Anna Rubin “Streamer” at Cherry Hill, Cologne

There is a short story by Argentinian writer Cecilia Pavon called “A Post-Marxist Theory of Unhappiness” I think about often. In the story the world has run out of fuel and an international government has decided to use every last barrel of oil to power phones, computers and satellites so people can talk to their friends. Since industry has disappeared, people only have access to what is already in existence. Art as we know it is obsolete. Creating aesthetic forms, though, remains important for individuals, even replacing the ideal of natural beauty. Narrative structures like marriage have gone away in lieu of fulfilling more immediate desires, what Pavon describes as “shining in the here and now.” The interesting thing about the story for me is not the dystopian circumstance but the way in which she invents new structures of feeling centered around the present. Certainty and continuity are replaced by experiments with chance and pleasure. Objects of the past are not treated with nostalgia because they have become necessary and singular. What is around already may be enough, if utilized by any means.

at Cherry Hill, Cologne
until March 8, 2025