Critical Studies and Basic Collaboration: Experiments in Critical Thinking

writing other places making room for positions

with Katja Grillner

Gabriella KarlénBjörn LiljequistKatla Maríudóttir

...writing other places and making room for positions...

Mixing the texts together, experimenting by cutting and pasting in order to create a hybrid text from the originals. Creating a new meaning or several, depending what you chose to read. Doing so we are celebrating the multiplicity of our different voices.

In the following pages then, our original stories appear.

Experiments in critical thinking Writing assignment 3B: Making room for positions Gabriella Karlén

It was a warm and sunny afternoon in the end of august. In an isolated part of the library room we can find two students studying frenetically. The room is surrounded with glass walls, laminated with tong; behind the pattern of it you can distinguish the old ruin. The sun finds its way to the glass walls, creating shadows of the tong sneaking around on the floor and swallows everything in its way, camouflaging the floor, furniture and even the two students into a patterned clutter. Slowly following the suns movement the shadow travels around in the library. Suddenly one beam of light from the sun finds its way through the room and hits one the students in the face. The silence breaks when the student miserable cries out,

“Ah, it is so annoying that you can never escape from the sun in here!”

The librarian passes through and stares at the two students. The mouth purses to a line and the glance are both harsh and disappointed. Forced to squint to see better the other student looks questioned and ask whispering,

“What do mean?” “The sun! It always finds you wherever you are in here” mutters a reply. “And the shadow it disturbs me, I can’t think.” “Oh, I kind of like the shadow. It’s like everything blurs into one including myself, it helps when you want to get away from everything else. “

Waiting for a reply, the respond never comes, just a raised eyebrow and the questioned face. For a period of a few minutes the sun has moved further and has now left the two students in a light shadow.

“Well… you know, when I study I want to get away from everything around so that I won’t get distracted. Being in this blurriness,” pointing at the shadows around in the library “it feels like I’m in another world. The light, the sun and shadows help me to focus.” “Well I don’t like it.” Looking out at the library and then continues in a low voice. “Sometimes the shadow is so intense, I feel like it’s slowly moving towards me and want to eat me up… It’s a bit claustrophobic.”

Not taking it any further the both students returns to their books, one with complete focus and the other with an uneasy state of mind. Slowly the setting changes once again leaving the students for the second time in sunlight.

“That bloody sun!” Raising violently from the chair, slamming both computer and book shut “I can’t stand it” the student marches out of the library in anger.

Gabriella Karlén

BLINDSPOT

by

Björn Liljequist

INT. STAFF LOUNGE - SUNSET

A simple, functional lounge on the 2nd floor of the laboratory building of

Ombla Water Research Center, Dubrovnik. Concrete walls, wooden furniture, a

light colored rug beneath a sofa table, a large arch shaped window with

VENETIAN BLINDS. Outside the window - the Ombla river, the mountains, sky

and the setting sun.

Scientist JOAN, wearing a striped shirt with rolled up sleeves and popped

collar enters the room gazing at the low sun. Joan walks up to the window

and releases the blinds which fall down instantly. Joan takes a quick look

through the blinds down at the river and some people outside beofre sitting

down on the sofa. Joan then starts going through a lab report, leaning over

the sofa table.

Scientist CAMILLE wearing a dark blue t-shirt with a yellow turtle print

enters the room. Camille walks directly up to the window, turns the blinds

to point upwards and then walks over to the kitchenette, turns on a kettle

and starts washing a very dirty coffee cup.

Without letting go of the report, Joan looks up over the papers at Camille.

JOAN

(calmly)

What are you doing?

Camille quickly looks over the shoulder in the direction of Joan but without

looking directly at Joan. Camille continues to frantically scrub the coffee

cup.

CAMILLE

What do you mean?

JOAN

Why did you turn the blinds

like that?

CAMILLE

What do you mean *like that*?

JOAN

Like *upwards*.

Camille stops scrubbing the cup for a second and looks straight in front,

into the concrete wall.

CAMILLE

Oh you mean *like that*.

Without letting go of the brush Camille moves the hand in a forward/upward

direction and then goes back to scrubbing the cup

CAMILLE (CONT’D)

Oh I guess I just like to see

the sky you know.

Joan puts the report down and leans back in the sofa.

JOAN

Ok.

(rolls eyes)

Joan goes back to silently studying the report.

Camille finishes up washing and starts wiping the cup dry with a towel while

walking over to the window. Camille gazes out between the blinds.

CAMILLE

Nice day huh?

JOAN

Yes.

Joan continues studying the report while Camille looks around through the

blinds in different directions. The kettle finishes boiling up with a tick.

JOAN

It's stupid.

Camille turns to Joan.

CAMILLE

(surprised)

Say again?

JOAN

It's stupid.

Joan drops the report while still holding a red ballpen and looks up at

Camille with a tired face.

JOAN (CONT’D)

Having the blinds like that.

Joan sighs and leans back in the sofa.

JOAN (CONT’D)

They're supposed to point

*downwards*.

Joan makes a forward/downward gesture with the pen.

JOAN (CONT’D)

The sun is usually up in the

sky so if you have the blinds

*upwards*...

(makes forward/upward gesture)

...they don't work right.

CAMILLE

(hesitates)

But the sun's not up in the

sky.

(hesitates)

It's about to set.

Camille puts a tea bag in the cup, pours hot water from the kettle and picks

up a teaspoon from a drawer.

Camille makes a horizontal gesture towards the window.

CAMILLE (CONT’D)

It's almost by the horizon.

JOAN

It doesn't matter.

They were obviously designed to

point downwards.

That's just how the designer

intended them to be used.

Joan returns to the lab report.

Camille sits down on a chair by the sofa table. Raises eye brows.

CAMILLE

The designer?

JOAN

Yes.

The designer or inventor or whatever.

The person who designed the original venetian blinds.

A CLEANING LADY wearing light blue overalls, white comfortable shoes and

off-white plastic gloves reverses into the room dragging a narrow but tall

trolley loaded with cleaning equipment.

The strangely small wheels of the trolley get stuck on the rug.

CLEANING LADY

(mumbles in poor English)

Sorry.

Very sorry.

Joan gets up from the sofa - report in hand - and Camille puts the cup down.

They both rush over to help the Cleaning Lady with the trolley.

Joan and Camille push the trolley from behind while the Cleaning Lady pulls

in front. The trolley tips over to the side once or twice but is pushed back

into balance. Joan and Camille mainly remain silent during the brief chaos

that develops. During the activities, Joan drops the lab report.

Finally, the trolley gives in and passes the edge of the rug with a slight

bang and some rattle.

Joan picks up the lab report from the floor with some help from Camille.

CAMILLE

(looking at Joan while picking up papers)

Hey..

(pauses)

I'm sorry about the blinds.

JOAN

(in a tense voice, not looking at Camille)

It doesn't matter.

(pauses)

They just..

(clears throat)

Should be downwards.

(pauses)

Makes more sense.

Camille hands the last paper to Joan who looks at Camille very briefly

before taking it. They both get up and Joan leaves the room hastily.

Camille looks at Joan leaving the room and then half running down the

stairs. Camille turns around and looks at the Cleaning Lady who has picked

up the cup and is washing it in the sink. Camille looks at the blinds and

then leaves the room.

The Cleaning Lady drags the trolley over to the window. She grabs a squeegee

and turns on a cassette deck kept in a side compartment of the trolley.

"Out of Line" by Gesaffelstein starts playing.

She pulls up the venetian blinds.

The sun is below the horizon but the top of the mountains still glow in

shades of gold. The gradient sunset sky is reflected in the calm water of

the river.

The view dissolves into window cleaner being sprayed onto the glass.

Björn Liljequist

Katla Maríudóttir

About:This fanzine is a collaborative creative response to the readings and the discussions in a weeklong workshop held by the teachers in the Critical Studies Design Studio; Katja Grillner, Hélène Frichot and Brady Burroughs.

Reading list:Michel Foucault, “Of Other Spaces”, 1967.

Katja Grillner, “A Foot in the Grass, a Drop of Rain”, in Parkliv, Exhibition Catalogue, Marabou Konsthall, 2010.

Elizabeth Kamarck Minnich, “Thinking: An Introductory Essay,” in Transforming Knowledge, Second Edition, Temple Press, 2005.

Donna Haraway, “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective”, in Feminist Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3., Autumn, 1988.