
Press Release
THE OLD BRAND NEW
How new is neo, and does ‘retro’ bring renewal?
A monthly English language lecture series in Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam revolving around the concept ‘new’ in the arts.
Location: Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, 8.30 pm
Dates:
New Subversion 21 January
New Knowledge 10 February
New Virtuosity 24 March
New Centre 14 April
New Idealism 14 May
New Beauty 22 June
What is New? 15 September
Tickets: € 8
Tickets and reservations: available at Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, www.ssba.nl
More information: www.theoldbrandnew.nl or contact Hiske Zomer via hzomer@deappel.nl or +31 (0)20 625 56 51.
In the arts, the concept ‘new’ is an ideal as well as a curse. The avant-garde has been declared dead and ‘the cult of the new’ is past its peak. The pursuit of absolute originality and total innovation has given way to concepts such as remix and postproduction, eclecticism and syncretism. Is ‘new’ still permitted, how new is neo, how innovative is retro? By looking at the term ‘new’ in the light of ‘old’ subjects such as virtuosity, beauty, knowledge and entertainment, the lecture series THE OLD BRAND NEW proposes to free ‘new’ of its stale image and present it in its full complexity.
The multidisciplinary series is held from January to September 2009 on a monthly basis at Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. The series was initiated and developed by de Appel arts centre, If I Cant Dance I Don’t Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution, Research group Art Practice and Development at the Amsterdam School of the Arts, LISA, Studium Generale of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, DAI /Master Programme / ArtEZ Institute of the Arts and Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam.
THE OLD BRAND NEW aims to gather insights, thoughts and outlooks that contribute to the understanding and interpretation of contemporary cultural forms. Thinkers and makers with backgrounds in disciplines ranging from fine art, theatre and dance to architecture, from the Netherlands and abroad, reflect from varying perspectives on an ‘old’ concept that constantly resurfaces in the arts and is thereby made anew. On each evening, two speakers will examine a particular theme in depth, followed by a discussion in an informal atmosphere moderated by cultural philosopher Karim Benammar and others. THE OLD BRAND NEW – a title in which the word ‘brand’ may be read in two different ways – does not concentrate on a single art form, but concerns culture in its broadest sense. It may thus be expected to attract an audience with wide-ranging interests.
THE OLD BRAND NEW enjoyed a successful kick-off in the main theatre auditorium of the Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam in June 2007. Art historian Bazon Brock (DE), theatre maker Tim Etchells (GB) and writer Adrian Heathfield (GB) considered the age-old question, ‘Why Art?’ In the coming months, a range of new themes will undergo the scrutiny of THE OLD BRAND NEW. The day after the inauguration of new American President Barack Obama on 21 January 2009, media theorist Marina Gržinić and artist Joep van Lieshout will speak on the topic of ‘New Subversion’. For hundreds of years, artists have confronted us incisively with art’s subversive potential, by touching on censored, banned, rejected and otherwise publicly ignored subjects. In the postmodern era, however, the transgression of taboos became an accepted form of contemporary amusement; the subversive artist could now be regarded, with some well-intentioned effort, as a perfectly tolerable and indeed subsidy-worthy citizen. With the artist apparently departed from the scene as a radical questioner, insubordinate or revolutionary, can creative and productive subversion still thrive at the start of the 21st century?
Dr. Marina Gržinić (1958, Slovenia) is philosopher, artist and theoretician and she also works as freelance media theorist, art critic and curator. Gržinić is Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (Institute of Fine Arts) and researcher at the Institute of Philosophy at the ZRC SAZU (Scientific and Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Science and Art) in Ljubljana. Since 1982 Grzinic produced, in collaboration with Aina Smid, numerous video art projects. She has written hundreds of articles and several books. In 2008 she edited with Rosa Reitsamer the book New Feminism: Worlds of Feminism, Queer and Networking Conditions. Her last monographic book is Re-Politicizing art, Theory, Representation and New Media Technology (2008).
Joep van Lieshout (1963, The Nederlands) is an artist and designer. He studied at the Academy of Modern Art in Rotterdam, Ateliers ’63 in Haarlem and Villa Arson in Nice. In 1992 he won the prestigious prize Prix de Rome for Sculpture. In 1995 he founded Atelier van Lieshout in Rotterdam that carries out projects in the field of architecture, design and contemporary art. Atelier van Lieshout (AVL) is well-known for their installations of self-sufficiency-‘mobile homes’ and the subversive work ‘Slave City’.
Close Press ReleasePersbericht
THE OLD BRAND NEW
Kan nieuw nog, hoe nieuw is neo en hoe vernieuwend is retro?
Maandelijkse engelstalige lezingenreeks in Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam over het begrip ‘nieuw’ in de kunsten
Locatie: Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, aanvang 20.30 uur
Entree: € 8Data:
New Subversion: 21 januari
New Knowledge: 10 februari
New Virtuosity: 24 maart
New Centre: 14 april
New Idealism: 14 mei
New Beauty: 22 juni
What is New?: 15 september
Kaartverkoop & reserveringen: bij Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, www.ssba.nl
Meer informatie:www.theoldbrandnew.nl
Het begrip ‘nieuw’ is binnen de kunsten een verlangen, maar ook een vloek. De avant-garde is ‘dood’ en ‘the cult of the new’ is over zijn hoogtepunt heen. Het streven naar het volstrekt oorspronkelijke en de absolute vernieuwing hebben plaatsgemaakt voor noties als remix en postproduction, eclecticisme en syncretisme. Kan nieuw nog, hoe nieuw is neo en hoe vernieuwend is retro? Door het begrip ‘nieuw’ te bekijken in het licht van ‘oude’ onderwerpen als virtuositeit, schoonheid, kennis, entertainment en radicaliteit beoogt de lezingenreeks THE OLD BRAND NEW ‘nieuw’ van zijn sleetse imago te bevrijden door het in zijn volle complexiteit te belichten.
Deze Engelstalige multidisciplinaire serie zal in zeven edities van januari tot september 2009 maandelijks plaatsvinden in de Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. De lezingenreeks werd ontwikkeld en gerealiseerd door de Appel arts centre, Lectoraat Kunstpraktijk en Artistieke Ontwikkeling aan de Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Studium Generale van de Gerrit Rietveld Academie, DAI / Master Programme / ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, LISA, If I Can’t Dance I Don’t Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution en de Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam.
In juni 2007 kende THE OLD BRAND NEW een succesvolle kick off in de grote zaal van de Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam;kunsthistoricus Bazon Brock (DE), theatermaker Tim Etchells (GB) & schrijver Adrian Heathfield (GB) gingen in op de eeuwenoude vraag: Why Art? In de komende maanden worden in het kader van THE OLD BRAND NEW een keur aan thema’s onder de loep genomen – New Knowledge, New Virtuosity, New Centre, New Idealism, New Beauty en What is New? Op 21 januari 2009, de dag na de inauguratie van de gloednieuwe Amerikaanse president Barack Obama, spreker theoretica Marina Gržinić en kunstenaar Joep van Lieshout over het thema “New Subversion”. Eeuwenlang hebben kunstenaars ons indringend geconfronteerd met het subversieve potentieel van kunst door in te gaan op gecensureerde, verstoten, verworpen en anderszins genegeerde thema’s. Het doorbreken van taboes werd in postmoderne tijden echter een geaccepteerde vorm van eigentijds amusement en de subversieve kunstenaar bleek, met enige welwillende inspanning, een best te tolereren en zelfs te subsidiëren burger. De kunstenaar als radicale bevrager, als ‘insubordinate revolter’ lijkt van het toneel verdwenen te zijn. Kan er aan het begin van de 21ste eeuw dan nog sprake zijn van creatieve en productieve subversiviteit?