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1. World and Reality

Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist

– Ludwig Wittgenstein

Introduction: Resonance

When we look around in our world, we encounter a lot of stuff in it: chairs, telephones, planes, trains, or automobiles. However, this stuff means something to us: we can use a chair to sit on, or a train to get from A to B.

However, apart from this more functional meaning, the stuff we encounter also has a particula meaning for us: my telephone means something to me, as yours does to you. However, the meaning I attach to my telephone is (in all likelihood) different from the meaning you attach to yours.

And it is probable that you have some stuff that only has a meaning, a significance for you, like a stone you picked up when you were a kid, some poster or design you created when you were a juvenile. Or there are things that mean something to you and to people like you, or you gravitate towards (kind of) people that attach (kind of) the same significance to the same (kind of) objects...

All this leads us to conclude that the world we experience is something different than the object we encounter in it. In this first session, we are going to investigate the way this works. In so doing, we will look into resonance as a meaningful way of relating to the world.

Case studies

Who What Where
IkeguchiLab Metronomes synchronizing (2014) Youtube
William Forsythe Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time Youtube
William Forsythe The Fact of the Matter Youtube
William Forsythe City of Abstracts Youtube
Martha Colburn Join the Freedom (2009) Youtube
MIT Lab Resonance (2026) Youtube
Nikita Diakur Ugly (2017) Youtube (excerpt)

Lectures

John Cage about Silence

John Cage is the composer of the famous piece 4'33". With this work, he questions the role of silence in music. At the time of its conception, Cage was studying Zen Buddism under Daisetz Suzuki, which led him to conclude that "each and every thing in all of time and space is related to each and every other thing in all of time and space". In this interesting lecture on youtube, he talks about the role of silence in his philosophy and musical compositions.

John Cage on silence
Figure 1: John Cage on silence

Tate Collective: Rebecca Horn – Body Extensions and Isolation

Rebecca Horn was a German visual artist best known for her installation art, film directing and body modifications such as Einhorn (Unicorn), a body-suit with a very large horn projecting vertically from the headpiece wikipedia. In this video on youtube, Joey from Tate Collective London presents her perspective on this performative artwork.

Rebecca Horn, Übungen in neun Stücken
Figure 2: Rebecca Horn, Übungen in neun Stücken

Sonic Acts: Philip Vermeulen on making More Moiré

Philip Vermeulen on the making of More Moiré (Sonic Acts). See this presentation on youtube.

Philip Vermeulen More Moiré
Figure 3: Philip Vermeulen More Moiré

Literature

  • Rosa, H., 2018, The Idea of Resonance as a Sociological Concept

  • Rosa, 2022:

    • §IV.3: Kognitieve Landkarten und kulturelle Weltbilder (pp.215-225; English edition: Cognitive Roadmaps and Cultural Worldviews, pp.126-132).
    • §IV.4: Landkarten der Bewertung und des Begehrens (pp.225-235; English edition: Roadmaps of Desire and Evaluation, pp.132-138).
    • §V.3: Resonanz (pp.281-299; English edition: Resonance, pp.164-174).
    • §V.4: Entfremdung (pp.299-316; English edition: Alienation, pp.174-184).