Luca Pattaroni

A study on how to take control of the demands of modern life through the lens of rhythm. We live in a world increasingly saturated—with signs, norms, objects, and demands—and that overstimulation contributes to our daily sense of alienation. In this manifesto, the authors argue that the path to emancipation lies in our capacity to reclaim political agency over our rhythms, both individual and collective. A Manifesto for a Rhythm Politics explores the fundamentally spatial and territorial dimensions of time, as well as the temporal dynamics of spatial forms, to sketch the contours of a rhythmology. Rather than simply opposing fullness to emptiness, slowness to acceleration, or overwork to boredom, they invite us to reflect on what enables us to breathe and what awakens our desire. By returning to the original meaning of rhythm—a way of flowing—the book offers a dynamic understanding of societies. It allows us to bridge measurement and lived experience, and to recognize the role of spontaneity, randomness, disorganization, and disorder alongside regularity. On a practical level, rhythm provides tools to address diverse issues such as traffic congestion, personal burnout, and the management of crowds. Ultimately, a politics of rhythm advocates for a choreographic approach to emancipation—one that embraces different ways of living while composing a shared world.

Bricks, one of the earliest materials associated with both housing and the body, are the subject and object of this publication. In terms of human agency, bricks are the basic unit through which the artist introduces his designs in the landscape. Kaufmann uses this simple, yet tough, material to build up an imaginative world that is not linked solely to the bricks as such, but also to the symbolic charge they possess (the concept of transparency, physical and metaphorical walls, and their associated imaginative world). A total of ten works will be exhibited and Kaufmann himself presents each in the book. The introduction is edited by Anne-Claire Schumacher, who discusses Kaufmann's development and his place in the history of ceramic art and in contemporary art as a whole. This is followed by a contribution by Luca Pattaroni, who views the topic from a socio-political perspective. The five main works set in the park of the Ariana Museum and the continuation into the museum's basement are described and commented by the artist. Text in English and French.