mobil|ize /meubi,laiz/ (also -ise) v. , make or become ready for service or action.
November 3. 1976, 10.20 h.: Arnold Schalks, twenty years old, checks in at the Orange Barracks in Schaarsbergen to do military service. The next 13 months and 20 days he serves as a 'Rijder' (Rider) of the 1st Battery of the 11th Division Mounted Artillery (11 AfdRA), also known as the 'Gele Rijders' (Yellow Riders).
From Friday November 29. to Sunday December 22. 1996 an installation titled 'the mobilization' will be on display in the Arnheim art center 'De Gele Rijder'. The work is the result of the collaboration of visual artist Arnold Schalks and filmmaker Noud Heerkens, both residents of Rotterdam.
20 years and 26 days
Der Satz der Identität lautet nach einer geläufigen Formel: A = A. Der Satz gilt als das oberste Denkgesetz. Diesem Satz versuchen wir für eine Weile nachzudenken. Denn wir möchten durch den Satz erfahren was Identität ist.
Wenn das Denken, von einer Sache angesprochen, dieser nachgeht, kann es ihm geschehen, daß es sich unterwegs wandelt. Darum ist es ratsam, im folgenden auf den Weg zu achten, weniger auf den Inhalt. Beim Inhalt recht zu verweilen, verwehrt uns schon der Fortgang des Vortrages.
Was sagt der Formel A = A, in der man den Satz der Identität darzustellen pflegt? Die Formel nennt die Gleichheit von A und A. Zu einer Gleichung gehören wenigstens zwei. Ein A gleicht einem anderen. Will der Satz der Indentität solches aussagen? Offenkundig nicht. Das Identische, lateinisch idem, heißt griechisch 'to auto'. In unsere deutsche Sprache übersetzt heißt 'to auto' das Selbe. Wenn einer immerfort dasselbe sagt, z. B. die Pflanze ist Pflanze, spricht er in einer Tautologie. Damit etwas das Selbe sein kann, genügt jeweils eines. Es bedarf nicht ihrer zwei wie bei der Gleichheit.
Die Formel A = A spricht von Gleichheit. Sie nennt A nicht als dasselbe. Die geläufige Formel für den Satz der Identität verdeckt somit gerade das, was der Satz sagen möchte: A ist A, d.h. jedes A ist selber dasselbe. [...]
(from: Martin Heidegger 'Identität und Differenz', S. 9-10, Verlag Günther Neske, Stuttgart 1957)
On June 27. 1957 Martin Heidegger gave a lecture at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau on the occasion of its 500th anniversary. The lecture was recorded, and the recording was later released on the LP 'Der Satz der Identität'.
The usual formula for the thesis of identity is: A = A. The thesis counts as the supreme law of reason. We would like to think this thesis over for a while. For, through this thesis, we would like to learn what identity is.
If reason tries to follow a matter that it is adressed by, it may occur that this matter changes on the way. Therefore, in the course of this lecture, it is advisable to pay more attention to the way than to the content. By contemplating the content we obstruct the continuation of the lecture.
What does the formula: A = A, by which the thesis of identity is usually represented, mean to say? The formula mentions the equality of A and A. For an equation, at least two are required. One A equals another. Is that what the thesis of identity means to say? Obviously not. The identical, 'idem' in latin, is called 'to auto' in Greek. Translated into our German language 'to auto' is called 'das Selbe' (the Same). If a person constantly says the same, for instance: the plant is plant, he speaks in a tautology. For something to be the Same, each time one is required, not two of them, as in the case of an equality.
The formula A = A speaks of equality. It mentions A not as the same. The usual formula for the thesis of identity thus conceals, what the thesis intends to say: A is A, i. e. every A is itself the same. [...]
(translation: A.S.)
Sequence (fig. 1): A retreating army. A blurred black-and-white image of a moving army vehicle. The filmframe and the viewfinder of the weapon are identical. The tank explodes seventeen frames (17/25th of a second) after the shot has been fired.
Noud Heerkens, Tilburg, 1954
Noud Heerkens makes movies and installations since 1978. He is not commited to a specific style or genre, and produces fiction as well as documentaries and experimental movies. His work is presented nationally and internationally by musea, in galleries and on festivals e. g.: the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Filmfestival Rotterdam, Sydney Filmfestival, De Unie Rotterdam, De Appel Amsterdam, Artists Space New York.
Arnold Schalks, Leiden, 1956
From 1979 to 1983 Arnold Schalks received an education in 'Drawing, Painting and Design' at the Rotterdam Academy of fine Arts. Since then he worked as a self-employed artist. He prefers linguistic-spacial work. He operates alone or collaborates with collegues from/in the Netherlands and abroad.