The Anarchist Banker

For The Anarchist Banker (1922), Fernando Pessoa created a protagonist, who claims to be a successful anarchist. As a banker, he helps poor families by giving them (too) good loans. If he would manifest his agenda, he would not be able to have impact. It sounds like an antidote for today’s “aesthetic culture of politics”, where the flood of social media memes, panel discussions and nearly populist political art have become a commonplace. Administration is a work where we distribute shared resources. My letter is informed by my performance lecture, where I become performatively the anarchist banker, and tell fairy tales from the world of MA programs, academic societies and galleries which I have run/chaired – in an enlightenment costume, echoing the roots of modern university administration (18th century). I hope to revitalize Pessoa’s concept for our common benefit, to poeticize the work-mode we need for a well-functioning society and a politically agile art school.