Gift as Surface
Paskamer x Ned Kaar
Hildegardistraat 31, Rotterdam.
Saturday, 22nd February 2025, 19:00
A reading will take place at 19:30 and
closing music session by POLARWOLF
Rec-s /Rex/ [reporting live]:
Dia dhaoibh a chairde: hello, friends!
Ned has been at Paskamer for a while now. It’s been over a month (not counting the December break and an exhausting move in between). Let’s just say it’s Ned Kaar Season, a little delayed, but happening. He comes in the evenings, sometimes on weekends. Laptop open, something to drink (hot or cold) and a cookie to keep the energy up. We have had some good conversations. Ned writes, and also makes lamps; lamps that, until now, have always been given. His friends know this. They have been stacked, placed, objects often requested, exchanged. Given for vanity, for labor, for time. He’s done it again, just a little differently.
Who decides what has value? What does it mean to give without expecting a tangible return? Can work exist outside of capitalism, or does it always get pulled back in?
If a designer works in the woods, does anyone value him? he asks.
A lamp is a lamp. A coin is a coin. A brick is a brick. A ring is a ring. A hair straightener is a hair straightener. A gift is a gift. A job is a job. And still…The question lingers, unresolved, like the objects themselves.
Come by. Let’s see what they could be.
For the event, we will host a reading session followed
by music to close the evening.
Bring a duvet if you like.
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Ned in the studio.
ù
Some Truths about Ned
IF A DESIGNER WORKS IN THE WOODS, DOES ANYONE VALUE HIM?
If the designer is the woods, then the work might have value.
WHAT IS THE BEST GIFT YOU HAVE EVER GIVEN?
The last gift I gave was a bag.
WHAT IS THE BEST GIFT YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED?
The last gift I received was a gas hose for a stove.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LAMP AND A LIGHT?
I met a man who told me one is a lig htbulb and the other is the fixture that holds it.
LOVE
Behind everything
HATE
In front of some things
WHAT IS THE ONE OBJECT YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT?
Still figuring this one out. |
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What they say about Ned’s work
It’s not just surface.
Dzeen
Somewhere between a gift and a trap.
Le Mood
The objects are never completely separated
from the men who exchange them.
Marcel Mauss, 1990.
A curated list to get in the mood
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READ
The Gift. Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies by Marcel Mauss.
Debt The First 5000 years by David Graeber.
WATCH
Sorry We Missed You (2019), Ken Loach
Beau Travail (1999), Claire Denis
How to with John Wilson (TV Series 2020–2023)
LISTEN
Fine Art, Kneecap
Empire Podcast
Money, Pink Floyd
Gregorian chant
PLAY
Super Mario Bros
Monopoly
EXPERIENCE
Visit a flea market
Move house
Live Christmas
Read poetry under streetlights
Spend an hour in complete darkness
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A Rebus game
A
🐏r = l+p
i+🌞-un
f+🐂=r
👃-no+💍r= e+!
The rebus puzzle consists of 5 images and rebus decode instructions shown below each image.
Each decode hint may suggest to:
Adding a letter (e.g. +A)Removing a letter (e.g -A)
Replacing a letter (e.g A = B)