Infamous Perspectives
In 1999, two parents murdered both their children in a hotel room in Aalst (Belgium). In court, they said: “We only wanted what was best for them.” Both parents were declared criminally liable and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Is it possible to put yourself into the shoes of such extreme figures? Can we see things from the perspective of people and figures whose actions we disapprove of? When is it helpful or necessary to take this perspective? When is it helpful or necessary to take this perspective and why do insights into crimes fascinate reader and theatre- and cinemagoers?
These questions are examined by the !KF – Institute for Artistic Research in its project INFAMOUS PERSPECTIVES, which will start with an experiment in March 2013. On March 4–17, 2013, visitors can conduct a self-experiment: in an installation, they will speak the roles of the parents in court, which are recorded in Aalst, a documentary drama by Pol Heyvaert and Dimitri Verhulst.
The highlight of the project will be the premiere, on October 24, 2013, of a play that documents the process and results of the experiment in the form of a theater production. On October 25–27, 2013, a public symposium will be held with members of occupational groups that need to deal with and figure out infamous perspectives in their professional capacities: lawyers, psychiatrists, criminologists, writers and actors, literary and art historians use their own different strategies to judge, treat, describe, present or simply understand the holders of such perspectives.
Infamous Perspectives – Theater Experiment and Symposium
Part 1: The Experiment (in GERMAN only)
March 4–17, 2013, daily 2–7 p.m.
UFERSTUDIOS
Uferstr. 8/23
13357 Berlin
Tickets: 7 €, discounted tickets: 4 €. Free admission for participants in the experiment.
Participants need to register (2 visitors per hour) at experiment@artistic-research.de or by phone at +49 (0)163-72 9388 80
per.SPICE! – Forum Artistic Research
March 18, 2013, 8 p.m.
First impressions and experiences of the experiment will be discussed with the participants in the forum of artistic research per.SPICE!
SOPHIENSAELE, Cafeteria
Sophienstr. 18
10178 Berlin
Free admission.
Part 2: Play and Symposium
October 24–27, 2013
A production by !KF – Institut für künstlerische Forschung and a rose is in cooperation with Sophiensæle.
The project is made possible by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Ernst Schering Foundation and Rudolf Augstein Stiftung and kindly supported by Uferstudios.