Robotronic Revolution

Kamen Stoyanov 2023

installation view Scope, BLN, Berlin

ROBOTRONIC REVOLUTION

Solo exhibition by Kamen Stoyanov

November 3 – December 1, 2023

Artist Talk: Friday, November 3rd at 5:00 p.m.

Opening at 6:00 p.m.

“There is one driving force of an artist that always has a basis in anarchism; that is, the desire for freedom and the rebellion against the dictates of conformity in art... The most important thing is not to passively submit but to understand what is happening around us." 

Enrico Baj in an interview of A-Rivista Anarchica

Kamen Stoyanov's exhibition Robotronic Revolution deals with the question how a future society might be organized. The title of the show comes from investigation of the work of the Bulgarian anarchist Georgi Konstantinov.  Since the beginning of 2022 Stoyanov works on the documentary „The Permanent Revolution of  Georgi Konstantinov“ . 

From the 1970s until today, Konstantinov developed in his articles and books the concept of the "robotronic revolution" - a present and a future where all spheres of life and work are already fully automated. His theories were heavily influenced by Norbert Wiener (1894-1964) and Konstantinov argued that since the 1970s, unstoppable automation was taking place in all areas of work. There are no longer any practical or theoretical obstacles to the 'robotronic revolution'. Robots can not only take over all work processes, but also learn and reproduce themselves. Konstantinov sees this process as an opportunity to achieve the necessary social change, but he is also aware of the risks associated with it.

In the installation Robotronic Revolution, Kamen Stoyanov takes up the core of Konstantinov's idea and demonstrates how the pages of his book Anarchism in the 21st Century, which among other things expresses the idea of Robotronic Revolution, are turned over and read by a Lego robot.

The second work in the show, the video Future Idea from 2013 shows how a progressive idea, a movement forward might turn to a movement in a circle into a revolution*.  In the video we see a flying human in flex wing with motor is pulling a banner with an arrow on it over the city of Sofia – where Konstantinov has returned in the 90s, after exile, with the idea of organizing the social revolution. According to the artist, the action in Future Idea is a sign of hope and absurdity at the same time – ideas that are in sync with many of Georgi Konstantinov's anarchist theories.

*Latin: revolutio, 'a turn around

The project supported by the Austrian Ministry of the Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport