Symposium Abstraction and Economy

Kunst und Wissenstransfer

The symposium Abstraction and Economy examines the tension between abstraction and economy from different perspectives of art and architecture theory / history as well as law, sociology, philosophy and economics. Abstraction and Economy addresses questions about the current challenges of a global economy, with its claim to expansive growth in relation to aesthetics, technology and democracy. We ask about the role of art between concretion and abstraction, and discuss formalistic approaches to art theory with its assertion to autonomy, as well as the social and economic aspects that critical theory takes into account in order to track down the aesthetic regime of capitalism.

Join Zoom Meeting here:
https://dieangewandte-at.zoom.us/j/63540238093?pwd=eFBLTy9hY2VDcHVNSE8wcldKMXFQQT09
Meeting ID: 635 4023 8093
Passcode: 403594

The lecture series is organized by Eva Maria Stadler and Jenni Tischer, Department of Art & Knowledge Transfer at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Thursday, 28. April 2022

MONEY AND ABSTRACTION

When it comes to the question of the origin of money, abstraction is not far away. Even the material value of land, gold and silver, but also the value of grain or the value of pigs and cattle, they are all tied to the symbol and the sign that are negotiated in the act of valuation. This transformation denotes an abstraction process in which the (im-)material object is translated into a value. After the replacement of the gold standard and the increasing importance of futures and options, digital currencies are increasingly taking over the function of money on the financial markets, giving the abstract another dimension. In the Abstraction and Economy series, we ask how artistic practices and theories have become inscribed in processes of abstraction and how they oppose their appropriation.

Place: Auditorium, Vordere Zollamtsstraße 7, 1030 Vienna

16:00 – 16:30 Introduction Eva Maria Stadler and Jenni Tischer (Vienna):
Moderation: Eva Maria Stadler
16:30 – 17:00 Film Screening: Anja Kirschner
17:00 – 17:30 Lecture: Christina von Braun
17:30 – 17:45 // BREAK //
17:45 – 18:15 Lecture: Leigh Claire La Berge
18:15 – 19:00 Discussion