The Preface
Informal Conversation on Politics, Philosophy and Art
22.09.2024, 18:00
We invite you to The Preface, a conversation on politics, philosophy and art, acting as a prolegomenon to the Dialogical Reason conference.
Taking the work of the participants of this event – in particular, Ray Brassier, Inigo Wilkins and Reza Negarestani – as a point of departure, we will consider and interrogate where art and philosophy converge and diverge when reflecting the meaning of (current) political struggle. Can we claim an “outside” from which to critique the political “efficacy” of our work and through our sometimes distinct, sometimes overlapping disciplines? Is it possible or even desired to work towards a position?
As a preface to The Preface, we will organize a reading group consisting of two sessions:
Preface to The Preface 1: Noise, Art and Politics
04.09.2024, 19:30
Hosted by Martina Raponi (a.k.a. Noiserr)
We will read and discuss Ray Brassier’s Genre is Obsolete (2009), Inigo Wilkins’ Topos of Noise (2023) and Eduarda Neves’ Minor Bestiary (2024).
Preface to The Preface 2: Abstraction in Thought and Art
11.09.2024, 19:30
Hosted by Jack Segbars
We will read and discuss Reza Negarestani’s The Labor of the Inhuman, Part I: Human and Part II: The Inhuman (2014) and The Human Centipede: A View From the Art World (2013/2024).
All the texts are accessible online via the hyperlinks.
This event is organized by Maziar Afrassiabi, Sonia de Jager and Ties van Gemert who will guide the discussion together with Martina Raponi, Jack Segbars and Inigo Wilkins on 22 September.
Practical information
Preface to The Preface 1
at Rib’s music studio Vibrato (next to Rib)
Address: Gouwstraat 56-C, 3082 BE Rotterdam
Preface to The Preface 2
at Rib
The reading group sessions are open to all, regardless of disciplinary background and motivation, and reservations are not required. While we encourage you to read the material in advance, we will still discuss the texts in detail during the sessions. We do ask that you come ready to engage in discussion, as these sessions are designed to be conversational rather than formal presentations, classes, or seminars.
The Preface
22.09.2024, 18:00
at Rib
For the event on 22 September, we kindly request that you RSVP with a brief motivation (just one or two paragraphs), as we aim to create a lively and engaged dialogue with the works of our invited guests.
Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. To sign up, please email us at communications@ribrib.nl.
Martina Raponi is a writer, artist, and researcher focused on noise and the unheard, utilizing sound performance, expanded reality, and workshops in her work. She holds a Bachelor in Humanities (University of Padua), a Master in Art Mediation (Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna), a Master in Fine Arts (Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam), and is a PhD candidate at ASCA, UvA. Martina published a book on noise, Strategie del Rumore. Interferenze tra Arte Filosofia e Underground (Milano, Auditorium Ed., 2015). She co-founded the Ansible Institute and noiserr, is part of the Noise Research Union, and is currently working on her second book, Psofotopias. Noise: Sounding Out the Unheard, expected in 2025.
Jack Segbars is an artist based in Rotterdam. He is engaged with the conditions and parameters that define the politics of art production. The interconnections between the different positions: critic writer and visual artist are mobilized as artistic investigation. In 2009 he produced the publication All Around the Periphery (Onomatopee) that deals with the overlap of positions and domains. In 2012 it was followed by Inertia (Onomatopee) a travelogue of visits to Palestine that deals with artistic engagement. Segbars regularly writes articles on art and art-related subjects for Metropolis M, Witte Raaf, Parse and Open!. He completed his PhD research at the PhDArts program of Leiden University the Netherlands.
Inigo Wilkins is a philosopher working across many disciplines. He is co-director of the online journal and research platform Glass Bead, of the Noise Research Union, and of SSTRAPP. His forthcoming book is called Irreversible Noise (Urbanomic).