What makes us Human?
Three Talks & Seminars at the Tate Britain, Spring 2018
“Freud scrutinises his subjects with an unsentimental objectivity and the all-encompassing gaze”
The Gaze
12 May 2018 at 13.00–15.00 and 15.30–17.30
This event is the first part of the three-part series:
What Makes Us Human: Conversations on Art and Philosophy.
Discover and explore the ideas behind the paintings.
What is the gaze? Why does it make us aware of ourselves in an unexpected way? How does it shape our sense of who we are? What is the connection between the gaze and gender or between the gaze and objectification? Why might it be intimate, uncomfortable or disturbing to be subjected to someone’s gaze? How does the idea of the gaze change as we move from painting to photography to contemporary social media?
In this first of a three-part series responding to the All Too Human exhibition, Amalia Ulman (artist), Timothy Secret (philosopher) and Katharina Günther (art historian) will lead a discussion exploring the concept of the gaze within the visual arts, its power to objectify or be objective, create intimacy or distance. The event will be chaired by Sacha Golob, CPVA Director.
Join us afterwards for a discussion with the CVPA team from 15.30–17.30 in the Duffield Room. This two hour seminar explores some of the key philosophical issues raised by the notion of the gaze. The first half opens with Jean-Paul Sartre’s classic discussion: Sartre uses the story of a voyeur caught in the act to explore objectification and shame through the lens of the gaze. We’ll examine how the gaze relates to gender and subjectivity, and we’ll consider to what degree it might be a positive, as well as a negative, phenomenon. The second half broadens the discussion to look at the gaze across different formats – how should we understand it in the context of painting, photography, social media or even writing?
Each session will provide a concise introduction to the core themes and their significance for philosophy and the arts. We’ll then break into smaller groups for a guided discussion in which participants can explore the ideas and develop their own take on them in relation to the exhibition and to contemporary events.
No prior knowledge is required. There will be a 10 minute interval between the two halves.
The seminar will be led by Dr. Sacha Golob, Dr. Emma Syea and Vanessa Brassey from the King’s College London, Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute to a research article on the relationship between philosophy and their experience of the All Too Human exhibition.
Are we just our bodies? Or are our bodies merely attached and inferior to our minds? Are our bodily feelings really ‘making’ our decisions? Should we surrender to the body? Have we diminished ourselves by taming or repressing the body?
The Body
19 May 2018 at 13.00–15.00 and 15.30–17.30
Featuring the work of Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon alongside rarely seen work from their contemporaries including Frank Auerbach and Paula Rego, the exhibition explores questions central to who we are and how we see ourselves – questions about the body.
oin artists, historians and philosophers for a discussion around the concept of the body in response to the All Too Human exhibition
Following this event there will be a seminar from 15.30–17.30 in the Duffield Room. Experts from King’s College London’s Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts to look more closely at some of the most influential modern philosophy on the body and embodiment.
This event is part of the three-part series: What Makes Us Human: Conversations on Art and Philosophy.
‘Philosophy in the Gallery’ is a collaboration between The Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts at King’s College London and Tate, supported by the Cultural Institute at King’s.
“Every change is a form of liberation. My mother used to say a change is always good even if it’s for the worse.”
Paula Rego
Anxiety
2 June 2018 at 13.00–15.00 and 15.30–17.30
This event is the final part of the three-part series: What Makes Us Human: Conversations on Art and Philosophy.
There is much talk in the media about the new or toxic levels of anxiety facing many of us today. But there is much can we learn about anxiety from artists and philosophers who have contemplated it using very different mediums.
Join us for an exploration of and discussion about Anxiety in the light of the selection of this unparalleled selection of paintings, brought together for a short while, at the Tate Britain.
Following this event there will be a seminar from 15.30–17.30 in the Duffield Room. Experts from King’s College London’s Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts to look more closely at some of the most influential modern philosophy on anxiety and on mood.
‘Philosophy in the Gallery’ is a collaboration between The Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts at King’s College London and Tate, supported by the Cultural Institute at King’s.
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