World Heritage: BILDSTOERUNG
Proposal to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee includes the pictorial phenomenon BILDSTOERUNG – well known from television since mid 20th century – on the World Heritage List to protect it as the most significant innovation among the world of pictures in modern time. The German term BILDSTOERUNG will be declared mandatory all over the world. Parallel to its inclusion on the World Heritage List the UNESCO will pledge every single TV station worldwide to send one hour BILDSTOERUNG daily
Justification
Since the introduction of television around mid 20th century, this medium began its unparalleled triumphant success around the world and today is the most important producer and distributor of pictures. The quality of the pictures’ content will not be considered: de gustibus non est disputandum. Neither will the production of electronic pictures be of any interest, whether analogue or digital: the technique of their production is completely marginal for all pictures. Only the result is significant.
Until the introduction of television, pictures were either damaged or even destroyed; only then the BILDSTOERUNG came into existence. This pictorial phenomenon is the only real innovation1 television brought about (moving pictures already existed in film). Only television gave rise to BILDSTOERUNG. BILDSTOERUNG is television’s primordial picture2, the first picture ever visible on screen.
The BILDSTOERUNG, described as snow, white noise, or chaos, is the basic picture of television. This whirring and simmering of seemingly chaotically dancing pictorial points emerges when a programme is disconnected due to technical problems or if there is no broadcasting at all. In the course of time, improved technology gradually helped to prevent such interferences. Moreover, today’s television sets do not show any BILDSTOERUNG in case of interference, but a monochrome blue or black screen.3 Nowadays, there is indeed no time of the day a TV does not broadcast; stations are broadcasting around the clock. For this reason, unfortunately, no BILDSTOERUNG can be seen today.
However, the BILDSTOERUNG is the basis for all conceivable pictures on TV. By allocating to each of the supposedly tumultuously dancing points a certain value at the black-grey-white scale as well as a certain brightness, any arbitrary black-and-white-picture can be produced. Furthermore, by defining a colour for every single point, any conceivable colour-picture can be created. Thus, BILDSTOERUNG is the basis and the sum of all conceivable pictures on TV.
The German term BILDSTOERUNG for the above mentioned television picture phenomenon inevitably worthy of protection is better than any other designation in any other language and impossible to surpass in its ambivalence. BILDSTOERUNG is indicating that a picture is both disordered4 and causing disorder. Hence, it makes sense to agree on the German term as mandatory worldwide5.
BILDSTOERUNG is complying with the criteria of singularity and authenticity in order to be selected as a cultural site6 of World Heritage. BILDSTOERUNG is not dependent on a certain place to be marvelled at, but takes place everywhere as long as a television set is available. At the same time, BILDSTOERUNG as the image of the universe’s beginning, figuratively is a sample of Natural Heritage7 with integrity8 and thus in both regards worthy of protection.
Volker Hildebrandt
Hildebrandt Laboratories Cologne, Oktober 2007
1 The TV test pattern is just as recent. However, it is comparable to preparatory drawings, sketches, or studies; even so they do not show all pictorial possibilities of the subsequent picture or even all possible pictures. Plus, there is the innovation of early Pay TV’s encoded pictures. These deliberately malfunctioning, chopped up or ‘striped’ pictures were unlocked only after payment. While coded, it was only possible to guess what was on the screen. While only clues of the ‘real’ picture were given, it was the viewer’s imagination that was asked for. Thus, they were the only pictures on TV principally asking for and promoting the viewer’s creativity. In the framework of the proposed obligation for all TV-stations by the UNESCO to broadcast one hour of BILDSTOERUNG per day, accordingly all Pay TV-stations should be obliged to broadcast encoded pictures which are impossible to decode for an hour per day.
2 Current theory about the origin of the universe is based on the assumption of the initial BIG BANG. This explosion caused the infinitely dense and inconceivably hot matter to rapidly spread apart in all directions. This expansion has not terminated yet. All over the universe, a remaining temperature of 3 Kelvin can be measured, the 3K cosmic background radiation. Inasmuch as it exists everywhere in the whole universe, it is of course also affecting us. And this radiation has an impact on the picture visible on TV, for example, if there is no broadcasting or if the TV set’s antenna or cable is not plugged in. Thus, the BILDSTOERUNG as the picture that then becomes visible is not only a primordial picture of the world of television, but also the primordial picture of our world at large and for this reason alone worthy of protection.
3 As part of the obligation for all TV stations to broadcast BILDSTOERUNG, all producers of TV sets must be obliged not to suppress the original BILDSTOERUNG, when appearing, in favour of the monochrome picture.
4 Whereas it is paradox that BILDSTOERUNG is an autonomous and, moreover, highly significant picture. Which, just as paradoxically, always remains the same even though it is permanently changing and revolving.
5 See www.bildstoerung.com.
6 “To be nominated as a cultural or natural site on the UNESCO World Heritage List entails the obligation to continuously carry out protective and conservative measures. Potential candidates are included only after close inspection of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. Among others, sites must be unique and meet the criteria of authenticity if it is a cultural site, or integrity if it is a natural site. Moreover, the heritage has to persuade with a comprehensive preservation plan. The committee is supported by several advisory associations (ICOMOS and IUCN).” (Translation of a text from www.weltkulturerbe-online.de)
BILDSTOERUNG is unquestionably unique and authentic. Its continuous protection und measures of conversation as much as a comprehensive plan of preservation are given through the consequences of the above mentioned proposition and permanently ensured.
7 See footnote 6.
8 While as a rule the World Heritage Committee strives to protect the integrity of already existing World Heritage sites against pictorial interferences (see the discussion on high rise buildings in Cologne or on the Panorama of the river Elbe in Dresden), in this case the integrity of BILDSTOERUNG is to be protected against pictures. |
