Teddy Cruz has been conducting research that interests those of us who believe that there is no “and” with politics for architecture and planning practices. Participation is the buzzword for urban transformation for such a long time but the nature of participation has mostly perceived to be consensus. As the political theorist Chantal Mouffe argues, conflict is already participation that does not need to end in resolution. Borders in a “globalized” world bring the issues of autonomy, conflict, mobility and exchange which have been the main interest of Cruz along the political equator idea he suggests."
With Teddy Cruz on "Power" and "Powerlessness" interview by Şevin Yıldız
www.politicalequator.org
Two new book from the artists Sabine Bitter and Helmut Weber after their book about neoliberal uneven development and latin america:
"Autogestion, or Henri Lefebvre in New Belgrade"
Edited by Urban Subjects (Sabine Bitter, Jeff Derksen, Helmut Weber) with contributions by Sabine Bitter & Helmut Weber, Ljiljana Blagojevic, Zoran Eric, Klaus Ronneberger, and a foreword by Neil Smith. This artists’ book by Sabine Bitter and Helmut Weber presents an original and previously unpublished text from 1986 by French philosopher and urbanist Henri Lefebvre. Lefebvre’s text, central to urban restructuring processes, is based on “autogestion” (self-management). Printed as a facsimile, the text is contextualized and interpreted by accompanying commentaries and essays. The publication is available in five editions with different foldout poster covers.
Published by Fillip, Vancouver, and Sternberg Press, Berlin, 2009, English/French, 160 pages
"RIGHT, TO THE CITY"
Contributions by Reinhard Braun, Martin Hochleitner, Jeff Derksen, Michael Zinganel, Jochen Becker, Clint Burnham, Candice Hopkins, Cecily Nicholson, Heidi Schatzl. Published on the occasion of Sabine Bitter & Helmut Weber’s retrospective exhibition held this summer in Linz, RIGHT, TO THE CITY, shows the artists’ work negotiating the rhetoric of crisis and failure that surrounds the concepts of utopias, the welfare state, and socialist cities.
Published by Fotohof Edition, Salzburg and Landesgalerie Landesmuseum, Linz, 2009, German/English, 192 pages.
