[spectre] United We Stand

[Eva Mattes]

14 December 2005, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


United We Stand
0100101110101101.ORG's fake movie hits the streets of your city ...and 
your mind


"United We Stand. Europe has a mission" is the punchy title of the 
non-existent, fully EU-produced Hollywood-style blockbuster: "A 
brilliant mix of espionage and sci-fi political stereotypes in which 
Europe, not the USA, saves the world from impending doom". The project 
that consists in the invention and promotion of this nonexistent movie 
is hitting public and media space all over the world through city-scale 
urban installations and viral communication tactics.


Isn't there something odd about this poster?

The streets of Berlin, Brussels, Barcelona, Bangalore and New York have 
been plastered with thousands of posters of this fake movie, in the 
first stage of a long-term communication strategy that began in late 
2005 and will gradually cover the whole media spectrum from blogs to 
magazines and TV. Full page United We Stand ads have been spotted all 
over Europe, in magazines devoted to art, youth culture and life 
styles. More are to come.
"I'd heard about this new project - comments Spanish art critic Nilo 
Casares - but it was only when I saw the poster at the entrance of the 
European Parliament that I understood what 0100101110101101.ORG meant"


"United We Stand" the movie

It is the year 2020. With the excuse of halting North Korea's nuclear 
arms proliferation, the USA has declared war on China - a development 
long expected by international analysts.
"We have a problem. Make that two: America and China", with these 
words, the European president calls for the intervention of a special 
Task Force: an undercover emergency team composed of five highly 
trained individuals only known as the English, the French, the German, 
the Italian and the Spanish agents. Their mission: to work behind the 
scenes to resolve the international crisis before it's too late and 
disarm the two superpowers without resorting to brute force.
"The power of the United States is a thing of the past - claims the 
French Task Force agent - How can you go around like John Wayne in a 
globalized world, where anything you do affects everything and 
everyone? In the networked world that we live in, the European model is 
fated to win".
Through international espionage, hi-tech sabotage and after many ups 
and downs, the Task Force comes close to achieving its aim. But when 
victory is within their sight, the mission apparently fails. How will 
Europe resolve the international crisis?


The European Dream. Propaganda for the 21st century?

United We Stand touches on themes of subliminal art, cultural 
propaganda and European identity, clashing against expectations and 
exploding cultural stereotypes. "Everyone remembers Peter Fonda in Easy 
Rider - says 0100101110101101.ORG's Eva Mattes - nobody is surprised by 
a leather jacket with an American flag, while the same jacket with a 
European flag would only make you laugh". Why is the patriotic 
iconography of the USA commonly accepted, while when it is applied to 
Europe it completely changes its meaning and actually becomes 
ludicrous?
Like Mattes' previous large-scale work Nike Ground, United We Stand 
provokes an unexpected wave of collective hallucination where 
over-identification, falsehood and consequent disclosure are key 
elements that foster critical thinking and provoke discussion around a 
topic.
"How do people perceive recent geo-political developments in Europe? - 
asks Nilo Casares - Is the European Dream the human and social project 
we will have to comply with? The issue is not whether or not people 
would like to see United We Stand; whether real or fake, this movie is 
a brilliant representation of the 'zeitgeist'"


Public disclosure

Since December 10th, Postmasters Gallery in New York has been the first 
of a series of art venues to host the disclosed side of the United We 
Stand project. The exhibition will run parallel to the ongoing 
communication strategy. "We are working simultaneously on this double 
track, the "fictional" and the "real" - explains Franco Mattes - in 
this sense, spectators in the gallery who are aware of the multiple 
layers are passive voyeurs, while the unaware "spectator", or passerby, 
is actually part of the artwork".


About the authors

Eva and Franco Mattes - internationally known as 0100101110101101.ORG - 
are a couple of restless European con-artists who use non-conventional 
communication tactics to obtain the largest visibility with the minimum 
effort. Past works include inventing and promoting a nonexistent 
artist; spreading a computer virus as a work of art; challenging and 
defeating Nike Corporation in a legal battle for a fake advertising 
campaign.


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To contact Eva and Franco Mattes: Contact @ 0100101110101101.ORG

http://www.0100101110101101.ORG

http://www.UnitedWeStandMovie.com