The Utopian Potential of the Obsolete

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Panel Today, obsolescence is a relevant topic not only in artistic practices, but also in popular culture. This panel addresses the question why there is this interest today and how the obsolete can serve critical, even utopian purposes. Nina Jukić analyzes how the current resurrection of analogue photography in popular culture reflects utopian desires to resist the digital abundance of the modern world, yet relies on capitalism itself. Kristina Pia Hofer will focus on the example of Herschel Gordon Lewis’ exploitation-feminist utopia "She-Devils on Wheels" (1968), whose appeal to later queer/feminist engagement has roots in the insistent presence of obsolete technology. Gabriele Jutz will deal with the historical avant-gardes, showing that their attitude to the new technologies of (audio)visual reproduction was retrograde, but necessarily so, given their radical utopian aspirations. 1. Nina Jukić, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria The Future is Analogue – Retro Utopia and the Revival of Film Photography 2. Kristina Pia Hofer, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria Material (for) Utopia: Exploitation Cinema, Obsolete Technologies and Queer-Feminist Appropriation 3. 1. Gabriele Jutz, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria Retrograde Technicity in the Historical Avant-Gardes

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Conference of the European Network for Avant-Garde and Modernism Studies: Utopia

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