Current doctoral projects

Art Research and Media Philosophy
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich
Prof. Claudia Blümle (Professorin für Geschichte und Theorie der Form am Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin und am Exzellenzcluster Bild Wissen Gestaltung)

The dissertation in art theory at the University of Design has been taking admissions since 2013/14. It is made up of two components. Firstly, Thomas Huber’s (born 1955 in Zürich) work catalogue will be compiled and an initial overview of the complete works (over 2500 works since 1980) will be given. Secondly, a monograph will be devised and realized, in which the most significant themes, methods and strategies of Huber’s work will be addressed. The group of works, Rede in der Schule (one of Huber’s key works), forms a thread through which superordinate relations and issues are raised and presented.

werkverzeichnishuber.de
klompmaker.de
huberville.de

Art Research and Media Philosophy
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich

The international Zero movement (1958–1966) lies at the core of this project. Looking at their most important protagonists including Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Günther Uecker, Yves Klein and Piero Manzoni, the question of what significance the concept of purity for artworks and their reception had in the artists’ writings, will be answered. Texts, correspondences, publications and artists’ works will be studied in relation to European post-war social contexts.

briefeanfraublog.de
ed.nnamhcsreopkrid(ta)liam
buchhandlung-walther-koenig.de

Art Research and Media Philosophy
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich
Prof. Monica Juneja (Universität Heidelberg)

After the destruction of San Francisco through the earthquake and fires in April 1906, the correct “interpretation” of this disaster turns into a contentious socio-political issue. Can disaster be understood as a leveling of social strata and an escape from everyday modern life, or rather as a dissolution of order, which must now be guarded by any means necessary? An investigation of disastrous “truths,” with a special focus on Arnold Genthe’s photographs of the 1906 disaster, and their diverging (contemporary) readings as artistic image or documentary record.

jacob-birken.de
moc.diovrotces(ta)bocaj

Art Research and Media Philosophy
Prof. Dr. Beat Wyss
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich

This first comprehensive study addresses modernity and the middle ages as the two focal points in the work of the Austrian art historian Hans Sedlmayr. It is devoted to the dialectic of Art in Crisis: The Lost Centre, his (in)famous pamphlet against modern art, and Die Entstehung der Kathedrale (The Origin of the Cathedral), Sedlmayr’s major contribution to medieval studies. Its focus is on the role of the author as cultural critic. By analyzing typical cultural-critical patterns of argumentation, it is possible to explain – and also to criticize – the fusion of modern and reactionary ideas, which might seem paradoxical at first sight. The book points out which kind of ideological implications underlie art historiography and thus informs about the structures of the subject.

maria-maennig.de
artincrisis.hypotheses.org
vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com

Art Research and Media Philosophy
Prof. Dr. Beat Wyss
Prof. Dr. Andreas Böh (Institut für Germanistik: Literatur, Sprache und Medien des KIT – Karlsruher Institut für Technologie)

The image of terrorism constructs itself from a complex interaction between attacks, pictures, texts and criticism. It determines the idea, representation and imitation of politically and religiously motivated violence, which uses terror as an effect. The history of the images and terms associated with terrorism spans from the church portal to the Internet portal. Alongside the revolution in the media of Modernism, forms of terror have also changed through terrorism. This study follows the development of a terrorist media sphere from an art historical and cultural perspective, beginning with the French Revolution, through the RAF, and leading to the so-called Islamic State.

The German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen claimed that the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 could be viewed as “the greatest artwork ever made.” The artist was rightly criticized for his provocation. However, he prominently stood for a reaction from within the art system, which can be called the “Stockhausen Syndrome.” Stockhausen’s art critical verdict on 9/11 has unleashed virulent questions about the revolutionary avant-garde that have circulated for more than 200 years.

Sebastian Baden studied art education, art history, literature studies and Fine Arts in Karlsruhe and Bern. 2010–2016 he was research assistant in Art History and Media Theory at the University of Art and Design (HfG) Karlsruhe. In 2013 he was awarded the international AICA Incentive Prize for Young Critics.

Art Research and Media Philosophy
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich

“[T]he insurrection is the forbidden moment, an unforgivable denial of the dialectic – shimmying up the pole and out of the smokehole, a shaman's maneuver carried out at an ‘impossible angle’ to the universe.” – Hakim Bey

Through artistic means, activists reflect upon political circumstances and act to change them. In my dissertation, I investigate strategies of different artistic-activist actions. In interviews the artists are able to speak for themselves, while I observe and describe the actions in a political and artistic context. In times of crisis and fear, humor disturbs thinking patterns and enables the mind to be open to change. Artistic optimism inspires new, realistic utopias that transform contemporary dystopias.

Seraphine N. Meya, theoretician and artist is writing her doctoral dissertation on “Creative Activism” at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG). She works as an author, teaches and engages in artistic and activist projects. She studied art research, philosophy, scenography and psychology in Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Berlin and Pisa in Italy. Key subjects: art and activism, climate change, sustainability, post-capitalism, deceleration.

Art Research and Media Philosophy
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich Prof. Dr. Walter Grasskamp (Academy of Fine Arts Munich)

Before the term "reproduction" prevailed for the reproduction of works of art in print, a metaphorical twist dominated for a long time: the conversion of color into line was regarded as "translation".

Particularly in the France of the Enlightenment, engravers, art critics and poet theorists, including Denis Diderot, debated the analogy with translation in literature. With it as a model central issues could be negotiated for the graphic reproduction of works of art: What freedoms may engravers take out? Are they just a replacement for the original – or a work of its own quality? What influence do you have on the reception? The formative role of the translation metaphor, however, is not limited to the French engraving discourse of the 18th century. Rather, photographic reproductions as translation media were discussed in the mid-19th century – with consequences for their copyright status.

fink.de