From an interview with philosopher Michel Serres:
So a democracy is better suited to today’s problems than a republic like France?
That’s a big question, and the person who manages to answer it will be a great philosopher. Because this is the most important question in the world today. Are you common law or are you Roman law?
You prefer a fragile construction to a solid fragment. This is a fundamental principle of your philosophy.
The solid things are the old buildings. The cylinders, cones, planes—all that is ‘over,’ it is archaic. But the leaves, the trees, the weeping willows, the Spree, the noiseless boats— this is modern. And in being modern, it is also fragile and liquid.
Your areas of interest are very close to those of militant ecologists.
No, my approach is different. Twenty years ago I wrote a book called The Natural Contract. In that book I proposed that the great natural elements be awarded the status of a legal entity. This was more juridical than political or militant. Taking the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as an example, if we apply my idea of a natural contract, we would invent an international court in the Hague or Geneva, and in this tribunal the sea would be able to attack British Petroleum for the crimes it suffered. The sea would thus be a legal entity.
From an interview with Charles Schumann.
You lived in Bonn?
It was wonderful. After all, I had grown up in a small village.
Good old Federal Republic.
Some guys were really good. Incredible nightclubs. Bavaria was way behind.
Was it a bad country?
Germany? Why would I be thinking about Germany?
Because it’s all about moving on.
I still believe that the only thing that really gets you anywhere is when you live somewhere else. Berlin or Munich, that doesn’t really get you anywhere.
How important is it for men to booze it up?
Not important at all. Especially if you believe you should booze it up.
For the men, I mean. How important is the ritual?
Some need it, others don’t. There are still a few journalists who drink because they want to live the myth
Women at the table, are they a problem?
If they keep their mouths shut, no.
And are they a problem at the bar?
Yes.
Designer: Holger Friese
16 Introduction, Munich III
24 I’ll be right back, Charles Schumann
44 80*81 Playlist by Chris Dercon
46 The good East Coast look, Peter Eduard Meier
62 Germany’s True Idol, presented by Andrian Kreye
68 From Einar Schleef’s Diaries
76 Gaps, presented by Arno Brandlhuber
84 Los Andes, presented by Renato Kümin
94 Watermarks, Michel Serres
104 Kronos, images by Frieder Blickle
113 Timeline 9*1980
127 Timeline 4*1981
140 Glauber Rocha
142 Acknowledgments
