The Treasure Chests of Mnemosyne

Taking its title from the book published in 1995 by visual artist Sarkis and art historian Uwe Fleckner, this symposium explores the influence of renowned art historian and cultural theorist Aby Warburg on the artistic practice of Sarkis. Key-note speaker Prof. Dr. Fleckner was the first to draw a connection between Sarkis’ work and Warburg’s theory of memory.

Witte de With has made multiple copies of The Treasure Chests of Mnemosyne available for the audience to read and study, while the rare originals of this extraordinary publication are on display using Studio Miessen’s schooling environment elements as presentation modules. This library project will be open to the public from September 1 until October 28 2012.
Participants include: Uwe Fleckner (Prof. Dr. Art History, Hamburg University), Liesbeth Levy (Artistic Director, De Unie), Sven Lütticken (Prof. Dr. Art History, VU University Amsterdam), Sarkis (visual artist) and Alexandre Singh (visual artist).

[figure sarkis symposium lecture uwe fleckner]

Program

4pm
Welcome by Defne Ayas, Director Witte de With
4:15pm
Theatrum memoriae. Warburg, Sarkis, and the display of images. Conference by Prof. Dr. Uwe Fleckner
5:15pm
Response by Sven Lütticken followed by Sarkis and Uwe Fleckner in conversation about The Treasure Chests of Mnemosyne
6pm
Break, soup and drinks are served in the Consensus Bar on the first floor
6:45pm
Sarkis and Alexandre Singh in conversation on Plato’s The Art of Writing will Make Men Forgetful in Phaedrus, 370 BC. This text is part of The Treasure Chests of Mnemosyne.
7:30pm
Response by Liesbeth Levy