13432

WiSe 22/23: Intervention, Participation, Assembly

Eric de Bruyn

Comments

One of the major principles of the historical avant-garde art was to overcome the distanced, contemplative relationship of spectators to the work of art and transform them into “active” participants in an artistic event. Since the 1950s, this avant-gardist attempt to emancipate the viewer by means of participatory forms of art and, in general, to intervene within the social sphere, has undergone a renewal under the varying political and social conditions of North and South America as well as Western and Eastern Europe. Examples of such a participatory turn during the 1960s are, for instance, post-concrete art in Brazil, Happenings, which took place in Europe, South and North America, and the transatlantic movements of Fluxus, conceptual art and institutional critique. Within global, contemporary art, practices that strive to include the public, and assume a participatory or interventionist character, are wide-spread, as could be recently experienced at the documenta in Kassel. Examples are offered, for instance, by the “assemblism” and “organizational art” of Jonas Staal or the “useful art” and “artivism” of Tania Bruguera which strive to acknowledge the antagonisms that exist within collective situations while fostering new, more equitable forms of social relationship. We will explore both the theoretical literature on notions of authorship, performativity, participation, collectivity and intervention (e.g. Judith Butler, Jean-Luc Nancy, Chantal Mouffe, Jacques Rancière, Grant Kester, Claire Bishop, Yates McKee, Shannon Jackson) as well as examine specific case studies (e.g. Lygia Clark, Allan Kaprow, Yoko Ono, George Brecht, Joseph Beuys, Group Material, G.U.L.F., Thomas Hirschhorn, Tania Brugera, Santiago Sierra, Theaster Gates, Paul Chan, Gudskul, and Jonas Staal) close

16 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Wed, 10:00 - 12:00 16 Class schedule

Wed, 2022-10-19 10:00 - 12:00

Lecturers:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Eric de Bruyn