I just discovered that the curator, conversationalist and art world visionary Hans Ulrich Obrist will be orchestrating an event in Athens on June 18th called Athens Dialogues. Here is the description of the event:
Conceived and moderated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Athens Dialogues is a one day series of conversations with contemporary artists and intellectuals about the critical and creative connection between antiquity and contemporary art.
Given the shared interest of Minus Plato and this event, I am curious to know who will be part of these dialogues and what will be discussed. What I hope to learn from these dialogues, given Obrist’s uncanny ability to bring out the most fundamental convictions of his interviewees, is not just the nuances of how contemporary artists engage with antiquity in their work, but also how intellectuals who claim to speak for antiquity makes sense of contemporary art in their work. In short, can Obrist provoke Classicists to really allow themselves and their work to be transformed by an encounter with contemporary art? I know from my own experience that it is possible, but at the same time it can be rare, as disciplinary boundaries are often maintained rather than bridged or broken down. Will those who speak for antiquity with Obrist in Athens allow themselves to accept this position for themselves as being impacted by contemporary art in a way that transforms their work as Classicists? We shall see.
staying tuned