#BLACKTIVIST (USA 2015, Mario Pfeifer)

Mario Pfeifer – #BLACKTIVIST

USA 2015, feat. Flatbush ZOMBiES, 2-channel, 5’, English OV

For the 2-channel work #BLACKTIVIST, Mario Pfeifer encouraged the rap collective Flatbush ZOMBiES to write a song about the current situation of Afro-American communities in the US and articulate their view on racism, police violence and the virtually unrestricted access to arms. They shot a music clip together, which on the one hand consists of found footage material – for example dashcam and bodycam pictures of encounters with the police saturated with violence –, on the other hand of staged elements. The clip is flanked by pictures of the first 3D printing arms factory, which is run in Texas as a nonprofit organization and makes the blueprints of fabricates public and freely accessible to anyone. Concerning the open access publication and with the associated subversion of registered gun possession, the arms workshop Defense Distributedrefers to the law of free expression being enshrined in the constitution and the second amendment which guarantees the right of possessing firearms. Moreover, interview extracts made by Pfeifer and the rappers Erick Arc Elliott, Meechy Darko and Zombie Juice, talking about pacifism and the idea of working collectively, correct and broaden the work.