Broken Street Organ

Gregor Taul x Andrus Lauringson

Broken Street Organ

1

In his book Infancy and History, Giorgio Agamben divides societies into diachronic (cold and monumental) and synchronic (hot and playful). The attitude towards history ‘makes’ the society: for example, the cold societies are based on histories structured diachronically, subordinating the life in the society to dramatic scenarios, the mainstream of which does not support alternative or playful approaches to the essence or roots of the society. Estonian history is also being told this way: the ancient fight for freedom, the St George's Night uprising, the seven-hundred-year night of slavery, /…/ The Bronze Night, etc.

2

Andrus Lauringson’s instrument opposes itself to the cold history and assumes the part of a smelter for monumental history. In some other context he might grill for example the cross of freedom instead of the Russian birch.

3

The visitors of AB will probably not agree with Böhm’s slogans and therefore the work also functions as an indicator of the audience’s unity. In which case the reactions of the visitors might be more predictable than Böhm’s rhymes – which means the work is rather weak.