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Join us for two lectures in the Unboxing Brâncuși programme, looking at Brâncuși and the artists who shared his world. We begin with his friend Man Ray and his fascination with everyday objects, a way of giving materials a life of their own that feels very current in today's posthumanist thinking. We then follow the flight of Brâncuși's Magic Bird, from Mina Loy's poem "The Golden Bird" to its display in Chicago after 1989, and ask what it still means today.
Both lectures are in English and take place at Cinema Elvire Popesco (Bd. Dacia 77).
Admission is free, but you need to register here: https://forms.gle/Cx83QVsRztPCDc7H8
1/ 10:30 - 11:00
Man Ray: Objects, Agency and Post Humanism (ENG)
At the core of Man Ray’s artistic output across a range of media is a fascination with everyday objects and the expressive potential of matter. Sometimes an object is the main focus, as in his many sculptural pieces made from found items, such as Cadeau (1921) or Indestructible Object (or Object to Be Destroyed) (1923).
But even in his photographic portraits, objects often play a role in creating compositional tension within the frame. Light and shadow take on tangible qualities and contribute to drawing out the personality of the subject. Although an exceptionally diverse artist, the object remained a constant source of inspiration for Man Ray as he moved between painting, photography, and film.
This lecture will assess the relevance of Man Ray’s work to contemporary conceptions of posthumanism and new materialism, particularly in terms of non-human agency and the vibrancy of matter. It will look at the resonances between his work and the current wave of interest - both theoretical and artistic - in posthuman thought, arguing that his art consistently unsettles human-centred ways of seeing by granting objects, materials and technologies a kind of agency or life-force in the process of creation.
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2/ 12:00- 12:30
The Flight of Brancusi's Magic Bird Through the Centuries (ENG)
The lectures will be held in English
Cinema Elvire Popesco (Bd. Dacia 77)
Free admission, registration required
https://forms.gle/Cx83QVsRztPCDc7H8
Mina Loy wrote THE GOLDEN BIRD before she met Brancusi, who became an intimate friend. More than recognition of kindred genius, Mina Loy's poem collaborates with Brancusi's Magic Bird by extending its flight in what came to be the spaces of new expressions of the modern mind. The Golden Bird has flown into the future, taking on a variety of signifcances. In 1990 the Chicago Art Museum acquired and displayed Pasarea Maiastra, the Magic Bird, in the context of the fall of the Romanian dictatorship in 1989.
Mounted ed on its three pedestals, as Brancusi wanted to and wasn't always listened to, the The Magic Bird, added a new meaning to its already miraculous flight through world wars, revolutions, pandemics and changing technologies? Where does it lend now in the 21st century?
REGISTER HERE >> https://forms.gle/Cx83QVsRztPCDc7H8
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Event venue
Primăverii 15, 014192 Bucharest, Romania, Bulevardul Primăverii 15, 011971 București, România, Bucharest, Romania
Tickets
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