“I SEE QUENTIN MEILLASSOUX AS EXACTLY LIKE STALIN”. AN INTERVIEW WITH BORIS GROYS

Abstract

This interview is concerned with problems that some contemporary theories such as accelerationism, the theory of a new spirit of capitalism, and speculative realism confront as they turn out to be not so far removed from the theories of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Instead of acceleration, Groys offers a concept of a deceleration which eventually results in stagnation. This suggests the possibility of actualizing the experience of Soviet socialism, which Groys always understood as original and exotic and therefore especially valuable to those who study it with an open mind. The interview also considers the scandal resulting from the publication of Heidegger’s Black Notebooks. According to Groys, Heidegger’s position hinged on his attitude toward language, which he felt should be defended at some point by force of arms. Fascism in language may in turn be challenged by the language of visual culture that is universal and extra-national. The interview also considers art, including where something new in art is now to be found. The new is produced by a change in context, and what is new in art is always a new interpretation of its boundaries. Joseph Beuys’ slogan, “Everyone is an artist”, has become even more to the point because contemporary communication in its extremely varied modes lacks an address. Groys underlines the special role of reenactment in contemporary art as it increasingly devotes itself to exhibiting archived material and documenting earlier performances. All of this is focused on making the spectator feel that she has irrevocably missed something and will never be able to make contact with it. That manoeuvre is also relevant to the problem of authenticity in art because the authentic exists only as something elusive and impossible to attain and never as the authentic itself. It exists only as the dream of itself. The interview touches upon the success strategies for contemporary artists: to succeed locally, you must first become famous internationally.