The F.A.T. Manual
F.A.T.: It’s Not Because They Don’t Take Themselves Seriously That You Shouldn’t
With their in-your-face projects, provocative titles and garish early ’90s aesthetic, F.A.T. take no prisoner. They use the tools and icons of our time and embrace pop culture as much as they lambaste it. Their homepage is headed by the likes of Pussy Riot, Kim Dotcom, Rick Astley and Edward Snowden. In no particular order. And because they don’t impose any hierarchy on the influence of these contemporary icons of the Internet, F.A.T. manage to reach the people who otherwise do not realize nor care about the issues that the artistic organization cares about. Their call for vigilance might look harmless and gimmicky but it is loud and sneakily powerful (rumor has it that the manifesto for the “Fuck Google” week they wrote for the Transmediale catalogue even made it to a board meeting of Google Germany). [1] So don’t do like I did: don’t dismiss F.A.T. just because they make you laugh.
Notes [1] Cf. www.gratefulgrapefruit.com/interview/evan-roth/.
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