Lars Bang Larsen

Designed by Irma Boom, this second volume in the Summit publication series gathers insights from the 2018 Verbier Art Summit in Switzerland, on the topic of art in the digital age, delivered by a wide range of curators, authors, artists and critics. The contributions--by Karen Archey, Ed Atkins, Lars Bang Larsen, Douglas Coupland, Olafur Eliasson, Pamela Rosenkranz, John Slyce, Dado Valentic, Paul F.M.J. Verschure, Jochen Volz and Anicka Yi--address such questions as the preservation of time-based media in museums; the concept of "biofiction"; "loss and the digital"; the body and technology; Amazon; the intersection of science and art; and virtual reality.

Ljusbacken was one of the leading communes in Sweden in the 1970s. It represented much of what came to be associated with the "hippie movement" and later the "prog movement". Much of the most extreme phenomena in the movement resided here. Healing, primal scream therapy, yoga, meditation, drugs, sexual liberation were essentially important ingredients. In Ljusbacken, artist Joanna Lombard visits the mythical place of her childhood home, searching its surfaces for an answer to an unknown question. The book is the artist's journey of facing the memories and extracted stories that were generated during her childhood in the commune. Using contemporary photographs of the places where the stories unfolded a tension is created between the stories' time and space.

The notion and nature of play has puzzled and inspired thinkers over the course of history. Interpreted as excessive, illusive, and unproductive, play and imagination have over time permeated cultural spheres and now emerge from the 20th century as two critical ingredients of today s artistic and political discourse. Emphasizing productivity through spontaneity, risk, freedom and pleasure, the act of play and radical imagination have motivated not only significant research and experimentation within the arts, but also social and political change. As artist practices, curatorial models, and institutional frameworks continue to shift, each development makes visible the transformative impact of this critical investigation. This book reflects the conceptual backbone of 2013 Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art Play! Recapturing the Radical Imagination and illuminates an active discourse.