Die Betonplatte / The Concrete Record
The sound object Die Betonplatte refers to a speech by Nikita Khrushchev in 1954, a speech that had a lasting influence on 20th century architecture throughout the Eastern Bloc. In particular, the famous passage that one must „build better, cheaper and faster“ turned out to be an architectural-theoretical manifesto for the socialist building program. The new line was to mark the beginning not only of de-stalinization but also of de-ideologization in the discourse on architecture and urban planning. It was apparently aimed exclusively at maximum efficiency in the construction industry. In terms of the equality of the socialist human being, however, the program contained a clearly egalitarian element.
Die Betonplatte does not reproduce the original sound track of Khrushchev’s speech. On the concrete carrier medium, Alex Rex collages excerpts of the sermons of the evangelist Anton Schulte from 1971. The materiality illustrates what is preached about: Thus manipulated excerpts from Schulte’s sermon – in the context of Khrushchev’s building program – also fit in with political ideas.
This object was shown in a group exhibition at Kunsthaus Raskolnikow, Dresden, 2020
Alex Rex, 2020
Dimensions: 7″ vinyl record
Materials: Concrete, Plastic, Record Player
Fotos: Alex Rex, Tomasz Lewandowski