Tyler Coburn is artist and writer based in New York. He has presented work at Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Bergen Kunsthall; Kunsthalle Wien; Hayward Gallery, London; Para Site, Hong Kong; and Art Sonje Center, Seoul. He participated in the 11th Gwangju Biennale (2016) and 10th Shanghai Biennale (2014).
Coburn is the author of three books: "I’m that angel" (2012); "Robots Building Robots" (2013), published by the Center for Contemporary Arts Glasgow; and "Richard Roe" (2019), published by Sternberg Press. His texts have appeared in e-flux journal, Frieze, ArtReview, Dis, Mousse, LEAP, and Rhizome.
"Candlestick Man" looks at Japanese portrayals of the first Europeans to arrive in the country, w... more "Candlestick Man" looks at Japanese portrayals of the first Europeans to arrive in the country, with a particular focus on historical and speculative relationships between human migration and disease.
This text is adapted from a short performance delivered in English by Coburn and in Japanese by Wataru Naganuma at TOKAS Hongo in summer 2023. The performance took place in Coburn's installation, which included wall sculptures made with gofun (a white medium made of oyster shells) and Oribe Nanbanjin candlesticks that depict Europeans. Images here: https://tylercoburn.com/candlestick.html
"The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, ... more "The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, telling stories of the people who turned to stone over the ensuing ten years, and how museums adapted to their presence. Mixing literary reportage, watercolor, and other media, it draws on recent events and debates pertaining to cultural restitution and repatriation; the private financing of museums; and the politics of collecting and conserving.
"The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, ... more "The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, telling stories of the people who turned to stone over the ensuing ten years, and how museums adapted to their presence. Mixing literary reportage, watercolor, and other media, it draws on recent events and debates pertaining to cultural restitution and repatriation; the private financing of museums; and the politics of collecting and conserving.
A counterfactual is a means of speculating about the possible paths events could have taken. We c... more A counterfactual is a means of speculating about the possible paths events could have taken. We commonly encounter them in sweeping historical reimaginings, but they can also help us ask critical questions about the forms of reparation and restitution owed to communities for past wrongs. A counterfactual is not an "alternative fact," Kellyanne Conway's means of distinguishing "fake news" from the Trump administration's view of reality. Nonetheless, counterfactual thinking may provide some perspective on the disinformation campaigns destabilizing governments and populations worldwide.
"Counterfactuals" is an essay about an ongoing gaming workshop, run by Tyler Coburn. Participants bring counterfactual scenarios to the sessions, and we collaborate in small groups to play them out. These games, dynamic ways of working with history, help us dwell in the complexities of causation; distrust the precision of hindsight; and locate moments in the past, when the sediment has yet to settle, that could lead us towards a decent and equitable present.
"Ergonomic Futures" is a multi-part project, which asks questions about the human body through th... more "Ergonomic Futures" is a multi-part project, which asks questions about the human body through the lens of speculative evolution. Specifically, this work comes out of interviews with paleoanthropologists, evolutionary biologists, and genetic engineers. To each I have asked: What are future scenarios for imagining new types of human bodies, and how might these bodies cast relief on conversations about “fitness” and ability in the present day?
Working from my interviews, I am collaborating with architects Bureau V on different types of ergonomic seating for these future bodies, which will serve as functional “benches” in fine art and natural history museums (see here: http://www.tylercoburn.com/ergonomic.html). Additionally, I have designed a standalone website (www.ergonomicfutures.com), featuring my first-ever piece of online literature, which draws upon the aforementioned interviews. This essay stems from that literature.
What’s the internet, and where do we belong in it? A postscript on “I’m that angel,” my book and ... more What’s the internet, and where do we belong in it? A postscript on “I’m that angel,” my book and performance for the world’s data centers.
Canned laughter, readymade artists and surveillance curation: "A Wide Blank" explores what the ar... more Canned laughter, readymade artists and surveillance curation: "A Wide Blank" explores what the art world can learn from Žižek's theory of interpassivity.
This essay is adapted from a lecture delivered at e-flux, New York on August 25, 2014, as part of the Summer Mondays series. It was originally published for "The Legal Medium & Irregular Rendition," a conference and exhibition organized by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento and Lucy Hunter at Yale University in February 2015. The essay later appear on Dis: http://dismagazine.com/discussion/74817/a-wide-blank-tyler-coburn/
"Charter Citizen" addresses an ill-fated, neoliberal experiment in the global south to create “ch... more "Charter Citizen" addresses an ill-fated, neoliberal experiment in the global south to create “charter cities”: autonomous zones for entrepreneurial development that are primarily subject to the jurisdiction of their own governing authorities. These cities were memorably proposed by liberal economist Paul Romer, during his 2009 TED talk, and garnered enough interest from the Honduran government to prompt passage of a 2011 constitutional amendment authorizing their construction.
Extraterritoriality is already the subject of voluminous writing by Keller Easterling, Saskia Sassen, Metahaven, Eyal Weizman and others. What the Honduran project presented, however, was a new neoliberal horizon, in which autonomous city-states allow for the privatization of citizenship, thus fulfilling both the classical liberalist emphasis on voluntaryism and neoliberalism’s market-based liberty of choice. The Honduran Supreme Court’s reverse ruling on the cities projects, nearly two years after the passage of the amendment, may thus be seen not only as a rejection of neocolonial enterprise, but as a recognition of the state, per Wendy Brown, as “the only meaningful site […] of political citizenship and rights guarantees.”
"I’m that angel" explores the conditions of how we work on and against the computer, narrated fro... more "I’m that angel" explores the conditions of how we work on and against the computer, narrated from the perspective of a “content farmer”: an online journalist contracted to generate articles based on words peaking in Google Trends.
Periodically, I hold readings at data centers worldwide, including Google New York, Google Zurich and the infamous “Wikileaks Bunker” of Bahnhof Stockholm. These events give audiences access to the sites where “the cloud” is kept. We encounter the material doubles of our virtual subjectivities: data stored in server form.
Rather than concede to the seeming intractability of cognitive capitalism, these readings seek to potentiate new critical operations through shared access, listening and discussion. Across its parts, "I’m that angel" argues for a renewed consideration of the immanent horizons of subjectivity, sociability and creativity.
"Candlestick Man" looks at Japanese portrayals of the first Europeans to arrive in the country, w... more "Candlestick Man" looks at Japanese portrayals of the first Europeans to arrive in the country, with a particular focus on historical and speculative relationships between human migration and disease.
This text is adapted from a short performance delivered in English by Coburn and in Japanese by Wataru Naganuma at TOKAS Hongo in summer 2023. The performance took place in Coburn's installation, which included wall sculptures made with gofun (a white medium made of oyster shells) and Oribe Nanbanjin candlesticks that depict Europeans. Images here: https://tylercoburn.com/candlestick.html
"The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, ... more "The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, telling stories of the people who turned to stone over the ensuing ten years, and how museums adapted to their presence. Mixing literary reportage, watercolor, and other media, it draws on recent events and debates pertaining to cultural restitution and repatriation; the private financing of museums; and the politics of collecting and conserving.
"The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, ... more "The Petrified" is an episodic work that begins with this fictional event in the summer of 2009, telling stories of the people who turned to stone over the ensuing ten years, and how museums adapted to their presence. Mixing literary reportage, watercolor, and other media, it draws on recent events and debates pertaining to cultural restitution and repatriation; the private financing of museums; and the politics of collecting and conserving.
A counterfactual is a means of speculating about the possible paths events could have taken. We c... more A counterfactual is a means of speculating about the possible paths events could have taken. We commonly encounter them in sweeping historical reimaginings, but they can also help us ask critical questions about the forms of reparation and restitution owed to communities for past wrongs. A counterfactual is not an "alternative fact," Kellyanne Conway's means of distinguishing "fake news" from the Trump administration's view of reality. Nonetheless, counterfactual thinking may provide some perspective on the disinformation campaigns destabilizing governments and populations worldwide.
"Counterfactuals" is an essay about an ongoing gaming workshop, run by Tyler Coburn. Participants bring counterfactual scenarios to the sessions, and we collaborate in small groups to play them out. These games, dynamic ways of working with history, help us dwell in the complexities of causation; distrust the precision of hindsight; and locate moments in the past, when the sediment has yet to settle, that could lead us towards a decent and equitable present.
"Ergonomic Futures" is a multi-part project, which asks questions about the human body through th... more "Ergonomic Futures" is a multi-part project, which asks questions about the human body through the lens of speculative evolution. Specifically, this work comes out of interviews with paleoanthropologists, evolutionary biologists, and genetic engineers. To each I have asked: What are future scenarios for imagining new types of human bodies, and how might these bodies cast relief on conversations about “fitness” and ability in the present day?
Working from my interviews, I am collaborating with architects Bureau V on different types of ergonomic seating for these future bodies, which will serve as functional “benches” in fine art and natural history museums (see here: http://www.tylercoburn.com/ergonomic.html). Additionally, I have designed a standalone website (www.ergonomicfutures.com), featuring my first-ever piece of online literature, which draws upon the aforementioned interviews. This essay stems from that literature.
What’s the internet, and where do we belong in it? A postscript on “I’m that angel,” my book and ... more What’s the internet, and where do we belong in it? A postscript on “I’m that angel,” my book and performance for the world’s data centers.
Canned laughter, readymade artists and surveillance curation: "A Wide Blank" explores what the ar... more Canned laughter, readymade artists and surveillance curation: "A Wide Blank" explores what the art world can learn from Žižek's theory of interpassivity.
This essay is adapted from a lecture delivered at e-flux, New York on August 25, 2014, as part of the Summer Mondays series. It was originally published for "The Legal Medium & Irregular Rendition," a conference and exhibition organized by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento and Lucy Hunter at Yale University in February 2015. The essay later appear on Dis: http://dismagazine.com/discussion/74817/a-wide-blank-tyler-coburn/
"Charter Citizen" addresses an ill-fated, neoliberal experiment in the global south to create “ch... more "Charter Citizen" addresses an ill-fated, neoliberal experiment in the global south to create “charter cities”: autonomous zones for entrepreneurial development that are primarily subject to the jurisdiction of their own governing authorities. These cities were memorably proposed by liberal economist Paul Romer, during his 2009 TED talk, and garnered enough interest from the Honduran government to prompt passage of a 2011 constitutional amendment authorizing their construction.
Extraterritoriality is already the subject of voluminous writing by Keller Easterling, Saskia Sassen, Metahaven, Eyal Weizman and others. What the Honduran project presented, however, was a new neoliberal horizon, in which autonomous city-states allow for the privatization of citizenship, thus fulfilling both the classical liberalist emphasis on voluntaryism and neoliberalism’s market-based liberty of choice. The Honduran Supreme Court’s reverse ruling on the cities projects, nearly two years after the passage of the amendment, may thus be seen not only as a rejection of neocolonial enterprise, but as a recognition of the state, per Wendy Brown, as “the only meaningful site […] of political citizenship and rights guarantees.”
"I’m that angel" explores the conditions of how we work on and against the computer, narrated fro... more "I’m that angel" explores the conditions of how we work on and against the computer, narrated from the perspective of a “content farmer”: an online journalist contracted to generate articles based on words peaking in Google Trends.
Periodically, I hold readings at data centers worldwide, including Google New York, Google Zurich and the infamous “Wikileaks Bunker” of Bahnhof Stockholm. These events give audiences access to the sites where “the cloud” is kept. We encounter the material doubles of our virtual subjectivities: data stored in server form.
Rather than concede to the seeming intractability of cognitive capitalism, these readings seek to potentiate new critical operations through shared access, listening and discussion. Across its parts, "I’m that angel" argues for a renewed consideration of the immanent horizons of subjectivity, sociability and creativity.
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Papers by Tyler Coburn
This text is adapted from a short performance delivered in English by Coburn and in Japanese by Wataru Naganuma at TOKAS Hongo in summer 2023. The performance took place in Coburn's installation, which included wall sculptures made with gofun (a white medium made of oyster shells) and Oribe Nanbanjin candlesticks that depict Europeans. Images here: https://tylercoburn.com/candlestick.html
"Counterfactuals" is an essay about an ongoing gaming workshop, run by Tyler Coburn. Participants bring counterfactual scenarios to the sessions, and we collaborate in small groups to play them out. These games, dynamic ways of working with history, help us dwell in the complexities of causation; distrust the precision of hindsight; and locate moments in the past, when the sediment has yet to settle, that could lead us towards a decent and equitable present.
Working from my interviews, I am collaborating with architects Bureau V on different types of ergonomic seating for these future bodies, which will serve as functional “benches” in fine art and natural history museums (see here: http://www.tylercoburn.com/ergonomic.html). Additionally, I have designed a standalone website (www.ergonomicfutures.com), featuring my first-ever piece of online literature, which draws upon the aforementioned interviews. This essay stems from that literature.
See more here: http://www.tylercoburn.com/angel.html
This essay is adapted from a lecture delivered at e-flux, New York on August 25, 2014, as part of the Summer Mondays series. It was originally published for "The Legal Medium & Irregular Rendition," a conference and exhibition organized by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento and Lucy Hunter at Yale University in February 2015. The essay later appear on Dis: http://dismagazine.com/discussion/74817/a-wide-blank-tyler-coburn/
Extraterritoriality is already the subject of voluminous writing by Keller Easterling, Saskia Sassen, Metahaven, Eyal Weizman and others. What the Honduran project presented, however, was a new neoliberal horizon, in which autonomous city-states allow for the privatization of citizenship, thus fulfilling both the classical liberalist emphasis on voluntaryism and neoliberalism’s market-based liberty of choice. The Honduran Supreme Court’s reverse ruling on the cities projects, nearly two years after the passage of the amendment, may thus be seen not only as a rejection of neocolonial enterprise, but as a recognition of the state, per Wendy Brown, as “the only meaningful site […] of political citizenship and rights guarantees.”
Periodically, I hold readings at data centers worldwide, including Google New York, Google Zurich and the infamous “Wikileaks Bunker” of Bahnhof Stockholm. These events give audiences access to the sites where “the cloud” is kept. We encounter the material doubles of our virtual subjectivities: data stored in server form.
Rather than concede to the seeming intractability of cognitive capitalism, these readings seek to potentiate new critical operations through shared access, listening and discussion. Across its parts, "I’m that angel" argues for a renewed consideration of the immanent horizons of subjectivity, sociability and creativity.
More information: http://tylercoburn.com/angel.html
This text is adapted from a short performance delivered in English by Coburn and in Japanese by Wataru Naganuma at TOKAS Hongo in summer 2023. The performance took place in Coburn's installation, which included wall sculptures made with gofun (a white medium made of oyster shells) and Oribe Nanbanjin candlesticks that depict Europeans. Images here: https://tylercoburn.com/candlestick.html
"Counterfactuals" is an essay about an ongoing gaming workshop, run by Tyler Coburn. Participants bring counterfactual scenarios to the sessions, and we collaborate in small groups to play them out. These games, dynamic ways of working with history, help us dwell in the complexities of causation; distrust the precision of hindsight; and locate moments in the past, when the sediment has yet to settle, that could lead us towards a decent and equitable present.
Working from my interviews, I am collaborating with architects Bureau V on different types of ergonomic seating for these future bodies, which will serve as functional “benches” in fine art and natural history museums (see here: http://www.tylercoburn.com/ergonomic.html). Additionally, I have designed a standalone website (www.ergonomicfutures.com), featuring my first-ever piece of online literature, which draws upon the aforementioned interviews. This essay stems from that literature.
See more here: http://www.tylercoburn.com/angel.html
This essay is adapted from a lecture delivered at e-flux, New York on August 25, 2014, as part of the Summer Mondays series. It was originally published for "The Legal Medium & Irregular Rendition," a conference and exhibition organized by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento and Lucy Hunter at Yale University in February 2015. The essay later appear on Dis: http://dismagazine.com/discussion/74817/a-wide-blank-tyler-coburn/
Extraterritoriality is already the subject of voluminous writing by Keller Easterling, Saskia Sassen, Metahaven, Eyal Weizman and others. What the Honduran project presented, however, was a new neoliberal horizon, in which autonomous city-states allow for the privatization of citizenship, thus fulfilling both the classical liberalist emphasis on voluntaryism and neoliberalism’s market-based liberty of choice. The Honduran Supreme Court’s reverse ruling on the cities projects, nearly two years after the passage of the amendment, may thus be seen not only as a rejection of neocolonial enterprise, but as a recognition of the state, per Wendy Brown, as “the only meaningful site […] of political citizenship and rights guarantees.”
Periodically, I hold readings at data centers worldwide, including Google New York, Google Zurich and the infamous “Wikileaks Bunker” of Bahnhof Stockholm. These events give audiences access to the sites where “the cloud” is kept. We encounter the material doubles of our virtual subjectivities: data stored in server form.
Rather than concede to the seeming intractability of cognitive capitalism, these readings seek to potentiate new critical operations through shared access, listening and discussion. Across its parts, "I’m that angel" argues for a renewed consideration of the immanent horizons of subjectivity, sociability and creativity.
More information: http://tylercoburn.com/angel.html