Editorial / Manfred Grübl, Linda Klösel / Version 2

In the third issue of our magazine VERSION No. 2, we explore cultural and artistic practices that, in the broadest sense, engage in dialogue with activist, subcultural, and pop-cultural discourses. VERSION is a conceptual art project that counters exclusionary market dynamics with self-initiative and presents spaces for action that have the potential to impact socio-political systems.

While the first CD/DVD edition, introduced in VERSION No. 0, focused primarily on electronic music, the second edition featured philosophical and conceptual approaches. In a limited edition of ten copies, eleven artists, musicians and philosophers were each presented who use sound as an overarching basic material. Complementing this, VERSION No. 1 was published with contributions addressing a wide range of performative action spaces.

In an interview with Claire Parnet, Gilles Deleuze remarked: “To stand up for freedom, to become revolutionary, is nothing other than to engage in jurisprudence. Law is created through jurisprudence, not through the respect for human rights or justice.” Taking him at his word, fundamental and human rights must be constantly renegotiated through acts of resistance to avoid becoming mere attitudes. Resistance manifests in various forms and is inventive in its methods—from Erdem Gündüz’s silent performance during the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul to guerrilla gardening as a subtle form of political protest and civil disobedience in public space. Beyond representation or parliamentary reform, resistance movements seek direct ways to overcome perceived injustice—to (re)create conditions understood as fair and just or to lay the groundwork for a better life. Subversive forms of expression and action often operate on the boundaries between legality and illegality, blurring these lines in order to question the interlinking structures within social movements.

In this issue, AO& report on their engagement with unusual conditions for residence, communication, and production. Övül Ö. Durmusoglu writes about the work of Nilbar Güreş, which addresses the role of Muslim women in public space, and musicians Philipp Quehenberger and Didi Kern are interviewed by Manfred Grübl about their collaborative projects. Tina Leisch contributes a piece on her new documentary film Roque Dalton, erschießen wir die Nacht!, developed in collaboration with Erich Hackl. Roque Dalton is considered El Salvador’s most significant poet and a most consistent ideologue, sentenced to death twice by military dictatorships and ultimately assassinated by someone within his own ranks on May 10, 1975. Sociologist Eva Kratzwald examines the phenomenon of urban commons and analyzes the increasingly intense conflicts surrounding public space. Fatih Aydogdu sheds light on the reordering of Istanbul’s art scene in the aftermath of the Gezi uprising. Together with Claudia Cavallar, we reflect on the work of Russian architect and artist Alexander Brodsky, whose architectural designs reveal a deep skepticism toward consumerist and technological solutions. Sixpackfilm introduces itself as a distribution agency for Austrian experimental film and video, and last but not least, the core concept of Saprophyt is carried forward in a discussion of the art space run by Barbara Kapusta and Stephan Lugbauer, conceived as an ever-evolving conversation.