Sofia
Project public preposition
public stage
Year 2013
Institution Goethe-Institut Sofia /BG
Place National Academy of Art, Sofia /BG
Curator Vanja Koubadinska, Rudolf Bartsch
Technique Stages, banner, trusses, 5 spotlights, power supply, 24h webcam
Thanks Tsvetelina Aleksieva, Rudolf Bartsch, Svetoslav Kokalov, Vanja Koubadinska, Olja Mateeva, Maja Stefanova, Enzio Wetzel
Photographer Video stills: Streamer.bg, Goethe-Institut Sofia /BG
Supported by Streamer.bg, Sofia /BG

public stage, Sofia, 2013

The events on a public stage that was built in the center of the Bulgarian capital Sofia for three weeks were broadcast live on the Internet via a webcam. In this way the platform was a promise to everyone: not just the “15 minutes of fame” propagated by Andy Warhol, but also the chance for exposition without the direct confrontation of an audience. While the real bodily experience on the classic location-bound stage remained, the risks and consequences of failure were cushioned in a protective virtual space. The temporal and spatial disengagement of exposition and observation in turn led elsewhere to its overlapping: as a protective free space for public speech and as a controlled compulsory space of surveillance the function of the stage oscillated between “Speakers’ Corner” and Big Brother. (JO)