A Peer Review Journal About: Excessive Research
Our text, ‘Plan Bienen: Sharing (in) the more-than-human city’ has been published in the latest APRJA, an open-access research journal launched at Transmediale: Conversation Piece Berlin 2016. The publication is the outcome of a masterclass that Tessa participated in, organised by DARC (Digital Aesthetics Research Centre), Aarhus University, School of Communication and Culture in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and the Liverpool Biennial.
The notion of ‘excess’ energy is central to Bataille’s thinking. He takes the superabundance of energy, beginning from the infinite outpouring of solar energy or the surpluses produced by life’s basic chemical reactions, as the norm for organisms. In other words, an organism in Bataille’s general economy, unlike the rational actors of classical economy (Capitalist and Marxist alike) who are motivated by scarcity, normally has an excess of energy available to it. This extra energy can be used productively for the organism’s growth or it can be lavishly expended. Bataille insists that an organism’s growth or expansion always runs up against limits and becomes impossible. The wasting of this energy is a ‘luxury’ characteristic of any society. ‘The accursed share’ refers to this excess, destined for waste.
A recording of the panel at Transmediale that Sumugan participated in is below: