Now is the time #6: Belief

Lectures by Terry Eagleton & Boris Groys

15 Jan 2009

Since the beginning of this century the secularised ideology underlying our Western society has changed. Ethical and religious questions have been put on the agenda – questions of good and evil, truth and falsehood, standards and values. The French philosopher Alain Badiou even distanced himself quite firmly from postmodern relativism by returning to some basic, universal values. No wonder that some speak of a ‘religious turn’ in contemporary society.
How can we relate this complex field of ideals, ideologies and belief systems to the arts? After the Mohammed cartoons and other examples of censorship and iconoclasm, many artists feel compelled to oppose to the religious turn by defending freedom of speech. At the same time, the art world seems to be developing an increasing positive interest in religion as well, as several recent international survey exhibitions illustrate. What does this positive interaction with religion consist of and how can these two diametrically opposite tendencies in art be related?

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Now is the Time! -

With:
Margriet Schavemaker, Terry Eagleton, Boris Groys, Sven Lütticken

Speakers

Terry Eagleton (UK) is an influential literary critic and Professor of English Literature at the University of Manchester. His recent publications suggest a renewed interest in theological themes. His numerous publications include: Ideology: An Introduction (1991), The Ideology of Aesthetics (1990). After Theory (2003), Holy Terror (2005) and The Meaning of Life (2007).
Boris Groys (DE) is a philosopher, essayist, art critic, media theorist and Professor in Philosophy and Media Theory at the Academy for Design in Karlsruhe. Among his many publications are Die Kunst der Installation (1996), Unter Verdacht: Eine Phänomenologie der Medien (1997) and Art Power (2008). He co-curated the exhibitions Iconoclash (2002) and Medium Religion at the ZKM, Karlsruhe (2008/09).

Moderator

Sven Lütticken (DE/NL) is lecturer in Modern Art History at the Vrije University Amsterdam and curator of the exhibition The Art of Iconoclasm at BAK, Utrecht (2008/09).


Now is the Time: Art and Theory in the 21st Century is a series of seven lecture evenings dedicated to seven themes that encircle the complex arena in which the arts of the new millennium are situated. Socially engaged themes like 9/11, globalisation and the turn to religion of our contemporary society are juxta­posed with subjects that are more directly related to art, such as the return of Romanticism, the primacy of design and the status of the artwork in what is referred to as ‘the postmedium condition’.

Now is the Time is a collaboration between:
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,
University of Amsterdam, W139,
SMBA and METROPOLIS M

Location:
Oude Lutherse Kerk, Auditorium of the University of Amsterdam
Singel 411 (Corner Spui)
1012 WN Amsterdam

Lecture Hours:
8 p.m. – 10.30 p.m.
doors open at 7.30 p.m.

Go to the Now is the Time website for reservations