Hildesheim University

Tuesday 20th April 2010

In the lovely medieval Domäne (see photo below) students of the University of Hildesheim will, this summer semester, engage in a discussion on art’s autonomy as part of The Autonomy Project. The reason to discuss this issue comes forth out of the growing feeling that current artistic and academic practices are continuously putting pressure on the notion of autonomy, while simultaneously being unable to break with it completely. New media as the Internet, as well as new exhibition formats, or artistic practices (as the complicated issue of Artistic Research), inspire a different relation between art and critical debate, redefining the role of the independent researchers, artists and their presumed autonomous products. The seminar discusses the development of the notion of artistic autonomy from Kant onwards, moving freely between a more theoretical, philosophical perspective and several concrete cases. The participants of the seminar will post updates on the discussion on the Group Discussion site, as well as presenting the cases they would like to study. Finally, several participants of the seminar will join the Summer School in Eindhoven late June, early July. The seminar is one manifestation of the recent collaboration between the University of Hildesheim and the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, started June 2009.