Die Enden der Kunst

In the organizer's words:

The ends of art

Approaches to a key question of aesthetic theory
Saturday, July 19, 2025, 1 - 6 p.m.

A workshop by Thomas Lassner (philosopher, Leipzig) with Günther Mailand (Mailand / Innenhof, artist, Leipzig)

The rumor of the end of art, as the philosopher Eva Geulen puts it, is about as old as the philosophical discipline that deals with art itself. The emergence of aesthetics as a philosophical approach to art is rooted in the context of the European Enlightenment. The fact that the end of art became a theme at the same time appears in this context as an immanent phenomenon of negation. Its current differentiation into ever more numerous genres, styles and schools is a sign of this. Its habit of breaking with tradition is also repeatedly interpreted as its end. In contemporary art, the confrontation with marginalized positions, such as in post-colonial or feminist discourses, is formative, so that different breaks (endings) take place at the same time. Should we therefore perhaps rather speak of numerous ends of art?

The workshop will attempt to discuss this question using selected texts from aesthetic theory. There will also be the opportunity to view the current exhibition at HALLE 14, "How to look at..." (until August 10, 2025). This mainly presents the painterly positions of 17 artists whose work is closely linked to Leipzig. Painting, too, has often been said to have come to an end in the past. The exhibited works all reveal a play with the relationship between figuration and abstraction and thus provide an example of how art in Eastern Europe developed after the fall of the Soviet Union - also an end phenomenon? On this afternoon, we want to read, discuss and contemplate together. There will be an opportunity for breaks. A visit to the exhibition costs €6, concessions €3.

In order to receive the texts we want to discuss digitally, registration is required two days in advance (Thursday, 17.07.2025). To do so, please send an informal email to management@halle14.org with the subject line "die enden der kunst".

Price information:

Admission to the exhibition: €6, reduced €3