Directed by Ludwig Zeller

The video series “New Needs in an Augmented World” by London based artist Ludwig Zeller speculates about a future information society. Looking at how quickly information technology spreads into almost every single part of life within only a couple of years, it is not difficult to imagine that we do not know exactly what kind of implications this symbiosis between human mind and information technology could bring up within the next decades already.

The fascinating video piece reminds us a bit of Gattaca, although funnier and without the dystopian undertone. Ludwig was kind enough to share with us some of his thoughts and motivation behind the film:

“I realized that powerful inventions like the internet or an iPhone not only enable us to do more things more efficiently, but that we also unlearn skills we had before and that we change through this. Changing societies are intriguing and alienating at the same time, because you have to realize that you probably could not live happily in other times. Your mindset and socialization would not be compatible. But still it’s your world in a way.

This uncanniness about the idea that these different worlds could really be a reality – to experience it – is what I am trying to do in my speculative design practice. I am designing products for non existing people, and use film as a medium to tell minimalist stories about these places.

Aesthetically this is a fantastic challenge, how would our “stuff” actually look like in a future or an alternative world? It enables you to produce utopian/dystopian design proposals that are nonetheless bound to meaningful limits, so that the viewer can get a fascinating glimpse of another existence.”

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Directed by Sam Taylor-Wood (2002)

A genius work by video artist Sam Taylor-Wood: Take the most simple scenario you get, waive all additions like sounds or visual effects and create nevertheless a breath-taking film.
While painter of the 17th century created immutable pictures of objects in their most beautiful moments, Sam Taylor-Wood refreshes the traditional work of still life and tells simple a story about the transient nature of life.
The camera catches a dead rabbit which is decompositing rapidly before our eyes, while the mellow peach beside it stays untouched all the time. In an odd, beautiful way it shows how fast a once living being can disappear without any possibility of changing it…

If you’d like to see related works of Sam Taylor-Wood, you should also watch her film Still Life. Besides her work as a video artist, Taylor-Wood had also her directorial film debut in Nowhere Boy, a movie based on the childhood experiences of Beatles-legend John Lennon.

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Origami artist Etienne Cliquet’s “Flotille” (French for “fleet”) is a tranquil, almost meditational piece of work. I don’t know if it’s Cliquet’s amazing conception or just the macro photography … But when you watch something like this, you feel almost inclined to to take in consideration those crazy creationist theories, after all. Marvelous.

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Music: Gil Scott-Heron (remixed by Chris Cunningham)
Video: Chris Cunningham

Visual über-artist Chris Cunningham does for New York, what Gaspar Noe did for Tokyo: transforming a city into a never-ending nightmare. Get into the void with this rigorous piece of video art.
(Please do excuse the commercial before the video starts – please go to http://chriscunningham.com/ for a commercial-free stream

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