Licht in der Literatur - Light in Literature - Workshop Ruairí O'Brien - 26.02.2015

Impulsvortrag und Workshop „Licht in der Literatur“ von Ruairí O‘Brien

Venue: Erich Kästner Museum Dresden  

Wann: 26.2. 2015 - 19 Uhr

Im Raumzwischen Helligkeit und Dunkelheit, zwischen Licht und Schatten und natürlich zwischen Dichtung und Realität, da sitzen wir.

Wo findet man Licht in der Literatur? Überall wo jemand morgens aufsteht, um Kaffee zu kochen, wo die warme Sonne blendet und verführt oder wo die Wolken vorbeifliegen, um Schatten zu spenden oder wo man einen Sonnenuntergang erlebt und einen romantischen Blickkontakt erwartet oder das Erscheinen von Dr. Jekyll, oder wenn aus der Dunkelheit durch ein Streichholz für einen kurzen Moment ein Gesicht aufleuchtet.

In der Literatur wird Licht als Instrument verwendet, um kinematische Momente zu erzeugen, um Moods und Stimmungen zu evozieren und um metaphorische Botschaften zu überliefern. Licht in der Literatur ist wie ein Klavier der Sinne, das Emotionen und Verstand gleichzeitig bespielen kann. Ähnlich wie die Macht von Duft und Musik kann Licht unsere Instinkte, unsere Gefühls- und Gedankenwelt berühren.

Der Workshop beginnt mit einem Impulsvortrag, in dem mit den Augen des Künstlers die Rolle von Licht in der Literatur erfasst wird - in einer persönlichen Reise durch die Geschichte, von der Bibel über die Aufklärung bis zur Literatur heute.

Präsentiert werden passende Momentaufnahmen aus Werken unterschiedlicher Autoren, u.a. von Erich Kästner, Kurt Vonnegut und Viktor Klemperer, um zu veranschaulichen, wo Licht in der Literatur verwendet wird und warum.

Im zweiten Teil werden kleine Szenen aus verschieden literarischen Werken mit Hilfe von Text und einer Lichtquelle nachgestellt und in kleinen Filmausschnitten dokumentiert.

 
ENGLISH:

Light in Literature - Workshop and impulse lecture:

We sit in a space between light and shadow, bright and dark, between the imagined and the real.

Where do we find light in literature? Everywhere. Where someone wakes up in the morning to make a coffee. Where the warm sun blinds and seduces or where the movement of the clouds offer an escape in the protection of a shadow. Where the sunset awakes the expectation of a romantic turn or the appearance of Dr. Jeykll or when, in the darkness a face appears, lit for a short moment through the lighting of a match.

Light in literature is an instrument, which creates cinematic moments, evokes moods and feelings. It can transport or convey deep metaphorical messages. Light in literature is like a piano of the senses where emotional and rational thoughts are simultaneously played upon. Dark and bright tones, half tones, blinding silences guide us. Similar to the power of smell and music, light can touch the inner worlds where our instincts, our thoughts, our feelings reside. 

The workshop will begin with a short impulse talk given by the artist about the role light plays in literature. This will encompass a journey through chosen moments in the literature beginning with the bible, touching on the enlightenment and finishing with the literature of today. This will be followed by a discussion where appropriate passages from authors such as Erich Kaestner, Kurt Vonnegut und Viktor Klemperer will be focused upon to demonstrate where light is used and why.

In the second part, small scenes from different works of literature will be sketch-staged with support from texts and an appropriate lighting source. The resulting installations will be captured on film.

Ruairí O’Brien

"Warum hat es moderne Architektur so schwer?" - Ruairí O'Brien gives talk on understanding and misunderstanding contemporary architecture

Contemporary architecture - Zeitgenössische Architektur

Why do so many people dislike modern architecture? 

My first question is…Is that so?

Which period of modern architecture is the subject of so much discontent?

The description Modern architecture is difficult for one, in English this can mean relating to recent times or the present, but more often than not some think of a style closely linked to the Bauhaus tradition which makes “modern” almost historical. Very quickly the jump is then made to anonymous cold glass objects which contribute very little to every day street life or the brutal drab and dreary concrete blocks that popped up everywhere in the 60’s and 70’s all over the world. One does not have to talk with lay people very long to notice that for all the good and great architecture that can be found in the world, the sheer mass of ugly and soulless buildings we have to live within our everyday life’s outweigh any positive feelings that one would like to associate with the word architecture. The “bad buildings” have left their mark on the public memory to such an extent that the perception of architecture as being something essentially good for society is almost impossible to argue.

 However interestingly enough the label “modern architecture” is very attractive for public debates and discussions. People do love to hate it; this is a challenge for us all. It was wonderful to see that 150 interested citizens came to the event organized by Creative Chemnitz” last week to discuss this big subject.

I enjoyed it very much and the positive reception inspired me to have another look at my old texts and cartoons on this subject with the intention of a possible publication. 

So watch this spot for further developments.

Thank you Chemnitz!