Alarm clock killed her job. Mary Smith, the famous Knocker Uppers, whose task was to wake up people during industrial revolution. (OK, after she retired, her daughter Molly Moore continued her task). (Image: Alamy/BBC) www.bbc.com/future/a...

Vendor lock-in and lock-out per excellence. Bending Spoons killed already Vimeo (made it unusable in Europe without the entire access to video library). Now they are breaking Evernote as well. So well, two services I have to cancel. Whatever.

#MERZslop #0021 Make SLOP not WARS And...

John Cage about ideas. "if enough mined copper exists, re-use it, don't mine more; same with ideas" Looking for new ideas as a goal is pathetic. Reuse (=steal) ideas in your way. This is how art works. Originality is a myth. From: John Cage, A Year from Monday, 1967

Dear women across every field—artists, poetesses, writers, researchers, thinkers, makers, and all who shape the world through their work and ideas—happy 8 March, International Women’s Day! Without you, nothing would exist. #InternationalWomensDay

Ehm, @Vimeo, what's going on? As a paying customer I don't only use it to host my videos, but I've used Vimeo since 2008 to discover new cinema people and video art (which was way better than Youtube). Are you serious? That's how my fav page looks like: vimeo.com/home/feed

John Cage about advertising: "Advertising's discredited itself. When they advertise something, we avoid it" From: John Cage, A Year from Monday, 1967 I can relate. Advertising for profit, without self-convinction, will fail in modern times. I avoid ads and products they sell.

Call me old-fashioned, call me stupid, call me European. Just call me.

Watching absolutely mesmerizing "Jane B. par Agnès V." (1988) Varda re-creates Birkin in completely fantastic way. The time is an onion, being dissected by a camera's knife and you see the layers of our meta-fictional reality. CUT! 🔪

John Cage about future of multimedial communication: "Effect of videophone on travel? That we'll stay home, settling like gods for impressions we'll give of being everywhere at once?" From: John Cage, A Year from Monday, 1967

Still in awe by @Magnific_AI. It can restore photos perfectly. Here is me (on the left, with a friend) in my early years, 1980ies, as always in a theater. I spent my childhood in theaters, sweet memories. Left - Magnific-restored, right - original damaged photo.

Fun fact: The shelf with books and magazines that I wrote or contributed to fell off the wall. It was probably too heavy. I've now used stronger screws. I feel kind of honored.

Confusing and absurd copyright story around Mondrian's "Composition II with Red, Blue, and Yellow” (1930). "The estate’s legal argument is more Dada than De Stijl" Aaron Moss copyrightlately.com/...

#MerzmenschPresents: POSTLIMEN Coming 2026

#MicroMERZ (2023) “Hi, my name is VVA-5400, and this is Tom, my imaginary friend.”

In our reading "Maschinen stimmen" about Poetry of humans and machines, we'll also mention you, dear poets - here a small selection - and we are thinking of you whose books are missing here.

Heute! maschinen stimmen Gedichte zwischen Mensch & KI. Franziska Ostermann & Merzmensch in Lesung und Gespräch Morgen, am 3.3.2026 im Literaturhaus Kiel. Franziska Ostermann @merzmensch.bsky.social @landesbibliothek.bsky.social

maschinen stimmen Gedichte zwischen Mensch & KI. Franziska Ostermann & Merzmensch in Lesung und Gespräch Morgen, am 3.3.2026 im Literaturhaus Kiel. Franziska Ostermann @merzmensch.bsky.social @landesbibliothek.bsky.social

Computational poetry! A prominent place in "Cybernetic Serendipity" (1968) is taken by poets! Alison Knowles, Nanni Balestrini, Margaret Masterman etc are using programming and algorithms to unleash poetic power, or to stumble upon wonderful system bugs. Bugs? Or more than that?

Stop the war. And with "war" I mean this war. And that war too. And that over there as well. Stop all wars. And that one you oppose. And this one you defend. Stop all wars. On all sides. Get rid of guns. There is only one thing to be exterminated: hate. In yourself.

Cabaret Voltaire Bausatz Nr.11 (legendäres züricher Gründungslokal der internationalen Dada Bewegung) Idee Writing Prompting AIart Realisation Meister Jeder, Dadaist und Modellbauer 3/26 #dada #CabaretVoltaire #Zürich #Blister #Dadaismus

Faszinierendes Dokument über drei Sänger des Dresdner Knabenchors, die in Tokyo 1988 zur BRD Botschaft übergelaufen sind und nach Asyl baten. Liest sich wie ein Krimi!

#MERZslop #0020 Unfinished slop. I began with this drawing, but then I had an idea for a short video-poetry film. So I'm off to use my AI tools instead).

#MicroMERZ "And so the history ends here..."

Dear @DarioAmodei. We believe in your Common Sense and mission to use @Anthropicai for good and for humanity. We hope you won't sign the pact with the evil. AI shouldn't be used against people, neither in the USA, nor anywhere, as @deptofwar plans. The world is counting on you.

This Valentines short by @conecofilm is absolutely brilliant. The actors, 蔦谷里華 (Tsutaya Lica, @kilicalvy) and 矢柴俊博 (Yashiba Toshihiro, @yashiba848) are so natural, organic, adorable. I cannot stop watching and rewatching it.

Thanks to @welcometotwinpeaks for setting this up! Hallelujah!

#MERZslop #0019 DON'T

I am thrilled to be taking part in the OBJKT Labs Residency alongside these brilliant artists! Stay tuned for more. Thank you, dear Anika Meier and OBJKT for this opportunity!

"Who the hell is this Merzmensch?"

Fake #MERZslop, Not even by me

Fake #MERZslop, Not even by me

It was very inspiring to speak to the audience of Frankfurt Malakademie about AI and Art. Mostly senior audience had rich art experience and heard about AI with fascination. Many want to implement it into their mixed art work. Our discussions were very inspiring as well. Indeed, new epoch is here.

A little exhibition of my works and books before my lecture about Generative Art and Generative AI in Frankfurter Malakademie begins. #aiart #kikunst

#MERZslop #0017 Feel the difference

Zur Erinnerung: am Samstag dem 21. erzähle ich bei der Frankfurter Malakademie über die Generative Kunst und Generative KI. Sehen wir uns? www.malakademie.de/

US State Department (@StateDept) developed "Freedom.gov", "an online portal that will enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments". I am sure, they will post there Epstein List with uncensored names. Plus everything banned in US.

#MERZslop #0016 Before AI Slop, there was Fan Art

GM!

Love it! From "Cybernetic Serendipity" (1968): "The Forget-me-not computer, built in 1966 in accordance with Livingstone's Law (Memory may hold the door but elephants never forget)...

What a fascinating view to Expo 70 in Japan! You see video projections, robots, creative encounter of technology and art. If you have 3 hours of your time. (Tip: the art topics begin with 2h15m) www.youtube.com/watc... (thx to NB for raising attention!)

Sehr lesenswert: "Die Aura eines Kunstwerks wird nicht leiden [...] Die leichte Abrufbarkeit eines Bildes in der digitalen Welt [kann] die sogenannte Aura des Originals noch verstärken". Walter Benjamin und die digitale Aura von Angelika Schoder.

Das Problem in Europa ist vor allem: wir haben die beste Regulierung der Welt, nur nichts zum Regulieren, weil das zu regulierende haben wir bereits wegreguliert. Nicht dass ich ein Freund von "Move fast and break things" bin. Jedoch unser Dogmatismus lässt uns da "halt" machen.

#MERZslop #0015 A slop a day takes an AI-hater away

Diesen Samstag, den 21.02.! Sichert Eure Plätze! Frankfurter Malakademie veranstaltet mit Merzmensch einen Abend zum Thema Generative Kunst und Generative KI (begleitet mit einer kleinen Ausstellung meiner Werke). Ich freue mich auf Euch! Mehr infos hier: www.malakademie.de/

"Cybernetic Serendipity (1968)". In love with Nam June Paik' approach with his interactive television art. The viewer becomes a player. "Passive art is a real threat to our culture. If the viewer does not enter into art, he cannot possibly hope to understand it" (Norman Bauman)

Do you want to get news from Merzmensch - in English, German or sometimes in Japanese? Subscribe! It's free, and - don't worry, I won't spam you. merzmensch.com/news P.S. My German posts are only about events in Germany, besides it's in English. (Or Japanese).

#MERZslop #0014 A dirty trick..

John Cage ("A year from monday", 1966) from "Cybernetic Serendipity" (1968): "Are we an audience for computer art? The answer's not No; it's Yes. What we need is a computer that isn't labour-saving but which increases the work for us to do"

I love the fact about the Cybernetic Serendipity catalogue that in Glossary, some of the terms are accompanied by limericks.