In 1985 a couple of rather prominent European artists -- Kippenberger, Schlick, Oehlen, Bauer -- had an anti-art-art schnapps idea and founded a male-only art lodge, the "Lord Jim Lodge", named after Joseph Conrad's literary figure. This is the story of - how the Lodge was founded - how they created a semi-cheesy logo ("Sun Breasts Hammer") for it - how the Lodge was presented at the world's most renowned art expo - how the Lodge (high in symbolic value but low in real one) crumbled and nearly vanished - how the Lodge was bought by monochrom in form of a hostile takeover - how monochrom re-started, re-re-started and franchised the Lodge - how monochrom created the art consulting company Teyssandier-Springer - how Teyssandier-Springer plays the legal option - how monochrom cracked the Coca Cola Company and - how monochrom outsourced the output to the People's Republic of China.
It's a story about art, the market, and products -- in the well known format of 12 oil paintings.
monochrom is an art-technology-philosophy group having its seat in Vienna and Zeta Draconis. monochrom is an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, context hacking and political activism. Our mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost in culture-archeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment. monochrom has existed in this (and almost every other) form since 1993. [more]
