ready for combat 2002

the struggle continues…

Iepe Rubingh and Max Schumacher succeeded in confusing their audiences on the Mayday demonstrations on May 1st 2001 in Berlin Kreuzberg. They had several performance units send out to irritate both demonstrators / spectators and police troupes. These units were controlled and coordinated by a head quarter, a so called commando center located at DNA gallery on Auguststrasse, Berlin Mitte. So these units, such as “Blue People”, “The Asians”, “Mirror Guys” and others were communicated by internet broadcast to the gallery. Their performances made it into the local papers and found very positive responses on all sides - and a lot confusion. How were these performances meant? Was this art, politics, or pure joy? What does this mean for old leftist concepts of “combat readiness”?

This year the two artists raise the same questions again: What does it mean, to understand yourself to be ready to fight for your convictions - as an artist? How can you relate art to politics more efficiently - and without falling into traps of stereotypes? They found a new strategy:

Boxing for Germany

That’s the talk of the town called Germany: It’s an immigration country, with a „Leisure Time Society“, and they try to have a „Lead Culture“ to provide all others with.

Combat ready 2002 switched from masses of performers last year to one this year, but a determining and determined one: Iepe Rubingh.

Iepe is Dutch. Iepe is a boxer. Iepe is an artist. He doesn’t lie about his identity. On the contrary, he exhibits his character. He boxes for Germany. After having visited the left on their day, this year the stage will be the demonstrations of the extreme right. This year the artists will be irritiating and playing with the demonstrators on the May 1st Demonstration of the NPD (the neo-nazi party) at place to be published as of April 30th.

The borders between Europe and German, right wing Dutch and German artists, sports and combat, fighting and training, provocation and reaction - all these borders will be blurred, questioned and thematised with Boxing for Germany. Is boxing a sport of the extreme right? Are the Dutch in Germany foreigners too? Can there be fun at a Nazi demonstration? Is art a proof for courage? Or does art offer a dialoge which de-mystifies the wanna-be-evil guys? This is Iepe’s and Max’s point of departure: media co-constructed an image of the extreme right as really bad guys - which is exactly what they want to be. There is not much debate around their rather weak ideas - but a lot of talk about their apprearance. The „evil guy“ image is what empowers the right. Hence, „Boxing for Germany“ is as a matter of fact „Boxing for a Sharper Look at the Right“.