Dé-coll/age: Wolf Vostell and the Archaeology of Violence

In this lecture, Kyle Stephan, curator of the exhibition Wolf Vostell: Dé-coll/age Is Your Life, will examine Vostell’s aesthetic philosophy of dé-coll/age, which takes an archaeological approach to mass media and urban environments. The practice restored an ethical purpose to art in the postwar years and innovated confrontational forms to challenge the psychological, social, and political mechanisms that enable collective complicity with mass violence and genocide. In particular, Stephan will explore how Vostell adopted this approach to generate consciousness of how past violence persists in the present and to provoke spectators into becoming critical actors in their lives.

This lecture is offered in conjunction with the exhibition Wolf Vostell: Dé-coll/age Is Your Life (January 20–May 5, 2024).

Speaker:

Kyle Stephan, 2021–23 Hakuta Family Nam June Paik Curatorial Fellow, Division of Modern and Contemporary Art, Harvard Art Museums, and exhibition curator

After the lecture, guests are invited to visit the exhibition on Level 3 until 8pm.

Free admission, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. The lecture will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Doors will open for seating at 5:30pm from the Broadway entrance.

Limited complimentary parking is available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.

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