Invitations II - Mark Aerial Waller with Donald Kunze

Technecast

Throughout November, Technecast is hosting the Invitations Series, which is made up of four conversations by Judah Attille, Therese Henningsen, Mark Aerial Waller and Astrid Korporaal.Each episode is based on a research encounter with a creative practitioner connected to the field of sound and moving image.This week, Mark Aerial Waller is in conversation with Donald Kunze, talking about Kunze's thought project ‘Boundary Language’, which considers relationships between interiority and exteriority. Kunze brings together concepts from the 17th century philosopher Giambattista Vico into association with Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Žižek and George Spencer Brown, as a basis for his ongoing work: The Boundary Language Project. The project is energetic and expansive, itself dissolving the edges of conventional research approaches. The essay ‘The Hysteric’s Dreamworld: Uncanny Crossings in The Dead of Night’ [http://art3idea.psu.edu/locus/APCS.pdf], acts as a starting point for Aerial Waller's further reflection on the uncanny in cinema and its potential to provide challenging situations and freedom from preconceived ideas.This interview starts from an introduction of some key terms, before listening to a scene from the soundtrack of Dead of Night, followed by consideration of how Kunze’s work can lend itself to political action regards flipped boundaries.Kunze, D. (1987) Thought and Place: The Architecture of Eternal Places in the Philosophy of Giambattista Vico. NY: Peter Lang: [http://art3idea.psu.edu/locus/thoughtplace.pdf] Additional video by Donald Kunze, going further into the ‘Haunted Mirror’: [https://youtu.be/RvqQLH7_TIE]*Mark Aerial Waller’s work transitions between video, photography and installation across the narrative languages of film, television and video art. His work integrates cross-references of film, music, art, astronomy, history, science and literature with elements of pop culture that coexist in our memory. Waller blurs the lines that characterise and delimit each of these areas. His work dissolves cinematic genres and perceptions, to open a space for curiosity and the unexpected. On doing so, he creates works of unlimited significance, that fluctuates between the conceptual and the material, the cultured and the popular, the work of art and life, allowing different levels of interpretation that change through the spectator’s experience. www.markaerialwaller.comDonald Kunze was born in North Carolina and educated at N.C. State University School of Design, studying Architecture, then at Georgia State University he undertook graduate study in geography, with an interest in gentrification, voluntary community organisations, and perception of place. He pursued doctoral studies at Penn State University, where he expanded his interests to include the study of culture, philosophy, and literary criticism, becoming emeritus professor. In 1985 he co-founded the Commonplace Conferences, a series of symposia dedicated to the collaborative interests of philosophers, geographers and architects on the topic of place. Amongst his publications are Thought and Place, The Architecture of Eternal Places in the Philosophy of Giambattista Vico, and an extensive library of papers making up his website on Boundary Language www.art3idea.psu.edu . He continues to teach, advise, and write, emphasising workshops, and special events in collaboration with Claudio Sgarbi, dedicated to exploring relationships linking the arts, film, literature, and architecture.*Thanks to Astrid, Mark, Judah & Therese for sharing Invitations with Technecast. We'll be back next week with Judah's conversation with Taylor Le Melle.*Image: Mark Aerial Waller, Yoga Horror (admixed Dead of Night 1945 with video yoga routine and reenacted scenes) 2014. Image CAAM, Gran Canaria 2020. Photographer Nacho Gonzalez