Soviet Unterzoegersdorf
Encyclopedia
Soviet Unterzoegersdorf is a fictitious country created by the art/technology/theory group monochrom
. It is the "last existing appanage republic of the USSR", located inside the Republic of Austria
.
Debates triggered by postmodern culture have directed monochrom's attention towards questions of representation and relevance of "history" and stories. With Soviet Unterzoegersdorf a fictitious and misplaced handling of the past and the present is being discussed and put to use. In this regard, the project is also taking part in the production as well as the criticism of cultural and collective memories.
Monochrom transformed the basic theoretical concept into various projects.
/performance
/LARP that lasted for a couple of days. They organized bus tours from Vienna
to Unterzoegersdorf—a small Lower Austrian village that really exists—and acted the setting; beginning with the harsh EU Schengen
border control.
In 2002 they staged the 55th anniversary of the Communist Party of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf. Among other things monochrom presented a computer called “Hyper Hegel” that was powered with burning wood and that would only run a low tech version of Tetris
. Later “Hyper Hegel” was presented as an art installation in exhibitions.
In 2005 monochrom presented the first part of a computer game trilogy: "Soviet Unterzoegersdorf - The Adventure Game" (using AGS
). To monochrom it was clear that the adventure game
would provide the perfect media platform to communicate the idea of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf.
The first part of the game was very popular and was well received in the media. The game magazine Edge chose the game as their 'internet game of the month' of November 2005. The back story of the adventure game series features the really existing Tumulus
of Unterzoegersdorf.
Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector II has been presented on December 28, 2008 at the 25th Chaos Communication Congress
in Berlin. The game features special guest appearances of Cory Doctorow
, Bruce Sterling
, Jello Biafra
, Jason Scott
, Bre Pettis
and MC Frontalot
. The game was released in March 2009 in San Francisco.
) visited a corporate afterparty of Disney.com at the Marriott Hotel in San Diego (part of O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference
). He wanted to talk to executives about "the sugar-coated bullets" the corporation is firing at "his country" and other concepts of "cultural imperialism". The "Ambassador" got expelled from the party by Disney personnel.
On September 11, 2009 the "Soviet Unterzoegersdorf Intelligence Corps" released a press statement referring to a pretty detailed list of Austrian civilian and military air traffic frequencies and recordings of two embarrassing conversations on Austrian police radio.
Johannes Grenzfurthner gave a presentation at TEDxVienna about the project.
created a series of videos for Boing Boing
Video, dealing with a mysterious packages full of Cheetos
. The series is set in the alternative universe of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf.
Monochrom
monochrom is an international art-technology-philosophy group, founded in 1993. Its offices are located at Museumsquartier/Vienna ....
. It is the "last existing appanage republic of the USSR", located inside the Republic of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Debates triggered by postmodern culture have directed monochrom's attention towards questions of representation and relevance of "history" and stories. With Soviet Unterzoegersdorf a fictitious and misplaced handling of the past and the present is being discussed and put to use. In this regard, the project is also taking part in the production as well as the criticism of cultural and collective memories.
Monochrom transformed the basic theoretical concept into various projects.
Short film (1999)
A short film ("Der Installateur (bis 14:28)") about a plumber trying to cross the border of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf to repair a nuclear warm-water boiler.Public theatre performances (2001 and 2002)
In 2001, ten years after the end of the Soviet Union, monochrom transformed the theoretical concept into an improvisational theatreImprovisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
/performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
/LARP that lasted for a couple of days. They organized bus tours from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to Unterzoegersdorf—a small Lower Austrian village that really exists—and acted the setting; beginning with the harsh EU Schengen
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
border control.
In 2002 they staged the 55th anniversary of the Communist Party of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf. Among other things monochrom presented a computer called “Hyper Hegel” that was powered with burning wood and that would only run a low tech version of Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
. Later “Hyper Hegel” was presented as an art installation in exhibitions.
Computer Game Series (2005-)
- Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector I
In 2005 monochrom presented the first part of a computer game trilogy: "Soviet Unterzoegersdorf - The Adventure Game" (using AGS
Adventure Game Studio
Adventure Game Studio is a free software development tool that is primarily used to create graphical adventure games. It is aimed at intermediate-level game designers, and combines an Integrated development environment for setting up most aspects of the game with a scripting language to process...
). To monochrom it was clear that the adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
would provide the perfect media platform to communicate the idea of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf.
The first part of the game was very popular and was well received in the media. The game magazine Edge chose the game as their 'internet game of the month' of November 2005. The back story of the adventure game series features the really existing Tumulus
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
of Unterzoegersdorf.
- Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector II
Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector II has been presented on December 28, 2008 at the 25th Chaos Communication Congress
Chaos Communication Congress
The Chaos Communication Congress is an annual meeting of the international hacker scene, organized by the Chaos Computer Club. The congress features a variety of lectures and workshops on technical and political issues....
in Berlin. The game features special guest appearances of Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow
Cory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books...
, Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
, Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
, Jason Scott
Jason Scott Sadofsky
Jason Scott Sadofsky , more commonly known as Jason Scott, is an American archivist and historian of technology. He is the creator, owner and maintainer of textfiles.com, a web site which...
, Bre Pettis
Bre Pettis
Bre Pettis is an entrepreneur, video blogger and multi-artist. He is also known for DIY video podcasts for MAKE, and for the History Hacker pilot on the History Channel. He is one of the founders of the Brooklyn-based hacker space NYC Resistor.Pettis is a co-founder and the CEO of MakerBot...
and MC Frontalot
MC Frontalot
Damian Hess , better known by stage name MC Frontalot, is a Brooklyn-based hip hop musician and self-proclaimed "world's 579th greatest rapper". He is best known in nerdcore hip hop and video game culture, for naming the nerdcore subgenre, and performing at Penny Arcades annual Penny Arcade Expo...
. The game was released in March 2009 in San Francisco.
Interventions (2008-)
In 2008 monochrom staged a couple of public appearances of "His Excellency Ambassador of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf, Nikita Chrusov" in the USA. The "Ambassador" (played by monochrom member Johannes GrenzfurthnerJohannes Grenzfurthner
Johannes Grenzfurthner is an Austrian artist, writer, curator, director.He has published numerous books, essays and articles on contemporary art, science and philosophy....
) visited a corporate afterparty of Disney.com at the Marriott Hotel in San Diego (part of O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference
Emerging Technology Conference
The O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference is O'Reilly Media's premier conference about the new technologies that are on the O'Reilly Radar. O'Reilly defines its core business not as books, conferences, or online publishing, though it does all three, but as "changing the world by spreading the...
). He wanted to talk to executives about "the sugar-coated bullets" the corporation is firing at "his country" and other concepts of "cultural imperialism". The "Ambassador" got expelled from the party by Disney personnel.
On September 11, 2009 the "Soviet Unterzoegersdorf Intelligence Corps" released a press statement referring to a pretty detailed list of Austrian civilian and military air traffic frequencies and recordings of two embarrassing conversations on Austrian police radio.
Sierra Zulu (2011-)
monochrom announced on September 12, 2011 that they are working on a feature-length film that is set in the universe of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf. They are collaborating with the Austrian film production company Golden Girls Filmproduktion.Johannes Grenzfurthner gave a presentation at TEDxVienna about the project.
Side projects
monochromMonochrom
monochrom is an international art-technology-philosophy group, founded in 1993. Its offices are located at Museumsquartier/Vienna ....
created a series of videos for Boing Boing
Boing Boing
Boing Boing is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine, later becoming a group blog.-History:...
Video, dealing with a mysterious packages full of Cheetos
Cheetos
Cheetos is a brand of cheese-flavored cornmeal snack made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the U.S. The initial success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger between The Frito Company...
. The series is set in the alternative universe of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf.
Media references
- Interview with Johannes Grenzfurthner (monochrom) about 'Soviet Unterzoegersdorf'
- The Edge, Internet Game of the Month, November 2005
- Socialismo, era tutto un gioco?
- Review, The Underdogs
- Neural: Soviet-Unterzögersdorf
- Boing Boing TV
- Analysis of Soviet Unterzoegersdorf's Cheetos campaign
External links
- unterzoegersdorf.su (.su.su.su was assigned as the country code top-level domain for the Soviet Union on September 19, 1990. It remains in use today, even though the Soviet Union itself no longer exists, and is administered by the Russian Institute for Public Networks .In 2001, the managers of the domain stated that they...
is the top level domain that was assigned to the Soviet Union) - Project page
- Game page
- Soviet Unterzoegersdorf Metroblogging
- Summary of a talk about Soviet Unterzoegersdorf (dealing with the background of the project)
- "Sierra Zulu" / feature film project page