| Traffic,
trade and the realm of signification: An ongoing exchange between
continents
Dietrich Heißenbüttel
Origin: Static Issue 02
Content: PDF
"When, in 1996, the Cameroonian artist Barthélémy
Toguo, who had studied in Abidjan, Grenoble and Düsseldorf
respectively, flew in from Duala to the airport Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle
of Paris, he carried with him three roughly carved, massive wooden
suitcases. In his own words: ‘Evidently, policemen experienced
a devilish pleasure to ransack my suitcases. That gave me the
idea to give them a new opportunity to prove their talents.’
The unusual luggage attracted the attention of children and fellow
passengers, and then the security forces, who directed the artist
to the customs office. ‘There, the police literally began
to auscultate my luggage and attempted to open it up. An impressive
arsenal was summoned in order to examine my three suitcases: X-rays,
torches, laser, and a fluoroscopic screen. The examination lasted
for two hours..."
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Contributor:
Dietrich Heißenbüttel
is a critic and art historian writing for daily newspapers and
magazines such as springerin and Neue Zeitschrift
für Musik. He studied Art History and Comparative Literature
and written his PhD on wall paintings in medieval rock churches
in Southern Italy. Subsequently, he was a fellow of the Academy
Schloss Solitude, where he began to work at his present study
“The Globalization of the Arts”, aiming at a new theoretical
framework for the history of the arts in a worldwide perspective.
He has participated in several conferences and is currently supervising
“Global Interplay”, an exchange project among young
composers of five different countries that is part of the ISCM
World New Music Festival 2006, in Stuttgart.
Associated Links:
http://sundoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/diss-online/00/03H067/index.htm
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