In Zeiten des Loops

“Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens. When this kiss is over it will start again. It will not be any different; it will be exactly the same.”

The Talking Heads praised stasis and repetition as the ideal state. Why is the principle of repetition so interesting for the arts? How did technically produced repetition of images or music lead to such sweeping creative transformations, even before minimal techno? How does the perception of an element change when it is constantly repeated rather than occurring just once, or in variations? What is the effect of repeatedly executing elements in precisely the same order on the theatre’s representational principles? How is writing affected by the age of the loop? And above all: What are the consequences of uniform recurrence on a socio-political level if it serves to prevent linear progress? Which aspects of noncompliance or departure are created in attempts to break out of the eternal loop, which was so easy to slip into?