ABACUS comes to BAM from September 24—27. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of articles, and videos related to the show. Once you've seen it, help us keep the conversation going by telling us what you thought below.
Program Notes
ABACUS (PDF)
Watch & Listen
Video
“We Need to Talk About Ted” (The Guardian)
“Placebo techno-radicalism, toying with risk so as to reaffirm the comfortable.” Read this pointed critique of TED Talks, which ABACUS parodies.
Video
Paul Abacus Press Conference (YouTube)
The ABACUS mastermind reasserts that he does, in fact, exist.
Video
Paul Abacus Visualizations (VisualAnimals.com)
“We will leave behind the screens as we have the Eucharist, the psalms, and the Sunday gathering.”
Program Notes
ABACUS (PDF)
Watch & Listen
Video
“We Need to Talk About Ted” (The Guardian)
“Placebo techno-radicalism, toying with risk so as to reaffirm the comfortable.” Read this pointed critique of TED Talks, which ABACUS parodies.
Paul Abacus Press Conference (YouTube)
The ABACUS mastermind reasserts that he does, in fact, exist.
Video
Paul Abacus Visualizations (VisualAnimals.com)
“We will leave behind the screens as we have the Eucharist, the psalms, and the Sunday gathering.”
Read
Interview
“Inventing the Abacus” (InterviewMagazine.com)
A TED Talk parody or evangelical vision of the techno-future? ABACUS creator Lars Jan wavers.
Article
“Paul Abacus Doesn’t Exist. Here’s Why” (IndieWire.com)
In the Screen Age, all is surface—including the host of ABACUS.
Interview
“Inventing the Abacus” (InterviewMagazine.com)
A TED Talk parody or evangelical vision of the techno-future? ABACUS creator Lars Jan wavers.
Article
“Paul Abacus Doesn’t Exist. Here’s Why” (IndieWire.com)
In the Screen Age, all is surface—including the host of ABACUS.
Interview
Influences: Early Morning Opera's Lars Jan (LATimes.com)
Frederico Fellini, Gerhard Richter, Buckminster Fuller, and Julio Cortazar made the list.
Influences: Early Morning Opera's Lars Jan (LATimes.com)
Frederico Fellini, Gerhard Richter, Buckminster Fuller, and Julio Cortazar made the list.
Worthwhile Words
We fabricated a person — Paul Abacus — in order to conduct an investigation into how contemporary persuasion works, particularly in the form of presentations. You know, those setups with a charismatic speaker and a projection behind. The lingua franca of our world today. And, we wanted to figure out just what makes a person "exist" in today’s heavily screen-based world. Making people think that Paul was real was not a stunt. No one’s being punked Ali G-style and we’re not selling mp3s like Aime Eguchi. We want to point out the fact that many, many folks out there on those screens are just making up who they are. The more money they have behind them, the better produced their fictions. Who believes in these fairy-tale suits, hot news anchors, on-message politicians? Our answer: Too many.
—Lars Jan, Indiewire
Now your turn . . .
So how did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below.
So how did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below.