What is radical
film?

What
is radical
film?

Artıkişler video collective bak.ma

What is
radical
film?

Artıkişler video collective bak.ma



Saturday 20:30 h -
, 25 min
Özge Çelikaslan and Alper Şen, Istanbul
Cypriot thinker Ulus Baker defines video as an “instrument for recording” or a “document-device”, cinema and photograph are also primarily a means of recording. While cinema is an expensive industry, video enjoys the freedom to penetrate in the personal worlds of its users. Video can re-record all forms of image, even forms of text that precede it, that is, it can incorporate them, reorganize them, re-edit them, and create a videographic archive out of them. But what are we going to do with all these records? Baker claims that video is waiting for “collective images”. Artıkişler Collective established bak.ma a practice of online radical video archiving focuses on social and political movements in Turkey -and beyond- as a platform for “collective images”. This open access archive not only aims to contain videos of the social movements but also other videograms that were stored in hidden parts of computers by media activists. In the process of building this archive, Artıkişler Collective aims to discuss archiving practices, urban movements, visual data collection, videograms of civil disobedience and the possible montage of revolution in a metaphoric sense. How can counter-archiving practices empower new tactics of montage/categorization of the leaking images which re-build the counter-memory and counter-knowledge of socio-political disobedience. What is the political role of archives and to what extent can they prevent surveillance mechanisms but preserve, protect, distribute and exchange radical images. What does a methodology of participatory assemblage mean in this context and what is the new role of a video archivist, artist, activist scholar on creating collective radical images? Özge Çelikaslan and Alper Şen both studied on film, video and philosophy. Co-founders, members of art and activist collectives. Personally and with Artıkişler video collective both has been involved in solo and mixed exhibitions/biennials, festivals and conferences worldwide.