poetic reading
An industrial indoor landscape made of paper drums and a maze of rollercoaster conveyor belts, transporting what will end up on a breakfast table or at a fishmonger to wrap the fresh catch of the day. Newness contained in pulp. Ink gushing onto endless streams of paper. High-speed, high-tech machinery routinely geared to provide continuity—the continuity of isolated incidents.
Objective description
Two panels form an overall image providing a glimpse into the production of news, i.e., into a large printing press that prints various daily newspapers. The workflows are routine; all movements are coordinated and precisely choreographed. People move between and with the machines as if in a mechanistic choreography. A particularly striking moment occurs when a new run goes to print: when the wet continuous paper suddenly takes on ink and, due to the high speed, appears completely black.
Plausible association
The industrial setting recalls similar factories that occupy a considerable amount of space. Contained environments of purpose-driven architecture and interior. The entire building is a machine that puts the news onto the paper you get from the shop or the mailman. Sitting at a midpoint in the production chain of news, the printing factory demonstrates what characterizes the business of reporting incidents: speed, decision, routine, standardization. It is amazing how smoothly it works. The technology is state-of-the-art, yet eerily part of an outdated mode of communication. Arguably, it is only a matter of time before paper-bound communication finds its way into the museum.
Artistic intention
The calm of the observing camera, as well as of the editing, attunes to the mood at the factory. While the paper runs at super high speed through the rotating offset printing machine, the people operating the machines move with deliberation and a slow pace. Speed and the calmness of routine coexist harmoniously. Spending time inside the space where news is literally manifested encourages contemplation of the ever more efficient process of news dissemination. Watching the ink tint the paper black, one reflects on this massive current of big and small issues electrifying groups and societies.
Keywords
Participation
The Black of the News, © KOMBINAT kombiniert Tanz und Film UG, 2026, Armano Forster, KOMBINAT Tanz und Film
Extended License
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- Looped or silent presentation is permitted where explicitly stated.
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- The poetic complement is intended as a relational insertion and is not conceived as an autonomous use.
Basic License
Allowed
- exclusively non-commercial use for cultural, scientific or transdisciplinary, dialogue- and knowledge-oriented, and public-interest purposes
- context-bound (site-specific) presentation on monitors, screens, or by projection before a live audience of up to 500 people
- for digital pictures high-quality photographic prints in up to one copy (maximum size restrictions apply)
Required
- use as is (no alteration permitted, see legal terms for details)
- Presentation of the entire work, without cropping or partial overlay.
- Time-based media must be presented without interruptions or omissions.
- Looped or silent presentation is permitted where explicitly stated.
- Credit line must be provided as specified
Forbidden
- any use outside a contextual relationship*
- commercial use (including promotional or self-promotional purposes)
- permanent public dissemination or unrestricted public upload/publication
- transfer or sale to third parties
- integration into third-party works outside the intended context
- any form of modification or alteration beyond the permitted use
- partial presentation or excerptions of the work
- The poetic complement is intended as a relational insertion and is not conceived as an autonomous use.
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