The Dreigroschen Times

KURULUK HABERLER
. Uluslararas stanbul Bienali th International stanbul Biennial September Eyll November Kasm kratrler curated by What, How & for Whom / WHW
Sayn baylar, bize hep ders verirsiniz: | Aman, gnah, ayp, kt, yanl. | A karnna kuru t ekilmez. | nce doyur beni, ondan sonra konu. | Sende gbek, bizde ahlak nedense. | imdi bizi iyice dinle bak; | ster yle dn, istersen byle: | nce ekmek gelir, arkadan ahlak. | Artk vermek gerek, unutmayn sakn, | Tm nimetlerden, payn yoksullarn. nsan neyle yaar? nsan neyle yaar: Ezip hi durmadan. | Soyup, dvp, yiyip yutarak insanlar. | Yaayabilmek iin hemen unutmal, | nsanl unutmal insan. Kat gerek budur, kanlmaz | Ktlk yapmadan yaanamaz. Efendiler bize ahlaksz dersiniz | Kt kadn, utanmaz fahie | A karnna sulanmak hi ekilmez | nce doyur beni ondan sonra syle | Sende ehvet, bizde edep nedense | imdi bizi iyice dinle bak; | ster yle dn, istersen byle: | nce ekmek gelir, arkadan ahlak. | Artk vermek gerek, unutmayn sakn, | Tm nimetlerden, payn yoksullarn. nsan neyle yaar? nsan neyle yaar: Ezip hi durmadan, | Soyup, dvp, yiyip yutarak insanlar. | Yaayabilmek iin hemen unutmal, | nsanln unutmal insan. Kat gerek budur, kanlmaz. | Ktlk yapmadan yaanamaz. TRKEYE EVIREN: Tuncay avdar What Keeps Mankind Alive? You gentlemen who think you have a mission | To purge us of the seven deadly sins | Should rst sort out the basic food position | en start your preaching: thats where it begins | You lot, who preach restraint and watch However much you twist, whatever lies you tell | Food is the rst thing. Morals your waist as well | Should learn for all time how the world is run: | follow on. | So rst make sure that those who now are starving | Get proper helpings when we do the carving. What keeps mankind alive? e fact that millions | Are daily tortured, stied, punished, silenced, oppressed. | Mankind can keep alive, thanks to its brilliance | In keeping its humanity repressed. | For once, you must try not to shirk the facts: | Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts. You say the girls may strip with your permission. | You draw the lines dividing art from sin. | So rst sort out the basic food position | en start your preaching: thats where we begin. | You lot, who bank on your desires and our disgust | Should learn for all time much you twist | Food is the rst thing. Morals follow on. | So rst how the world is run: | Whatever lies you tell, however make sure that those, who now are starving | Get proper helpings when we do the carving. What keeps mankind alive? e fact that millions | Are daily tortured, stied, punished, silenced, oppressed. | Mankind can keep alive, thanks to its brilliance | In keeping its humanity repressed. | For once, you must not try to shirk the facts: | Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts. K. Weill / B. Brecht, e reepenny Opera, PENGUIN CLASSICS, . TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY Ralph Manheim & John Willett

nsan Neyle Yaar?

nsan Neyle Yaar? Sayn baylar, bize hep ders verirsiniz: | Aman,
beni, ondan sonra konu. | Sende gbek, bizde ahlak nedense. | gelir, arkadan ahlak. | Artk vermek gerek, unutmayn sakn, yaar: Ezip hi durmadan. | Soyup, dvp, yiyip yutarak Kat gerek budur, kanlmaz | Ktlk utanmaz fahie | A karnna

gnah, ayp, kt, yanl. | A karnna kuru t ekilmez. | nce doyur imdi bizi iyice dinle bak; | ster yle dn, istersen byle: | nce ekmek | Tm nimetlerden, payn yoksullarn. nsan neyle yaar? nsan neyle insanlar. | Yaayabilmek iin hemen unutmal, | nsanl unutmal insan. yapmadan yaanamaz. Efendiler bize ahlaksz dersiniz | Kt kadn, sulanmak hi ekilmez | nce doyur beni ondan sonra syle | Sende ehvet, bizde edep nedense | imdi bizi iyice dinle bak; | ster yle dn, istersen byle: | nce ekmek gelir, arkadan ahlak. | Artk vermek gerek, unutmayn sakn, | Tm nimetlerden, payn yoksullarn. nsan neyle yaar? nsan neyle yaar: Ezip hi durmadan, | Soyup, dvp, yiyip yutarak insanlar. |

nsan Neyle Yaar?

Yaayabilmek iin hemen unutmal, | nsanln unutmal insan. Kat gerek

budur, kanlmaz. | Ktlk yapmadan yaanamaz. TRKEYE EVIREN: Tuncay avdar

What Keeps Mankind Alive? You gentlemen who think you have a
mission | To purge us of the seven deadly sins | Should rst sort out the basic food position | en start your preaching: thats where it begins | You lot, who preach restraint and watch your waist as well | Should learn for all time how the world is run: | However much you twist, whatever lies you tell | Food is

the rst

What Keeps Mankind Alive?

Morals follow on. |
So rst make sure that those who now are starving | Get proper helpings when we do the carving. What keeps mankind alive? e fact that millions | Are daily tortured, stied, punished, silenced, oppressed. | Mankind can keep alive, thanks to its brilliance | In keeping its humanity repressed. | For once, you must try not to shirk the facts: | Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts. You say the girls may strip with your permission. | You draw the lines dividing art from sin. | So rst sort out the basic food position | en start your preaching: thats where we begin. | You lot, who bank on your desires and our disgust | Should learn for all time how the world is run: | Whatever lies you tell, however much you twist | Food is the rst thing. Morals follow on. | So rst make sure that those, who now are starving | Get proper helpings when we do the carving. What keeps mankind alive? e fact that millions | Are daily tortured, stied, punished, silenced, oppressed. | Mankind can keep alive, thanks to its brilliance | In keeping its humanity repressed. | For once, you must not try to shirk the facts: | Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts. K. Weill / B. Brecht,

thing.

The Dreigroschen Times

KURULUK HABERLER

. Uluslararas stanbul Bienali | th International stanbul Biennial September Eyll-November Kasm

NSAN NEYLE YAAR?

suludur savna dayal olarak, tiyatro janrlarna ilikin mevcut kavramlar ve oyunun izleyiciyle ilikisinde yaratt deiimle tiyatro aygtnda bir dnm salamt. Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs ve Pet Shop Boys gibi farkl tarzlardan sanatlarnkini de ieren saysz popler yorumu gerekletirilmi olmasna ramen, nsan Neyle Yaar? sarsc ve itici gcnden hibir ey kaybetmemi durumda. ark, . yzyl . Uluslararas stanbul Bienali, baln Trkeye nsan Neyle Yaar? olarak evrilen Denn wovon lebt der Mensch? adl arkdan alyor. Bu ark Bertolt Brechtin Elisabeth Hauptmann ve Kurt Weill ile birlikte tam yl nce yazd Kuruluk Opera adl oyunun ikinci perdesinin kapan paras. John Gayin . yzylda yazd Dilenci Operasnn bir uyarlamas olarak yazlan oyun, deki galasnda muazzam bir baar kazanm, ksa srede hem sanatsal bir biim hem de toplumsal ve siyasi deiimin bir arac olan tiyatroda devrim niteliinde deiikliklerin yolunu amt. Her ne kadar Brecht henz bir yl gemeden daha keskin ve didaktik oyunlar [Lehrstcke] yazmaya ynelse de Kuruluk Opera, yazarn Her sulu bir burjuva, her burjuva bir popler kltr tarihinde zel ve neredeyse simgesel bir rol oynamay srdrd. Yine de bir serginin bal olarak bu cmle kukusuz kulaa fazlasyla abartl gelebilir; zellikle de asl vurgunun cevapta deil de sorunun kendisinde olduu dnlrse, daha da iddial ve hatta kibirli grnebilir. Ama neden olmasn? Brechtin sorduu soru bugn de ayn aciliyeti tamyor mu? daki ekonomik krizin ardndan dnyay dntren deiimlerden pek de farkl olmayan, felaketle sonulanabilecek kresel deiimlerin yaklat korkusuyla yaamyor muyuz? Sanatn toplumsal deiime nayak olmasyla ilgili sorular, solun faizmle ve Stalinizmle kar karya geldii lardaki kadar acil cevap beklemiyor mu? Yoksa sanat janrlaryla snrlanm, kltrel eilimler olarak adlandrlabilir ve pazarlama asndan krl grnen tam kapsaml bir kltr endstrisi sistemi ve onun gne ve duruma bal olarak brnd bozuk biimlerin bu sorular cevaplam olduunu mu dnyoruz? Ancak Uluslararas stanbul Bienali gerekten de brnd her hal ve tad her balkla yerel, ulusal ve uluslararas arasndaki dinamiklerin bilindik karmaklnn ykn tayan son derece temsili bir sanat sunumu. Dolaysyla pazarlamaya, siyasi, kuramsal ve sanatsal kullanm ve suiistimallere aklyla faydal olabilecek elikiler ve beklenmedik bir aradalklar tetikleyebilecek atafatl bir balk son derece uygun da olabilir. Brechtin Marksizmi ile topya, topyac potansiyel ve sanatn siyasete alenen dahline olan inanc, hkim ada bak asndan/alarndan deerlendirildiinde phesiz biraz modas gemi, tarihsel adan yersiz ve kurumsal solun kyle neoliberal hegemonyann ykseliine tank olduumuz bu dnemle uyumsuz grnyor. Ancak asl soru bu durumun aslnda yaadmz dneme zg bir belirti olup olmad. Brechtin lar ve lerdeki inanlmaz poplerlii ve yumuak bir geile bir klasie dntrlmesinin ardndan bugnk unutulmuluu ile modas gemilii, tam da ada toplumla ve sanatn onun yaamnda oynad rolle ilgili bir eylerin ters gittiinin gstergesi deil mi? Kuruluk Opera, burjuva toplumunda mlkiyet dalm srecini konu edinir ve edebi bir anlatmla kapitalizmin, ekonominin, dahas parann kendine zg gereklik ve dinamiklerinin hl geerli bir temsilini sunar. Oyun de, Weimar Cumhuriyetinin zirvede olduu dnemde ve Hitlerin Almanyada iktidara gelmesinden hemen nce, burjuva ideolojisinin hayrseverlik, adalet sistemi, emniyet rgt, evlilik, romantizm, kardeleraras sevgi, din ve bamsz otorite gibi eitli bileenlerine acmaszca k tutar. Brecht kendisi de Gayin Dilenci Operasn yazd erken endstriyel kapitalizm dnemiyle kendi dnemi arasndaki benzerliklere iaret eder: Hl, her naslsa, ayn sosyolojik durum ierisindeyiz. Tpk iki yz yl nce olduu gibi bugn de, neredeyse her seviyede, ok eitli yollarla da olsa, ahlaki prensiplere ahlaki bir yaam srerek deil ahlakn srtndan geinerek hrmet eden bir toplumsal dzene sahibiz. Bu durum, vurgunun periyodik olarak dini ahlak ile liberal demokrasi arasnda gidip geldii gnmzde de devam ediyor.

Her sulu bir burjuva

ienal kavramsal erevesini gelitirmede Brechti bir balang noktas olarak alrken yntem sorunu da hayati bir nem tayor. Brechtin izinden giderken, onun gnmzde akademik solun bir Che Guevaras veya geleneksel ortodoks solun deimez yazar imgesini grmezden gelerek Brechtolojiye ve onun deneylerinin saysz yeniden kenin son bulduu kmaz sokaa umursamazca yz evirmek mmkn m? Bunun yerine Brechti serginin biim ve yapsn ararken nderlik edecek [kzl] bir hat olarak takip etmek, bu bakmann tesindeki yaklamla izleyiciyi daha retken bir katlmc, hatta bir su ortana dntrmek mmkn m?

rechtin bizim bugn sanatlar, yazarlar ve kratrler olarak tekrar edebileceimiz jestleri, yaklamlar ve teknikleri nelerdir? Bunun sonucu ne olabilir? Kolektif yaratclk, epik tiyatro, yabanclatrma efekti [Verfremdungseekt], bir popler eitim ve siyasi ajitasyon arac olarak sanat Sanatnn ve sanatn toplumsala mdahale ettii bu konumlar birer model olarak hl heyecan verici deil mi? Bugnn perspektinden bakldnda Brechtin bir zm veya dorudan bugne tercme edebileceimiz unutulmu bir yntem nerdii anlamna gelmiyor bu, hatta, tam aksini sylyor: Asl mesele, imdinin sorunlarn doru formle edebilmek iin bizi harekete geirecek bir siyasi-estetik boz-yap yaratabilmek.

nce ekmek gelir, arkadan ahlak

Bugn nsan Neyle Yaar? sorusu Brecht tarafndan ortaya atld ylndakinden bile daha byk bir aciliyet ve gncellik tayor. Liberal ekonominin hzl geliiminin toplumsal uzlamann dalmas zerinde de gsterdii etki ile gnmzdeki etkisi arasndaki benzerlikler arpc; bu adan, . yzyln bir dier dev yazarnn, temel eseri Byk Dnm te yaymlayan siyasal iktisat Karl Polanyinin analizini hatrlamakta yarar var. Polanyi, kstlamalar kaldrlm piyasa ekonomisinin geliimi ve ardndan faizmin ykselii zerine yapt analizde, toplumsal geliimle ekonomik geliimi uzun vadede ayrma eiliminin, son noktada toplumsal karmaa ve totaliter rejimlerin ykseliiyle sonulanacana dikkat ekiyordu. Tpk Polanyininki gibi, Brechtin kinci Dnya Sava ncesi gelimelere ilikin analizi de gnmzdeki durumla rpertici benzerlikler tayor ve zellikle dnya leinde yoksulluun ve basknn srdrlmesine hizmet eden sahte ahlaki standartlar ifa etme konusunda srar ediyor. nsan Neyle Yaar? sergi asndan, bizim ve sanatlarn bugn aciliyet tayan ekonomik ve toplumsal sorular sormamz salayan hem bir tetikleyici, hem de bir tr senaryo ilevi grecek. arknn szlerine yle bir gz gezdirdiimizde bile birok olas tema kefedebiliyoruz: Zenginlikle yoksulluun, besin kaynaklaryla aln dalm, siyasi maniplasyonlar, cinsiyete dayal bask, toplumsal normlar, nabza gre ahlak, dine dayal ikiyzllk, kiisel sorumluluk ve baskya boyun eme Bunlar kesinlikle nemli ve neredeyse nceden tahmin edilebilecek konular; birok sergi de, zellikle ada bienaller, bu konularn zerine gitmeye alyor. Bugn bienaller, kentlerin kendilerini uluslararas iletiime elverili zellikleriyle kreselleen dnya haritasnda konumlandrmak iin kullanmaya altklar kltrel turizm bileenleri, bir baka deyile, sanatn genellikle haval, ho, elenceli olarak sunulduu birer kltrel alveri esi olma eilimindeki sergiler haline geldi Brecht, sanatn lezzete dair muamele grmesi olarak nitelendirdii, sadece elence amal kullanmna phesiz eletiriyle yaklayordu, ama onun elendirici rolnden de uzak durmad. Popler kltr ve kitle kltrnde sorun, Brechtin bizi uyard zere, haz deil, hazzn ilevidir. Dolaysyla sorun, iekin iaret ettii gibi, sper-egonun elenme talebinin toplumsal dzen ve basknn ana mekanizmas haline geldii bir toplumda hazzn nasl zgr klnaca ve zevk alma yeteneine devrimci rolnn nasl iade edileceidir. Brechti tekrar gndeme getirmek ada kapitalizm koullarnda sanatsal uran rol hakknda bir dnme denemesine girimek, gnlk pratiklerimizi, deer sistemlerimizi ve eylem biimlerimizi yeniden deerlendirmek anlamna geliyor. Elbette, Fredric Jamesonn iaret ettii gibi, gnmz iin bir Brechti, Brechtte yaayan ve lm olan, postmodern veya gelecek iin bir Brechti, post-sosyalist hatta postMarksist bir Brechti, ecinsel kurama veya kimlik siyasetine uygun bir Brechti yeniden kefetmek veya hayata geirmenin Brechte fazlasyla aykr bir aba olacana phe yok. Peki Brechte yeniden kefedilmesi ve yeni kuaklara gsterilmesi gereken bir klasik olarak deil de, eitli sanatsal pratikler ile sanata yaklam modelleri, nerileri ve stratejilerinin kayna olarak dnemez miyiz?

Her burjuva bir suludur

recht bizi, kurallar hakkyla renip eletirel yetilerimizi veya mdahale ve deiim potansiyelimizi kreltmeden nerede durduumuzu tekrar tekrar yeniden dnmeye, dnyay amatr aktrlerden oluan bir yer olarak grmeye davet ediyor. Brecht, yazar ve ynetmen olarak, tiyatronun retim aygtn srekli kesip amay ve ortaya sermeyi, sonra da yapsn bozarak onu dntrmeyi hedeedi; bizi ada sanat aygtnn mevcut kmazndan kurtaracak yaklam da bu olsa gerek. Brechtin ortaya koyduu ie yararlk sorunu burada ncelikle sanat ile toplumsal ilikilerin etkileimini gzlemleme ihtiyac anlamna geliyor. Ortodoks sol bir konumla ada sanat arasndaki atmann ada sanatn anlalmasnda belirleyici bir rol oynad stanbul ve Trkiyede, kresel neoliberalizm ve yerel etnik temelli ulusalcln ifte amazndan bir k aramak kendini adamaya deecek tek ura gibi grnyor.

Dipnotlar
01 Fredric Jameson, Brecht and Method [Brecht ve Yntem], Verso, Londra-New York, 2000, s. 13. 02 Bertolt Brecht, On the Threepenny Opera/ Kuruluk Opera zerine, Threepenny Opera [ Kuruluk Opera], ed. ve ev. Ralph Manheim ve John Wilett, Penguin Classics, 2008, s. 92. 03 Jameson, age, s. 5. 04 Sreyyya Evren, Art + Politics. From the Collection of the City of Vienna / Sanat + Siyaset. Viyana ehir Koleksiyonundan iinde, editr Hedwig Saxenhuber, Viyana ehri Kltrel almalar Blm iin, 2008. [Museum on Demand: Springer Wien New York], s. 170-183.

. Uluslararas stanbul Bienali | th International stanbul Biennial September Eyll-November Kasm

The Dreigroschen Times

KURULUK HABERLER

WHAT KEEPS MANKIND ALIVE?

e th International stanbul Biennial takes its title from the song Denn wovon lebt der Mensch?, translated into English as What Keeps Mankind Alive? e song closes the second act of the play e reepenny Opera, written exactly years ago by Bertolt Brecht in collaboration with Elisabeth Hauptmann and Kurt Weill. A phenomenal success at the time of its premiere in , the play was written as an adaptation of John Gays th-century e Beggars Opera, and it set out to revolutionise theatre as both an artistic form and a tool for social and political change. Although in less than a year Brecht would proceed to write more rigorous, explicitly didactic forms of Lehrstcke, the transformation of the theatre apparatus by e reepenny Opera, based on Brechts assertion that a criminal is a bourgeois and a bourgeois is a criminal, was achieved through an alteration of the existing notions of theatre genres and the plays relationship with the audience. Despite countless popular interpretations, undertaken by artists from varying backgrounds [such as Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs and the Pet Shop Boys, to name just a few], the song What keeps mankind alive? has lost nothing of its power to unsettle and mobilise, and continued to play a special and almost emblematic role in the popular culture of the th century. Still, as the title of exhibition, it surely could be seen as being grandiosenot to mention the question mark implying that the point is in the asking and not the answeringmaking it even more pretentious. And why not? Isnt the question posed by Brecht equally urgent today? And is it not true that we live haunted by the fears of approaching global changes, consequences of which could have lasting disastrous eects, not unlike those that transformed the world aer the economic collapse of ? And arent todays questions about the role of art in instigating social changes equally pressing as they were in the s, when the Le confronted fascism and Stalinism? Or do we really consider them today to be solved within an allencompassing system of cultural industry and its contemporary malformations, conned to art genres, predictable as cultural trends, and protable for the purposes of marketing? However, the International stanbul Biennial is a highly representative art manifestation, burdened as such by the usual complexity of dynamics between the local, the national, and the international in all its guises and titles, and a grandiose title seems quite appropriatesuciently open to marketing, political, theoretical and artistic uses and misuses to trigger an avalanche of hopefully useful contradictions and unexpected constellations. It certainly seems that, seen from the dominant contemporary perspective[s], Brechts Marxism and his belief in utopia, utopian potential and open political engagement of art all look a bit dated, historically irrelevant, in dissonance with this time of the crumbling of institutional Le and the rise of neoliberal hegemony. But the real question is, isnt this in fact symptomatic? Doesnt the way in which Brecht is now forgotten and unfashionableaer his immense popularity in the s and s and a smooth transformation into a classic precisely indicate that something has gone wrong with contemporary society, along with the role of art within it? e reepenny Opera thematises the process of redistribution of ownership within bourgeois society and through a literary narrative oers a still valid representation of capitalism itself how to express the economic or, even better, the peculiar realities and dynamics of money as such. e play sheds an unforgiving light onto a variety of elements of bourgeis ideology such as charity, judiciary and police system, marriage, romance, fraternal love, religion and sovereign authority, at the very peak of the Weimar Republic in , just before Hitlers accession to power in Germany. Brecht himself pointed out similarities between the time of early industrial capitalism when Gays e Beggars Opera was written, and his own time: We still have, however, the same sociological situation. Just like two hundred years ago we have a social order in which virtually all levels, albeit in a wide variety of ways, pay respect to moral principles not by leading a moral life but by living o morality. e situation continues to this day, with the emphasis sliding periodically back and forth between religious morality and liberal democracy.

A criminal is a bourgeois

n taking Brecht as a starting position for developing the Biennial concept, the question of method is crucial. Is it possible to follow Brecht while disregarding his contemporary image of a Che Guevara of the academic Left, or a canonical author of the traditional orthodox Left, nonchalantly paying no attention to brechtology and an apparent cul-de-sac in which countless reinventions of his experiments have ended? Is it possible, instead, to follow Brecht as a kind of [red] thread that leads the way in a search for a form and format for the exhibition, which would be, so to speak, beyond looking, and could transform a viewer into a more productive participant even accomplice?

hat are Brechts gestures, approaches and techniques that we, as artists, writers, curators, can repeat today? What could be the result? Collective creativity, epic theatre, Verfremdungseekt, art as a means of popular education and political agitation Arent these models for a position of socially engaged artist, and of art itself, still exciting? It does not mean that from todays perspective Brecht is oering a deus ex machina solution or a forgotten method that we can directly translate, but exactly the opposite it is about creating a certain politicalaesthetic puzzle that could stimulate us to properly formulate the problems of the present.

Food is the rst thing. Morals follow on

Today the question What Keeps Mankind Alive? seems to be more urgent and topical than when it was rst posed by Brecht in . e similarities between the inuence of rapid developments of liberal economy on the disintegration of hitherto existing social consensus in and in contemporary times are striking, and in this respect it is useful to recall the analysis of another great author of the mid-twentieth century, political economist Karl Polanyi who published his seminal work e Great Transformation in . rough analysis of the development of the deregulated market economy and consequent rise of fascism, Polanyi warned against long-term tendencies of separating social from economical development, which in the end results in social chaos and rise of totalitarian regimes. Just like Polanyis, Brechts analysis of pre-WWII developments bears alarming resemblance to contemporary times, where the insistence on exposing false moral standards that work to perpetuate poverty and repression in the world is still in place. What Keeps Mankind Alive will serve as a trigger, as well as a certain script for the exhibition, allowing us and the artists to pose questions of economic and social urgency today. Even a quick look at the lyrics will discover many possible themes, such as the distribution of wealth and poverty, food and hunger, political manipulations, gender oppression, social norms, double morality, religious hypocrisy, personal responsibility and consent to oppression, issues certainly relevant and almost predictable, which many exhibitions especially contemporary biennial exhibitionsset out to engage with. Today, biennial exhibitions are elements of cultural tourism through which cities attempt to use their benign and internationally communicative regional specicities to position themselves on the map of the globalised world; they are manifestations tending to cultural shopping in which art is oen presented as cool, fun, entertaining Brecht was certainly critical of what he called a culinary treatment of art solely as a means of entertainment, but he did not shy away from the entertaining role of art. In the popular and mass culture, as Brecht warned us, the problem is not pleasure, but its function. e question is therefore how to set pleasure free, how to regain revolutionary role of enjoyment in a society in which, as iek points out, demands of the Super-Ego to enjoy and not repression of enjoyment have become the main mechanism of social regulation and repression. Bringing back Brecht is an attempt to think about the role of artistic endeavour in the conditions of contemporary capitalism, to reevaluate our everyday practices, our value systems and modes of operation. Of course, as Fredric Jameson points out, there would be something profoundly unBrechtian in the attempt to reinvent and revive some Brecht for our times, some what is living and what is dead in Brecht, some postmodern Brecht or Brecht for the future, a postsocialist or even post-Marxist Brecht, Brecht of queer theory or of identity politics But can we go back to Brechts uvre not as a classic that needs to be rediscovered and shown to new generations, but as a source for a variety of models, proposals, strategies of artistic practice, understanding of art?

A bourgeois is a criminal

recht invites us to rethink our position again and again, to see the world as amateur actors, without dulling our critical faculties or our potential for intervention and change by learning the rules all too well. As a writer and a director, Brecht continuously sought to slice open and display, then deconstruct and transform the theatres production apparatusit is this approach that should lead us out of the current deadlock of contemporary art apparatus. At this time, the question of usability of Brecht means rst and foremost a repeated need to observe the interaction of art and social relations. And in stanbul and Turkey, where the conict between an orthodox left position and contemporary art plays a critical role today in the understanding of contemporary art, to exit the impasse of doublebind discourses of global neoliberalism and local ethno-nationalism seems to be the only endeavour worth all the trouble.

Footnotes
01 Fredric Jameson, Brecht and Method, Verso, London-New York, 2000, p. 13. 02 Bertolt Brecht, On the Threepenny Opera, in Threepenny Opera, translated & edited by Ralph Manheim & John Wilett, Penguin Classics, 2008, p. 92. 03 Jameson, Brecht and Method, p. 5. 04 Sreyyya Evren, in Art + Politics. From the Collection of the City of Vienna, edited by Hedwig Saxenhuber for the Department for Cultural Aairs of the City of Vienna 2008, Museum on Demand: Springer Wien New York, p. 170-183.

The Dreigroschen Times

KURULUK HABERLER

. Uluslararas stanbul Bienali | th International stanbul Biennial September Eyll-November Kasm

Ne, Nasl ve Kimin iin

What, How & for Whom / WHW kurulduu ylndan bu yana almalarn Hrvatistann Zagreb kentinde srdren bir kratr kolekti ve kr amac gtmeyen bir grsel kltr kuruluudur. WHW, IVET URLIN, ANA DEVI, NATAA ILI ve SABINA SABOLOVIten olumaktadr. Kolektif, ylndan bu yana Zagreb belediyesine bal kr amac gtmeyen Nova Galerisini ynetmektedir.

What Keeps Mankind Alive?

You gentlemen who think you have a mission To purge us of the seven deadly sins Should rst sort out the basic food position Then start your preaching: thats where it begins You lot, who preach restraint and watch your waist as well Should learn for all time how the world is run: However much you twist, whatever lies you tell Food is the rst thing. Morals follow on. So rst make sure that those who now are starving Get proper helpings when we do the carving. What keeps mankind alive? The fact that millions Are daily tortured, stied, punished, silenced, oppressed. Mankind can keep alive, thanks to its brilliance In keeping its humanity repressed. For once, you must try not to shirk the facts: Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts. You say the girls may strip with your permission. You draw the lines dividing art from sin. So rst sort out the basic food position Then start your preaching: thats where we begin. You lot, who bank on your desires and our disgust Should learn for all time how the world is run: Whatever lies you tell, however much you twist Food is the rst thing. Morals follow on. So rst make sure that those, who now are starving Get proper helpings when we do the carving. What keeps mankind alive? The fact that millions Are daily tortured, stied, punished, silenced, oppressed. Mankind can keep alive, thanks to its brilliance In keeping its humanity repressed. For once, you must not try to shirk the facts: Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts.

nsan Neyle Yaar?

Sayn baylar, bize hep ders verirsiniz: Aman, gnah, ayp, kt, yanl. A karnna kuru t ekilmez. nce doyur beni, ondan sonra konu. Sende gbek, bizde ahlak nedense. imdi bizi iyice dinle bak; ster yle dn, istersen byle: nce ekmek gelir, arkadan ahlak. Artk vermek gerek, unutmayn sakn, Tm nimetlerden, payn yoksullarn. nsan neyle yaar? nsan neyle yaar: Ezip hi durmadan. Soyup, dvp, yiyip yutarak insanlar. Yaayabilmek iin hemen unutmal, nsanl unutmal insan. Kat gerek budur, kanlmaz Ktlk yapmadan yaanamaz. Efendiler bize ahlaksz dersiniz Kt kadn, utanmaz fahie A karnna sulanmak hi ekilmez nce doyur beni ondan sonra syle Sende ehvet, bizde edep nedense imdi bizi iyice dinle bak; ster yle dn, istersen byle: nce ekmek gelir, arkadan ahlak. Artk vermek gerek, unutmayn sakn, Tm nimetlerden, payn yoksullarn. nsan neyle yaar? nsan neyle yaar: Ezip hi durmadan, Soyup, dvp, yiyip yutarak insanlar. Yaayabilmek iin hemen unutmal, nsanln unutmal insan. Kat gerek budur, kanlmaz. Ktlk yapmadan yaanamaz.

e, nasl ve kimin iin, her trl ekonomik rgtlenmenin temelinde olduu kadar, sergilerin planlamalar, kavramsal ereveleri ve organizasyonlarn, sanat yaptlarnn retimi ve datmn, sanatnn i piyasasndaki konumunu da ilgilendiren temel soru. ylnda WHWnin Komnist Manifestonun . ylna adayarak Zagrebde gerekletirdii ilk projenin baln oluturan bu sorular, WHWnin dsturu ve ismine dnt. Toplumsal sermayenin sosyalizm sonras toplumsal gerekliin inasndaki aracl, WHW projelerinin geliiminin, i ve d etkinliklerinin zemini oluturdu.

WHW projeleri, sanat, teori ve medya araclyla toplumsal meselelere dair bir tartma platformu ve farkl konularda alan kltrel organizasyonlar arasnda bilgi alverii ve ibirlii modelleri olarak tasarlanmaktadr. WHW tarafndan gerekletirilen projeler, sanat sergilerinin yan sra uluslararas sanat, kratr ve kltr kuramclar tarafndan yrtlen konumalar ve kamusal tartmalar ile eitli yaynlar, ada kltrel teori ve pratikler zerine yaymlanm bir kitap, radyo yaynlar ve mdahaleler, gsterimler ve canl gsterilerden olumaktadr.

What, How & for Whom

a non-prot organization for visual culture and curators collective formed in and based in Zagreb, Croatia. Its members are curators IVET URLIN, ANA DEVI, NATAA ILI and SABINA SABOLOVI. Since May WHW has been directing the program of Gallery NOVA, non-prot, city-owned gallery in Zagreb.

TRKEYE EVIREN: Tuncay avdar

hat, how & for whom are the three basic questions of every economic organization that also concern the planning, concept and realization of exhibitions, as well as the production and distribution of artworks or artists position at the labour market. ese questions, which were the title of WHWs rst project dedicated to the th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto, in in Zagreb, became the motto of WHWs work and the title of the collective. Instrumentality of social capital in constituting the social post-socialist reality turned out to be a matrix for the development of WHWs projects

and their internal and external operations. All WHW projects have been conceived as a platform for discussing relevant social issues through art, theory and media, as well as a model of collaboration and exchange of know-how between cultural organizations of dierent backgrounds. Besides exhibitions, WHW projects encompass lectures and public discussions conducted by international artists, curators and cultural theoreticians, publications and a book edition on contemporary cultural practice and cultural theory, radio broadcasts and interventions, screenings and live acts.

Kurt Weill/ Bertolt Brecht, 1928 e reepenny Opera,

Penguin Classics, 2007. Translated into English by Ralph Manheim & John Willett

i leti i m contact Uluslararas stanbul Bienali International stanbul Biennial stanbul Kltr Sanat Vakf stanbul Foundation for Culture & Arts stiklal Caddesi 64 Beyolu 34435 stanbul, Trkiye t: +90 [212] 334 07 63 f: +90 [212] 334 07 18 e: ist.biennial@iksv.org www.iksv.org/bienal

what is fatal is always the failure to learn.

Hereabouts people have concluded that God, requiring both a Heaven and Hell, didnt need to plan two establishments but just one: Heaven. It serves the unprosperous, unsuccessful as Hell. Buralarda insanlar u sonuca varmlar, hem bir Cennete hem de Cehenneme ihtiyac olan Tanr, iki deil, sadece bir kurum tasarlam: Cennet. Ayn cennet, refaha ve baarya ulaamayanlarn Cehennemi olmu.

The Dreigroschen Times

KURULUK HABERLER
Yaymlayan | Publisher: Uluslararas stanbul Bienali International stanbul Biennial Editr | Editor: lkay Bali Metinler | Texts by WHW, Bertolt Brecht eviri | Translation: Nazm Dikba Tasarm | Design: Dejan Kri Tipogra | Typography: Baskerville Pro, Sebastian Text Pro, H&FJ Champion, Egyptienne Kt | Paper: Enzo Classic Bask | Printed by Ofset Yapmevi

medya li ki leri media relations i t: +90 [212] 334 07 57 e: medya@iksv.org

lmcl olan grenme aczidir.