back to the overview I deutschsprachige Version des Textes Our examination of the reasons for migration and of migrants often takes place exclusively through media reporting. To understand the reality of migrants` lives in Berlin, Regina Vitányi visited demonstrations and discussion happenings. At the same time, the graphic designer and artist investigated the way migration has been reported in the Central European public media in the past twelve years and how images and history are used to create certain media effects. In general, the results of her observations and analyses can be applied to the media coverage of politically contested and sensitive topics worldwide. Vitányi´s key questions in her work were what changes have there been in the media in recent years and how the mechanisms and instruments that are used in negative reports about migration function. In general, it can be concluded that migration and crisis are often mentioned in the same breath in order to put migration in an exclusively problematic light. Vitányi has compiled the results of her research and analysis in a booklet entitled Unfolded, which is available for visitors to the exhibition to study at home. A strip of paper is wrapped around the booklet. In addition, the corners can be unfolded so that it can be set up like a tent. Once the ribbon has been removed, the booklet unfolds. At the beginning, the artist refers to Zoltán Kékesi`s research on anti-Semitism, for example, in the text Icons in Exile. The Travels of an Anti-Semitic Image Cult¹. Kékesi has reappraised how the disappearance of a Hungarian peasant girl named Eszter Sólymosi in the spring of 1882 led to the murder of native and immigrant Jews. Aided by a portrait of the girl painted in the style of costume portraits, her case gained widespread attention at the International Anti-Jewish Congress of 1882 in Dresden. At the unveiling of the painting, an emotionally-charged speech was held with the intention to demonstrate the drastic suffering of the girl during her killing by a Jewish murderer. Vitányi lists the instrumentalisation of the case in the period from 1933 to the present day and thus leads to her analyses of mechanisms of the targeted dissemination of false information. Using individual terms such as distraction, blurring and pigeonholing, the artist explains the different methods of disinformation. In so-called echo chambers, for example, opinions are reinforced. Through the constant repetition of the same beliefs within a closed system, they are reinforced so that at some point they can hardly be refuted. Another mechanism is the use of provocative messages that outrage users and challenge them to react, otherwise known as trolling. Memes are also often used to spread inflammatory sentiment. With collages of individual image elements or text-image combinations, opinions are circulated that spread an interpretation of current happenings. The purpose of Vitányi´s booklet is to inform and enable readers to conduct their own analysis. Since media coverage of migration is often about generating emotions, the graphic designer refrained from evoking emotional reactions. She developed her own visual language with the use of typefaces from the southern hemisphere, which create a form of recognition. In the exhibition, Vitányi worked on an MDF board with different materials that are representative of the analytical terms she elaborated and which are assigned to each other in an explanatory material glossary. For example, letter noodles represent trolling, wax stands for blurring and dust for remembrance politics. By way of an artistic confrontation with the powerful influence of the media, Vitányi removes the materials from the board so that they lie on the floor like rubble waiting to be disposed of. This makes it clear that no comprehensive and sustainable way of dealing with the mechanisms of media influence has yet been found. The question is to what extent the instrumentalisation of media effects can be limited and made to disappear. __________________________ ¹ Zoltán Kékesi: Icons in Exile. The Travels of an Anti-Semitic Image Cult, in the Yearbook for Antisemitism Research 25, ed. By Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, Centre for Antisemitism Research at the Technical University in Berlin (2016) p.154-169. Text: Dr. Silke Förschler Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko About Regina Vitányi Regina Vitányi is a graphic designer and printmaker from Hungary, who constantly challenges the boundaries between her two fields of expertise. She experiments with unique printing solutions, and creates time and motion based printed material which interacts with the viewer. In recent years she was focusing on experimental book design, and collected awards from ArtHungy and UBDYA. She studied at METU Budapest and ASP Wrocław, gaining inspiration for poster making during her MA studies. She’s been curating and contributing to poster shows all over Europe. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reginavitanyi/ Website: https://www.reginavitanyi.com/
