Linz vs. Vilnius

We’re settlin’ this Capital of Culture thing once and for all!

Spring 2009

We live in a world of rankings. From the 100 most beautiful and the 500 best dressed to the top dancers, singers and dentists—we’re constantly subjected to purported objectivity putting itself forth in the form of a very subjective hit parade. The culture biz is no exception: Golden Palms and Lions, the Oscars of course, the Nobel Prize for Literature and even the European Song Contest prove amply enough that even presumably subjective artforms cry out to be judged and scored. Vilnius and Linz, on the other hand, are unranked as 2009 European Capitals of Culture, a state of affairs that Messrs Juhann and Jod find completely insufferable. So, they aim to clear this up by actually determining which city has brought forth the greater culture.

Accordingly, the artistic duo Juhann and Jod is organizing six theme evenings to which they’ll invite selected experts from Linz and Vilnius to present the various cultural achievements of Europe’s co-capitals of culture in a way that’s interesting and, at the same time, scientifically legitimate. Audiences will learn some very spectacular things in a really fun way about such fields as literature and history as well as cuisine and language. And at the conclusion of the proceedings, each spectator will cast his/her vote to decide which achievement—the Austrian or the Lithuanian—was more convincing. In order to facilitate the balloting, all presentations will be radically objectified by Messrs Juhann and Jod: while the experts are speaking, individuals with some professional connection to the world of art & culture will be cutting up the text just delivered into its component parts and reordering them alphabetically.

For instance, immediately after their readings, writers Laurynas Katkus (Lithuania) and Franzobl (Austria) will be confronted by the alphabetically reordered wordlist of their texts and then have a chance to use the listed vocabulary to create a new story. Obviously, art destroys itself and is constantly creating itself anew.

After six events, the city that truly deserves the “European Capital of Culture” seal of approval will have emerged, and the newly crowned cultural superstar—either Linz or Vilnius—will be feted at a party custom-tailored to the winning city’s culture.

Idea / Concept // Stefan Kutzenberger / Wolfgang Hametner

Stefan Kutzenberger: Born in 1971 in Linz; free-lance scholar and copywriter in Vienna; since 1996, Herr Jod in the artistic duo “Die Herren Juhann und Jod.”

Wolfgang Hametner: Born in 1971 in Linz; free-lance graphic artist and gardener in Vienna; since 1996, Herr Juhann in the artistic duo “Die Herren Juhann und Jod.”

Die Herren Juhann und Jod: In 1996, the duo founded the Red Salon Cultural Association to Overcome Postmodernism; 1996-99, published “Angst,” a magazine that was singled out for recognition with a “Wahrer Wert” seal of approval from Vienna’s Künstlerhaus in 2006. As radio show hosts—“Fireside Chats from the Red Salon” and “Frontfunk”—they graced the airwaves of Upper Austria via Radio FRO from 1997 to 2000. They’ve also made a name for themselves as moderators at auctions, charity events and officially registered demonstrations against unaesthetic phenomena in public spaces. From 1999 to 2006, they did their acts on countless cabaret stages throughout Austria: “A Catholic Breakfast,” “Advent,” “Advent.reloaded” and “Cooking.” In 2003, they went on an “Anti-Mustache” mission through Upper Austria in conjunction with the Festival of the Regions. And during the weeks leading up to Christmas 2004, their “Ave Maria” short program organized by Tanzquartier Wien got Austria's capital into the holiday mood.