes part of a structure in which power and transgressions are continuously negotiated – and his avatar is constantly attacked by fellow players. The video work is inspired by Marina Abramović’s performance “Rhythm 0” (1974) and Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece” (1964), in which they remained inactive as artists and invited visitors to perform actions on their bodies with various objects. In both cases, control over the situation was transferred to the audience.
In “Rhythm Zero Los Santos,” the virtual space becomes a dangerous place. Even though the players remain anonymous and the weapons only exist digitally, the aggression shown remains frighteningly real. This raises the question of the significance of social gender in the perception of this violence, especially in comparison to the performances by Abramović and Ono. The difference between the avatars in “Grand Theft Auto” and the artists’ bodies shifts the perspective: it shows how gender attributions are structured, who appears capable of action and who appears vulnerable.
For the third time, HAU presents an artistic exploration of the video game “Grand Theft Auto,” asking what makes this game so appealing. Janne Kummer,Jonas Blume and Christoph Bareither will discuss this topic.
Jonas Blume is a media artist who explores the intersection of reality and fiction. In his work, he combines generative image technologies, artificial intelligence, and physical installations. He investigates topics such as cyber identity, virtual physicality, and the projection of fictional narratives onto ecological systems. Blume received a BFA from the Pratt Institute, New York, and an MA in Visual Anthropology from the FU Berlin. His works have been exhibited internationally, for example at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, the Centre Pompidou, the Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen, and the Goethe Institutes in Montreal and Toronto. In 2024, his work “Bodies” was shown in an exhibition curated by Peggy Schoenegge at HAU Hebbel am Ufer.
Christoph Bareither is a professor of empirical cultural studies with a focus on digital anthropology at the University of Tübingen. His research and teaching focus on the ethnographic study of everyday digital cultures. The aim of his work is to contribute to urgent socio-political debates by shedding light on the transformations of everyday practices and experiences enabled by digital technologies (e.g. artifical intelligence, social media, digital image technologies, video games). In addition to these topics, he is further developing the methods of digital ethnography and computer-assisted data analysis and heads the Digital Anthropology Lab, which sees itself as an international and interdisciplinary hub for the ethnography of everyday digital cultures.
Janne Kummer is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of performing and digital art, game design, music and critical theory. Kummer’s work explores the representational politics of bodies in both analogue and digital space, currently focusing on current developments in Artificial Intelligence. Kummer uses their work as a tool to question existing power structures and develop alternative queer feminist visions of the future. Kummer’s creative process is based on a somatic understanding and recognizes the body as a primary source of knowledge. Janne Kummer’s background as a martial artist (Muay Thai and K1) forms the basis for the performative movement practice. Janne Kummer recently presented her work “Unreal Conditionals” at HAU Hebbel am Ufer.
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Notes:
Price: 5 €
The conversation begins at 20:00 and takes place live. Questions can be asked via chat. Excerpts from the work Rhythm Zero Los Santos will be part of the conversation. This video work (112 mins.) can also be viewed independently of the conversation.
By purchasing a ticket, you will receive access to both the discussion and the video work.
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