Now is the time #7: Romanticism

Lectures by Jos de Mul & Jorg Heiser

29 Jan 2009

While our post-industrial society may lead us to believe that we have seen the last of Romanticism, its influence remains with us to this day. The ideas of late 18th and early 19th century Romanticism – including the idealisation of subjectivity, irrationality, imagination and emotions – have become more prominent in the visual arts in the last few years. This is evidenced by the appearance of a new form of aesthetics in which beauty and the sublime occupy a central place. At the same time other forms of Romanticism are at work, focusing on the avant-garde movements of the 20th century. It seems to be this utopian longing, with a strong ideological impetus that inspires contemporary artists and curators. In other words, Romanticism today is equivocal in nature. It moves between opposites, between a withdrawal from society and critical engagement, immersion in the inner self and the quest for a new collective future. How should we interpret this ambiguous attraction to Romanticism today?

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Now is the Time! -

With:
Margriet Schavemaker, Jos de Mul, Jorg Heiser

Speakers

Jos de Mul (NL) is professor of Philosophy of Man and Culture at the Faculty of Philosophy, Erasmus University Rotterdam. His publications include Romantic Desire in (Post)Modern Art and Philosophy (1999) and The Tragedy of Finitude: Dilthey’s Hermeneutics of Life (2004).
Jörg Heiser (DE) is an art critic and co-editor of frieze art magazine. Heiser curated the exhibition Romantic Conceptualism (2007) and co-authored the accompanying catalogue. He recently published All of a Sudden: Things that Matter in Contemporary Art.

Moderator

Thomas Lange (DE) is Assistant Professor in Contemporary Art History at the University of Amsterdam.


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