AN IN-BETWEEN TIME
N E W S
Dear friends of eigensinnig!
Starting Monday, our doors will remain temporarily closed. But we are still there for you: We are happy to advise you by telephone (+43-1-890 66 37) or by email (sense@eigensinnig-wien.com). Our online store also remains open for your orders.
Last autumn, when we were working on our program for the spring 2020, inspired by chaos theory, we certainly did not think of the current situation. The fact that “the flap of a butterfly’s wings can set off a tornado on the other side of the world” has been clearly demonstrated to us now by the corona virus. But we would still like to find positive words for the situation we have all been thrown into so suddenly.
The topics we contemplated and discussed over the last few months can all be applied to the current situation: deceleration, resonance, the between.
WE ARE CURRENTLY IN AN IN-BETWEEN TIME
Our everyday life is changing radically. The economic situation is changing. Previous structures are broken down – but this also creates opportunities. In this time of distance, we can start thinking about our future in a new way. “By opening up, the distance creates a new possibility. It allows us to discover resources we had not considered before, resources we had not even suspected were there,” French philosopher François Jullien writes. It is only when the existing order is questioned that something new can emerge. It is only by treading untrodden paths that one can reach new places. The between we are now entering is active and inventive.
A long list of events does not add up to an exciting narrative.
BYUNG-CHUL HAN
WE ARE ALLOWED TO DECELERATE
For many people, things are slowing down now. Home office, staying inside. We bring down our systems; “vita activa” is minimized in favor of “vita contemplativa”. The frenetic standstill is reduced. “A long list of events does not add up to an exciting narrative,” philosopher Byung Chul-Han writes. “Time is lacking a solid structure these days. It is not a house, but an inconsistent flow. It disintegrates into a mere sequence of individual moments of present. It rushes away. Nothing stabilizes it,” Han continues. This fluid time, which offers no stability, is suddenly becoming viscous; it is solidifying. We are offered the opportunity of making it more inhabitable, of dwelling in it..
Time is lacking a solid structure these days. It is not a house, but an inconsistent flow. It disintegrates into a mere sequence of individual moments of present. It rushes away. Nothing stabilizes it.
BYUNG CHUL-HAN
WE CAN EXPERIENCE RESONANCE
In order to find out what moves and affects us, we need time and leisure. With more time on our hands, we can dig deeper for the things that create resonance within us. These things can be books, works of art, melodies. Maybe the range of movement is reduced, but we can use these external restrictions for inner expansion. Creativity is strongest when it acts within certain limitations.
We don’t know when we will be able to welcome you in our store again. But we will keep you posted. Stay obstinate – stay eigensinnig!
Stefanie Hofer & Toni Woldrich
AUS DEM MAGAZIN
PENSÉES: DAS ZWISCHEN
Die neue Normalität beim Einkaufen ist für viele eine neue Erfahrung. Besonders wenn alles eigensinnig und das Verweilen, Schauen und Spüren in unserem Showroom am Sankt Ulrichs Platz etwas anderes ist als im Online-Shop zu flanieren. Dennoch wollen wir für Sie da sein und passen deshalb unseren Service an.
PENSÉES: DAS RITUAL
„We run as fast as we can in order to stay in the same place“, sagte der Kulturhistoriker Peter Conrad vor über 20 Jahren. „Alles, was Dauer erfordert, dauert zu lange und alles, was Zeit beansprucht, beansprucht zu viel Zeit,“ beobachtete der Philosoph Günther Anders schon in den 1950er Jahren. Hatten wir immer schon das Gefühl, zu wenig Zeit und zu viel zu tun zu haben?
PENSÉES: RESONANZ
Das ganze Unglück der Menschen rührt allein daher, dass sie nicht ruhig in einem Zimmer zu bleiben vermögen“, schrieb einst der französische Lyriker Blaise Pascal. Ist daher Entschleunigung die Antwort auf die Schnelligkeit des Lebens? Sollten wir mehr Zeit alleine in Zimmern verbringen?
