3.
Reading, Writing & Structure
> I kept reading articles and publications, such as “Forgery Replica Fiction” or “Is A.I. the Death of I.P.?” which later turned out to be one of the most important questions for my practical project.
> After more research and a lot of mentoring sessions, I started writing short text fragments. First, short captions for all references, in which I tried to focus on three criteria: Where does tension arise? Is the original treated with respect? Is there a form of violence?
> I made my first decisions about what content I wanted to work with. I was very interested in Shanzhai right from the start. I can highly recommend the book "Shanzhai: Dekonstruktion auf Chinesisch" by Byung-Chul Han.
> When choosing the material we wanted to use, we were careful to ensure that they were different and that we dealt with as many different examples as possible.
> Another interesting reference was the copied costume from the film "Dune 2". I invested a lot of time in researching this, as there were no official statements on the subject from either Rabanne or Dune. I had contact with the PR department of Paco Rabanne, but my questions were never answered satisfactorily.
> We have also often met about accessibility and readability. As a specifitc example, we discussed the Vêtements x DHL Bootleg Shirts, which are only read and understood by a small audience.
> As a last step of the writing process, i made final decisions for the main references. The main References are:
1
Dune 2 and Paco Rabanne
(The respectful approach)
2
Tchibo and The Beatles
(The problem of legibility)
3
Shanzhai
(A counterperspective)
4
The Swiss Banknotes
(A counterfeit-resistant original)
(The respectful approach)
2
Tchibo and The Beatles
(The problem of legibility)
3
Shanzhai
(A counterperspective)
4
The Swiss Banknotes
(A counterfeit-resistant original)
> I made the decision as to which references to treat very carefully. The aim was to present as wide a range of examples as possible in order to illustrate the various forms and provide an overview.
> In addition to the main references, I worked on the introduction and the intro parts of the characters.
> Here’s a visual collection of the chosen references:
> Here’s a list of related articles (and different references) I’ve read in during my research both for the thesis and the project:
> TAZ Germany, “Bootlegging in der Mode”
> SportsBangers (Project)
> “F for Fake” by Orson Welles (Movie)
> Hito Steyerl “The Wretched of the Screen”
> Kueng Caputo “Copy”
> Shanzhai, Disnovation.org
> Süddeutsche Zeitung about Lawrence Weiner
> Re-Magazine #9 – John
> Victor Papanek, “Design für die reale Welt”
> Tate, “The Banknote Project”
> Experimental Jetset, Ellsworth Kelly 1:1
> SRF Dok about Fakes
> Shanzhai Lyric Instagram
> OMR about Drake and A.I. songs
> TAZ, “The ultimate anti-brand brand”
> Portrait Shanzhai Biennial: Fake It Till You Make It