program

from 25 June to 10 September 2011

homage to rudolf steiner

an exhibition and international conference of studies in trieste

il mondo riversato (the world imparted) 
art and freedom in the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner 
in Trieste, for the 150th anniversary of his birth, an exhibition and international conference of studies in homage to Rudolf Steiner 

The Trieste Contemporanea Committee, in collaboration with Artspace, will dedicate an  exhibition and international conference of studies, for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), great Austrian philosopher and pedagogist, an influential and versatile individual and founder of anthroposophy. He is also widely known today for having been the inspiration for anthropological medicine, for the principles ofbiodynamic agriculture based on the most current systems, sustainable in full respect of our ecosystem.

This initiative, organized by Gabriella Cardazzo, will open June 25th with an international conference of the most prominent experts of Steiner, which will reconsider, from today’s perspective, the Austrian philosopher’s thoughts in light of a possible contemporary take on his principles of social intercommunication. In the convention, his vision of art will be discussed as an expression of qualitative experiences of life as well as his influence on music, architecture and visual arts. His direct influence on many great masters of modern art will also be closely examined. See below the conference’s programme.

The study seminar, which will include a complete biography of Steiner, will also include contributions on the philosopher’s relationship with art (Francesca Rachele Oppedisano, also moderator of the convention), with architecture (Giuseppe Guasina), with music (Giuseppe Fagnocchi) and with the art and science theme (Stefano Gasperi). Important contributions by scholars from abroad will be by Walter Kugler, director of theRudolf Steiner Archiv of Dornach in Switzerland, who will introduce the comprehensive philosophy of Steiner. The correlation between the philosopher’s thought and the theories on the Social Sculpture by Joseph Beuys, the great German artist – this year marks the 90th anniversary of his birth, will be illustrated by Richard Demarco, Scottish artist and curator, a friend of Beuys and volcanic testimony and promoter of contemporary art across the board. He will draw a parallel between the two from the standpoint of their common profession –both were educators.

The day of study will conclude with the opening of an extraordinary exhibition at the Studio Tommaseo, dedicated to designs at the blackboard and sketches done during the countless lectures that Rudolf Steiner held in half of Europe between 1919 and 1924. The exhibition, the result of a close international collaboration between Trieste Contemporanea and the Steiner Archive of Dornach, will shed further light on his relationship with the visual arts.
 
For the entire period of the exhibition, Trieste’s in-depth homage to one of the great personages of the period between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th will be accompanied, along with the international convention and the significant exhibition, by a series of projections and thematic examinations aimed at outlining the modernity and influence of the complex figure which is this ingenious Austrian thinker. 
 
Works on exhibition:
11.10.1919—n° 191/4, Religiöse und ökonomische Impulse (religious and economical impulses),
14.04.1923—n° 84/2, Denken und Wahrnehmen (thought and perception), 
22.12.1923—n° 351/22 Die Ameisensäure als Grundlage für das Seelische und Geistige (formic acid as base of the psychic and the spiritual), 
27.12.1923—n° 233/6, Wenn Du nach Osten ziehst (if you go Eastward), 
09.08.1924—n° 354/13, Lauter Nasen (a whole lot of noses).