| The beauty business is booming – in our everyday lives, among scholars and scientists, and in art. Beauty is not only being literally etched into our bodies by plastic surgeons, but has resurfaced as a key concern in creativity and a major theme in aesthetic debate. Now the relationship between beauty and art is being redefined in the context of feminist, post-modern and multicultural issues. Discussing what beauty means in various cultures has opened up new perspectives, liberating debate from the confines of the Western philosophical tradition. The House of World Cultures will focus upon this discourse with the program ABOUT BEAUTY from March 18 to May 15, 2005. The practices of international contemporary art – in the visual arts, performance, music, film and architecture – are at the center of attention. The focus of the program ABOUT BEAUTY is an extensive exhibition presenting twenty-four artists from sixteen countries. In the international Performing Arts Program, various figures from the world of dance portray their individual encounters with beauty. Within the scope of the series “Beauty Politics,” interdisciplinary projects devoted to the themes of “Ethics and Spirituality,” “The Sensual City", "Modifications of the Body" and "Beauty in Contemporary Music" investigate the social relevance of beauty. A concluding international conference (May 13 – 14) brings together scientists, authors and critics from around the world. Workshops for young people and an artistic project created for the Internet round out the program. The project ABOUT BEAUTY was conceived in close cooperation between the House of World Cultures and an international network of art experts and scholars. The curator of the exhibition is Wu Hung (University of Chicago, Department of Art History). The conference was conceived by Ackbar Abbas (University of Hong Kong, Department of Comparative Literature), the Performing Arts Program by Johannes Odenthal. Among the participants in the project are Matthew Barney, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Michael Lin, Shirin Neshat, Liu Zheng, Gaoyan Jinzi, Luo Lili, Jin Xing, Ko Ishikawa, Giuliana Bruno, Gayatri Spivak and David Eng. ABOUT BEAUTY is supported by the Hauptstadtkulturfond. 3sat is official partner of the project ABOUT BEAUTY. The China World Millennium Art Museum is a partner of the House of World Cultures. We would be pleased to send you upon request a detailed press folder and an overview of planned press dates.
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