JULIJ BORŠTNIK / FAZNI PREHOD (1)

Od tridesetih do sedemdesetih let 20. stoletja je bilo močno razširjeno prepričanje o neizogibnosti prehoda v družbo, kjer delo ne bo več preživetvena nuja, pač pa stvar izbire. Kjer bodo preprosta opravila prevzeli avtomatizirani stroji, ljudem, razbremenjenim rutinskih del, pa bodo ostale le bolj kompleksne naloge načrtovanja in nadziranja strojev ter odločanja.

John Maynard Keynes je v eseju Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930) na primer napovedal, da »bodo vse večjim in večjim razredom in skupinam ljudi problemi ekonomske nujnosti praktično odvzeti« ter predvidel skrčenje delavnika na tri ure. Filozofinja Hannah Arendt je konec petdesetih let zapisala: »Čeprav o tem še nimamo prave predstave, pa vendarle že vemo, da se bodo tovarne v nekaj letih izpraznile in da se bo človeštvo znebilo teže dela in jarma nujnosti.« Richtova skupina Češkoslovaške akademije znanosti in umetnosti pa je v drugi polovici šestdesetih let videla avtomatizacijo kot pot do družbe, v kateri »ima vsak posameznik možnost uporabiti moč znanstvenega védenja in oblikovati svoj obstoj na podlagi resničnega človeškega občutka za življenje«.

Od osemdesetih let dalje so se stvari obrnile precej drugače. Delovni dan se ni skrajšal, prav obratno. Nizkokvalificirana delovna mesta niso izginila, le cena jim je padla. Delež slabo plačanih mest je narasel, dobro plačanih pa padel. Nadzor nad velikim delom tehnološkega razvoja pa se je še močneje skoncentriral, lastniško in fizično.

Kaj se je zgodilo? Kako to, da so se med tridesetimi in sedemdesetimi leti prejšnjega stoletja vsi ti priznani misleci tako ušteli v ocenah zgodovinskih trendov?

[Julij Borštnik]

Julij Borštnik je kipar, njegovo ustvarjanje pa je odraz aktivnosti na številnih področjih. Začne se z raziskovalnim delom, iz katerega vleče lastne prodorne zaključke. Oblikovanje umetniških del v ateljeju je šele zaključni del procesa. Pri preučevanju sodobnosti si pomaga z ekonomijo, teorijo družbe, filozofijo in zgodovino. Njegove umetnine so heterogene – lahko so skulpture ali postavitve v prostoru, dvodimenzionalne ali trodimenzionalne konceptualne sheme, dokumentarni film, video, animacije, likovno podprta predavanja. Pogosto prevzemajo še vlogo didaktičnega pripomočka, ki razumljivo upodablja teoretične koncepte. Jasna zasnova spretno upodobljenih konceptov gledalkam_cem prinaša novo razumevanje kompleksnosti družbenega življenja, izčiščene forme pa estetsko zadovoljstvo in močan vtis.

Projekt v Galeriji Miklova hiša se osredotoča na koncept faznega prehoda, ki v fiziki pomeni premik iz ene faze termodinamičnega sistema v drugo, kot na primer pri spremembi agregatnega stanja. Smer prehajanja energije med stanji se lahko tudi obrne, novi pojavi pa dajo prostor prejšnjim (agregatnim) stanjem. Pojem faznega prehoda si je umetnik prisvojil in uporabil z namenom orisovanja družbenih pojavov. Sistem tu predstavlja družbo, faza pa množico prevladujočih principov, ki krojijo družbene procese. Fazni prehod označuje prehod družbe iz ene dominantne logike v novo. Prehode med fazami omogoča rast produktivnosti dela.

Gledalke_ce na razstavi pričaka v zraku lebdeča, impresivna tridimenzionalna instalacija iz valovitega kartona in vrvi, ki predstavlja prostorsko ponazoritev treh krivulj. Te prikazujejo tri civilizacijske faze, tri temeljne politično-ekonomske principe organizacije družbe in dela od poznega srednjega veka do danes. Prva je faza obdelovanja zemlje, obrti in zemljiškega gospostva. Ta se je konec 18. stoletja v Evropi prelila v naslednjo, moderno fazo masovne proizvodnje in množičnih hierarhičnih struktur. Po dvesto letih rasti produktivnosti se je v šestdesetih letih 20. stoletja na Zahodu odprl potencial za prehod v fazo razvezanosti dela od preživetvene nuje. V tej fazi poglavitni izziv ni več proizvodnja, pač pa soodločanje o tem, kako in kam usmerjati nakopičene produktivne moči. Tako kot je obdelovanje zemlje skozi prehod v masovno proizvodnjo zdrsnilo iz dominantne dejavnosti v obrobno, tako prehod v naslednjo fazo vodi skozi krčenje dela za potrebe preživetja na splošno. Izginjanje nuje po rutinskih delih pa potiska v ospredje nujo po delovni sili, ki je sposobna samostojnosti odločanja. Nadaljnja rast produktivnosti zato zahteva reorganizacijo odnosov v smeri družbe soodločanja.

Avtor poudarja, da smer prehodov med fazami ni zagotovljena. V sedanji turbulentni postmoderni situaciji se fokus produktivnih moči močno nagiba tudi v smer krepitve nadzora, omejevanja iniciative in v zamrzovanje razrednih odnosov – v smeri nekakšnega novega tlačanstva. Navzkrižno polje družbenih silnic, tako tistih, ki vlečejo skozi prehod v novo fazo, kot tistih, ki vlečejo v predhodno, predstavlja talna instalacija iz vijugastih kartonskih linij in puščic lepilnega traku. Razstavo dopolnjujeta še dve stekli ter grafični prikazi faznih prehodov in silnic.

Borštnikova dela na gledalko_ca napravijo znaten vtis ne samo zato, ker abstraktno razmišljanje materializirajo kot vidno, razumljivo in otipljivo, ampak tudi zato, ker obenem utelešajo estetiko vizualnega. To mu uspe z uporabo dostopnih in cenovno ugodnih materialov po principu arte povera in po načelu naredi sam_a. S tem gledalko_ca prepriča, da so za izvirnost, učinkovitost in prepričljivost veliko bolj kot količina sredstev za materialno realizacijo dela pomembni poglobljen razmislek, iznajdljivost in navdih.

[Julij Borštnik, Ana Grobler, Sebastian Krawczyk]

From the 1930s to the 1970s, there was a widespread belief in the inevitability of the transition to a society where work would no longer be a survival necessity, but rather a matter of choice. Where simple tasks will be taken over by automated machines, while people, relieved of routine works, will be be left with only more complex tasks of machine design and control as well as decision-making.

In Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren (1930), John Maynard Keynes, for instance, announced, that ‘problems of economic necessity will be basically taken away from more and more groups of people’ and predicted the reduction of a working day to three hours. The philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote in the late 1950s: ‘Although we do not have a real idea about this, we already know that factories will be emptied in a few years and that humanity will get rid of the weight of work and the yoke of necessity.’ Moreover, Richt’s Group at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and Arts in the second half of the 1960s, saw automation as a path to a society in which ‘each individual has an opportunity to use the power of scientific knowledge and shape their own existence on the basis of true human sense of life.’

From the 1980s on, things turned out quite differently. The working day has not been shortened, quite the opposite. Low-skilled jobs have not disappeared, they are just paid less. The percentage of low-paid jobs increased and the percentage of well-paid ones decreased. The control over a large part of technological development, in addition, has become even more concentrated, both in terms of ownership and physically.

What happened? How come that between the 1930s and 1970s all those acclaimed thinkers were so wrong in their estimates of historical trends?

[Julij Borštnik]

Julij Borštnik is a sculptor, and his original work is a reflection of his activities in many areas. It begins with research work, from which he draws his own ingenious conclusions. Designing works of art in the studio is only the final part of the process. He helps himself with economics, social theory, philosophy and history to study human life. His works of art are heterogeneous, they can be sculptures of installations in space, two-dimensional or three-dimensional conceptual schemes, documentary film, video, animations or lectures supported with fine art. They often take on also the role of a didactic toot that straightforwardly depicts theoretical concepts. The clear design of skilfully portrayed concepts brings viewers a new understanding of the complexity of social life, whereas the refined forms bring aesthetic satisfaction and a strong impression.

The project in the Miklova hiša Gallery focuses on the concept of a phase transition, which in physics means a shift from one phase of a thermodynamic system to another, such as a change in the state of matter. The direction of the energy transfer between states can also be reversed, and new phenomena give way to previous states (of matter). The artist appropriated and employed the concept of phase transition with the purpose of outlining social phenomena. The system here represents a society, whilst the phase stands for the multitude of prevailing principles that shape social processes. Phase transition marks the transition of society from one dominant logic to a new one. The transitions between phases are enabled by the growth of labour productivity.

At the exhibition, the viewers are greeted by a floating, impressive three-dimensional installation, made of corrugated cardboard and rope, which represents a spatial illustration of three curves. These show three phases of civilization, three basic political and economic principles of the organization of society, and work, from the late Middle Ages to the present day. The first is the phase of land cultivation, crafts and land management. At the end of the 18th century in Europe, it spilt over into the next, modern phase of mass production and mass hierarchical structures. After two hundred years of productivity growth in the 1960s, in the West, the potential opened up for a transition into the phase of separation of work from the necessity of survival. At this stage, the main challenge is no longer production, but rather co-decision-making on how and where to direct the accumulated productive forces. Just as tillage through the transition to mass production has slipped from a dominant activity to a peripheral one, so the transition to the next phase leads through a shrinking of labour for survival in general. Furthermore, the disappearance of the need for routine work pushes to the fore the need for a workforce capable of independent decision-making. Further productivity growth thus requires a reorganization of relations towards a co-decision-making society.

The author stresses that the direction of transitions between the phases is not guaranteed. In current turbulent postmodern situation, the focus of productive forces also skids heavily towards straightening control, limiting initiative and freezing class relations — in the direction of a kind of new serfdom. The cross-field of social forces, both those pulling through the transition to the new phase and those pulling into the previous one, is represented by a floor installation made of winding cardboard lines and arrows of adhesive tape. The exhibition is completed by two glasses and graphic representations of phase transitions and forces.

Borštnik’s works make a significant impression on the viewer, not only because they materialise abstract thinking as visible, understandable and tangible, but also since they simultaneously embody the aesthetics of the visual. He succeeds in this by using accessible and affordable materials on the arte povera and DIY principles. With this, he convinces the viewer that in-depth reflection, ingenuity and inspiration are much more important for originality, efficiency and cogency than the amount of funds for the material realisation of the work.

[Julij Borštnik, Ana Grobler, Sebastian Krawczyk]

Razstavo so finančno omogočili Občina Ribnica, OKNA TIM d.o.o. in ERTL GLAS STEKLO d.o.o.

Foto: Mitja Ilc

Foto: Mitja Ilc