Document details

The philosopher Byung-Chul Han proposes an extremely critical philosophical perspective on the information age. His philosophy presents the contemporary subject as someone who resides in total exposure through the mechanisms of networks, a kind of “prison of light,” in which social identity is completely laid bare. This is a fetishistic form of recognition; everything that is completely in the light must be understood as something good, which implies diminishing critical potency, difference, and otherness. In this context, Han doubts all forms of social activism on the internet. The philosopher Habermas, with his concept of the Public Sphere, partly agrees, but the thinker Manuel Castells admits possibilities for social intervention through electronic networks. Han’s critique aligns with Debord’s society of the spectacle, in which only appearance is valued, not being. However, it is possible to consider if artivism, art as social intervention, can bring about this difference. The work of Edgar Franco, also known as the Cyber-Shaman, is analyzed; a transmedia artist and university instructor whose work is a digital shamanism grounded in network logic. His work is interpreted through Han’s critique, and the study investigates whether and how the Cyber-Shaman’s performative, graphic, and theoretical productions engage with the accusation that digital activism becomes a narcissistic spectacle in the Freudian sense. When someone questions his artivism, it reveals a proposal for resistance, but one that, paradoxically, plays the game of visibility that it intends to denounce. In the work of Ciberpajé there is a possibility of negativity and silence, but doubt always remains about the true transformation of society.

The philosopher Byung-Chul Han proposes an extremely critical philosophical perspective on the information age. His philosophy presents the contemporary subject as someone who resides in total exposure through the mechanisms of networks, a kind of “prison of light,” in which social identity is completely laid bare. This is a fetishistic form of recognition; everything that is completely in the light must be understood as something good, which implies diminishing critical potency, difference, and otherness. In this context, Han doubts all forms of social activism on the internet. The philosopher Habermas, with his concept of the Public Sphere, partly agrees, but the thinker Manuel Castells admits possibilities for social intervention through electronic networks. Han’s critique aligns with Debord’s society of the spectacle, in which only appearance is valued, not being. However, it is possible to consider if artivism, art as social intervention, can bring about this difference. The work of Edgar Franco, also known as the Cyber-Shaman, is analyzed; a transmedia artist and university instructor whose work is a digital shamanism grounded in network logic. His work is interpreted through Han’s critique, and the study investigates whether and how the Cyber-Shaman’s performative, graphic, and theoretical productions engage with the accusation that digital activism becomes a narcissistic spectacle in the Freudian sense. When someone questions his artivism, it reveals a proposal for resistance, but one that, paradoxically, plays the game of visibility that it intends to denounce. In the work of Ciberpajé there is a possibility of negativity and silence, but doubt always remains about the true transformation of society.

The philosopher Byung-Chul Han proposes an extremely critical philosophical perspective on the information age. His philosophy presents the contemporary subject as someone who resides in total exposure through the mechanisms of networks, a kind of “prison of light,” in which social identity is completely laid bare. This is a fetishistic form of recognition; everything that is completely in the light must be understood as something good, which implies diminishing critical potency, difference, and otherness. In this context, Han doubts all forms of social activism on the internet. The philosopher Habermas, with his concept of the Public Sphere, partly agrees, but the thinker Manuel Castells admits possibilities for social intervention through electronic networks. Han’s critique aligns with Debord’s society of the spectacle, in which only appearance is valued, not being. However, it is possible to consider if artivism, art as social intervention, can bring about this difference. The work of Edgar Franco, also known as the Cyber-Shaman, is analyzed; a transmedia artist and university instructor whose work is a digital shamanism grounded in network logic. His work is interpreted through Han’s critique, and the study investigates whether and how the Cyber-Shaman’s performative, graphic, and theoretical productions engage with the accusation that digital activism becomes a narcissistic spectacle in the Freudian sense. When someone questions his artivism, it reveals a proposal for resistance, but one that, paradoxically, plays the game of visibility that it intends to denounce. In the work of Ciberpajé there is a possibility of negativity and silence, but doubt always remains about the true transformation of society.

O filósofo Byung-Chul Han propõe uma perspectiva filosófica extremamente crítica da era da informação. Sua filosofia apresenta o sujeito contemporâneo como alguém que reside em uma exposição total pelos mecanismos das redes, uma espécie de “prisão de luz”, em que a identidade social está totalmente desnuda. Trata-se de uma forma fetichista de reconhecimento: tudo o que está completamente à luz deve ser compreendido como algo bom, o que implica em diminuir o poder crítico, a diferença e a alteridade. Nesse contexto, Han duvida de toda forma de ativismo social na internet. O filósofo Habermas, com seu conceito de Esfera Pública, concorda em parte, mas o pensador Manuel Castells admite possibilidades de intervenção social pelas redes. A crítica de Han se coloca ao lado da sociedade do espetáculo de Debord, em que se valoriza apenas o aparecer e não o ser. No entanto, existe a possibilidade de pensar se o artivismo, a arte como intervenção social, pode trazer essa diferença. Analisa-se a obra de Edgar Franco, também conhecido como o Ciberpajé; um artista transmídia e instrutor universitário cujo trabalho é um xamanismo digital fundamentado na lógica de rede. Sua obra é interpretada sob a crítica de Han e investiga-se como as produções performativas, gráficas e teóricas do Ciberpajé dialogam com a acusação de que o ativismo digital se torna um espetáculo narcisista no sentido freudiano. Quando se questiona seu artivismo percebe-se uma proposta de resistência, mas que, paradoxalmente, joga o jogo da visibilidade que pretende denunciar. Na obra do Ciberpajé há uma possibilidade de negatividade e silêncio, mas sempre resta dúvida sobre a transformação verdadeira da sociedade.