Disaster Begins in the Mind. On the Productive Nihilism of Comedy in Art
Lecture by Annette Geiger as part of the exhibition Ende Neu

19 January, 7 pm
Maschinenhaus M0
In German
Free admission
Registration necessary

Destruction is nothing new in culture. The end of art has often been proclaimed, usually with the aim of reinventing it. In the 20th century, destructive moments brought about abstraction and the avant-garde, and they are considered productive in art.
So who or what is ultimately destroyed? This lecture aims to show that destruction in art often works with comedy, with a “pleasure in nonsense,” as Nietzsche described it. This joke is meant to be taken seriously as well as lightly: as an attack on the subject, who in turn is meant to laugh about it.

Annette Geiger is an art historian and cultural studies scholar and teaches as a professor at the University of the Arts Bremen. Since her doctoral thesis Urbild und fotografischer Blick (2004), she has been studying the cultures of the aesthetic in art, design, and daily life. She published the monograph Andersmöglichsein: Zur Ästhetik des Designs (2018) on this subject, followed by Piktogrammatik: Grafisches Gestalten als Weltwissen und Bilderordnung (with Bianca Holtschke, 2021). In her current work she is primarily concerned with “narrative images” and a philosophy of laughter in art and design.

In the exhibition rooms proof of vaccination or recovery is required (2G) as well as wearing a FFP2 mask. At our events additionally proof of the booster-vaccination or a rapid antigen test (maximum 24 hours old) is required.
Please register here.