Björn Franke News | Projects | Research | Teaching | Biography
Posthuman Minds | 2007 (ongoing) PhD Research Project Humans have always been in a co-influential and co-evolutionary relationship with technology, but the perception of the world and the self is more and more defined by the artificial than the natural. Technology is becoming more powerful, more influential, more pervasive, and defines every aspect of society. The technological environment has become the second nature to which humans have to adapt in the same way as to the natural environment before. How will humans live in this changing technological landscape and how will the human self-conception change? Will this be the end of the human and the emergence of a posthuman world, a world in which the self is distributed into a technological landscape and agency is no longer attributed to humans alone? This research project aims to investigate the posthuman mind and self conception through theoretical and practical research. The theoretical part analyses historic and contemporary concepts of the the human condition and explores technologies which advance the human transformation. The practical part uses design as a medium for philosophic inquiry and speculation about the posthuman mind and the ensuing implications for the individual and for society. Conceptual products, prototypes, photography and film will be used for this exploration in order to raise discussions through exhibitions and presentations.
Essays | Photos | Image Archive Since the invention of nuclear weapons and the possibility of destroying the entire civilisation, many protective structures were built. The notion of the shelter became the main strategy for the survival of civilisation. Many dystopian visions seemed to become reality and humans had to live underground beneath the uninhabitable surface. This research project investigates these structures and their relation to society during the Cold War, as well as their relevance today. Some of them are hidden as they were kept secret and some are hidden inside other structures. Digging under the surface of the Cold War means bringing something forward that might lie under everyday structures.
Essay | Photos The Reunification of Germany was the end for the German Democratic Republic and its political, social and economic system. Its national institutions were integrated into the structures of the West. The shutdown of factories and military sites, as well as the migration of large parts of the population to Western Germany led to an enormous amount of abandoned spaces. Furthermore, the departure of nearly half a million soldiers of the Red Army stationed in Eastern German increased the amount of deserted military sites and objects. Most of these spaces are vacant today and slowly disintegrating. Others are torn down or converted for private use. Some of them were bought by military enthusiasts and are kept alive to function as a museum. This research project investigates these spaces, their transformation and their new occupants - which are sometimes the old ones - on a road trip through the former German Democratic Republic. Photos by Tim Giesen.
Essays | Image Archive This research project explores unofficial design, from custom-made object to DIY solutions. Many people do not find their needs fulfilled by mass-market products and thus design and build products and objects themselves- ranging from cars to sex-toys. These objects reflect the complexities, contradictions and irrationalities of the human condition beyond market-research.
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