Monday, February 25, 5pm, Hellems 201
A presentation that considers art as a speculative endeavor, dreaming as clairvoyance (rather than illusion), and non-participation as an act of subversion, based on ideas by Ernst Bloch, Julian Cope, The Velvet Underground, Alan Vega, Tony Conrad, and Sigmund Freud. This event is free & open to the public. The lecture will be in English.
Diedrich Diedrichsen is one of the most prominent and influential cultural critics in German-speaking Europe. For over four decades, his critical and theoretical analyses have accompanied recent developments in art, music, and film and shaped discussions of social and political relevance throughout the German-speaking world. He was the editor-in-chief of the subcultural magazine Spex during the 1980s and 90s, and he is the author of several books, including Über Pop Musik (2014) and Körpertreffer: Zur Ästhetik der nachpopulären Künste (2017). He regularly contributes articles to newspapers and magazines, including Artscribe, Artforum, Frieze, Texte zur Kunst, Die Zeit, die tageszeitung, Der Tagesspiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Theater heute. Since 2006, he has been Professor of Theory, Practice, and Communication of Contemporary Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
The events are sponsored by the Center for Western Civilization, Thought & Policy, the Laboratory for Race & Popular Culture (RAP Lab), and the Department of Germanic & Slavic Languages & Literatures.
"Thanks to the Center’s continued support, we were able to host two events with Professor Diederichsen: a roundtable discussion for CU graduate students and faculty on Saturday, February 23 and a public lecture and discussion on Monday, February 25. The roundtable discussion introduced the three-year, multi-national exhibition and research project Hubert Fichte: Love & Ethnology, jointly organized by the Goethe-Institute and Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin.
Both events attracted participants from across the CU Boulder community, including students and faculty from the departments of German Studies, Art & Art History, Film Studies, and beyond. In addition to the privilege of learning from a prominent scholar at close hand, participants had the opportunity to engage in stimulating discussions with relevance to their own research and current academic debates. Conversations between visiting speakers, faculty, and graduate students in a mutually respectful atmosphere vitally contribute to the German department’s intellectual culture, help establish lasting connections to an academic community across institutions, and confirms CU Boulder’s reception as an open forum for scholarly inquisitiveness."
The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Boulder faculty and students are eligible to apply. If you are interested in applying for a CWCTP faculty grant, deadlines are rolling throughout the year.