The Lectorate Art Theory & Practice hereby cordially invites you to the international symposium Transcoding Flusser: Synthetic Thinking on Friday 15 April 10.00-18.00h + Saturday 16 April 11.00-16.00h in the auditorium of the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague.

The symposium is organised by West in collaboration with the Lectorate Art Theory & Practice on the occasion of the exhibition Without Firm Ground: Vilém Flusser and the Arts, 19.03.2016 - 07.05.2016 in West, The Hague.

With presentations by: Fiona Hanley, Dr. Rainer Guldin, Katerina Krtilova, Prof. Dr. Peter Mahr, Dr. Marcel René Marburger, Arjen Mulder, Prof. Dr. Simone Osthoff, Polona Tratnik.

Convened & moderated by: Dr. phil. Baruch Gottlieb & Steffi Winkler.

Tickets: 25,00/12,50 euro.

VILÉM FLUSSER

Computer codes, especially the code of synthetic images, may free us from the tyranny of linear thinking, says Vilém Flusser. Drawing attention to ongoing cultural transformations in technical revolutions, Flusser provocatively implores us today, the citizens of a world transfused with invisible, light-speed, electronic information exchange, to communicate using synthetic (or technical) images and ‘no longer words’. Flusser’s poetically composed philosophy attempts to overcome and undermine the tradition of thinking in dichotomies, as it aims to transcend the traditional opposition of art and philosophy. Translating between cultural practices, Flusser was dedicated to the transformation of our conditions. In this symposium, we wish to discuss Flusser’s proposals for synthetic image-thinking, particularly the promise of agency he positions there.

Flusser strongly suggested that exhibitions always be accompanied by a rich participative programme, to elaborate the gesture of exhibition through active public engagement with the themes and objects of the display. To this end, we are holding a special two-day international symposium, with a colloquium-style presentation scheme where all presenters sit around the table and comment on each others presentations. The public is invited to assemble around the colloquium and intervene as need be.

SEE ALSO

  • View the website of West for more information and the full programme.
  • Read more about Vilém Flusser and the international symposium in the article ‘The Resonant Words of Vilém Flusser’ by Marianna La Rosa Maruyama in Metropolis M (25.4.2016).
  • You can watch the video registrations of the contributions to the conference here.

Recordings from day 1:

Symposium: Vilém Flusser — Synthetic Thinking Day 1: Marcel René Marburger 'From Science to Fiction..' from West Den Haag on Vimeo.
Symposium: Vilém Flusser — Synthetic Thinking Day 1: Prof. Dr. Polona Tratnik 'The concept of an artist in Flusser's thought' from West Den Haag on Vimeo.
Flusser Symposium: Synthetic Thinking — Day 1: Peter Mahr ‘Flusser, phenomenology and television art’ from West Den Haag on Vimeo.
Flusser Symposium: Synthetic Thinking — Day 1: Dr. Fiona Hanley 'Encountering Bibliophagus: An Aesthetics of Reading' from West Den Haag on Vimeo.
Flusser Symposium: Synthetic Thinking — Day 1: Dr. Rainer Guldin 'Cotton Wool. On Flusserian Terminology' from West Den Haag on Vimeo.
Flusser Symposium: Synthetic Thinking — Day 1: Model for energetic dialogue by the Moderators from West Den Haag on Vimeo.
Symposium: Vilém Flusser — Synthetic Thinking Day 1: Synthesis of the first day — Flusser Talks from West Den Haag on Vimeo.

Recordings from day 2:

Symposium: Vilém Flusser — Synthetic Thinking Day 2: Katerina Krtilova 'Can we think computation only in numbers?' from West Den Haag on Vimeo.
West Den Haag Symposium: Vilém Flusser — Synthetic Thinking Day 2: Arjen Mulder 'Dialogical images in an environment of data' from West Den Haag on Vimeo.