Nachrichten und Veranstaltungen

Online conference:Creation stories addressing the origin of Earth and/or that of humankind are presumably among the oldest narratives known in many parts of the world. Similarly, there are ancient works of art depicting creation or, for instance in South Asian art, cycles of destruction and creation. While not scientifically accurate from the point of view of modern physics or evolution theory, these stories and images of the beginnings of (life on) Earth have nevertheless been profoundly true ways of perceiving reality for many people. In a two-day conference we seek to bring together expertise on different cultural, regional and historical backgrounds, addressing questions from various disciplinary vantage points.

Lecture by Prof. Pratyush Shankar: This talk will highlight the key moments during the colonial rule in India when many princely cities, beyond the gaze of the British masters, managed to carry out many experiments in city building leading to creation of new urban fabric and public places. Many of these experiments were a result of local concerns and were centred round social, economic and cultural reforms of Indian society. What was also remarkable was that these initiatives were a work of collaboration between Indian patrons and a range of international professionals and experts. This talk will try to highlight such moments of experimentation and its resultant outcome for future city planning.

Workshop on Insights into the Archaeology and Art History of Sri Lanka including lectures by Dr. Nimal Perera "Prehistory of Sri Lanka", Prof. Dr. Osmund Bopearachchi "Avalokiteśvara, protector of Mariners", Prof. Dr. Nuwan Abhayawardana "Ancient water harvesting and management systems in Sri Lanka" and Dr. Ariane de Saxcé "Giribawa, an ancient glass production site".

Am 14.12.2022 bietet die Abteilung für Asiatische und Islamische Kunstgeschichte eine Informationsveranstaltung für Studierende (alle Stufen) zur Summerschool in Kam-bodscha im August/September 2023 an. Geplant ist eine ca. dreiwöchige Summer-school, die in Kambodscha von Prof. Dr. Ulrike Niklas und Team durchgeführt wird. Themen der Informationsveranstaltung sind z.B. der Exkursionsablauf, finanzielle Förderung, Anrechnung für das Studium und Reisemedizin. Frau Prof. Dr. Niklas wird online an der Informationsveranstaltung teilnehmen.

Dekolonisierung, Postkolonialismus, Provenienz, Restitution, Rückforderungen sind aktuell heiß und kontrovers diskutierte Aspekte in der Museumslandschaft der westlichen - ehemals als Kolonialmächte aufgetretenen - Welt und der ehemals kolonisierten Länder. Nach einem Blick auf die Diskussion um die Rückgabe der Benin-Bronzen richtet sich der Vortrag auf den hierzulande eher unbekannten Dialog zwischen der Republik Indonesien und der seinerzeitigen Kolonialmacht Niederlande. Gegenstand von Verhandlungen zwischen den beiden Ländern ist ein immenses Konvolut herausragender kunsthistorischer und ethnographischer Objekte sowie Manuskripte in niederländischen Museen und Bibliotheken. Dieser Prozess geht einher mit der Aufarbeitung der kolonialen Vergangenheit und insbesondere mit der auf beiden Seiten lange verdrängten bzw. glorifizierten Geschichte der Unabhängigkeitswerdung Indonesiens 1945.

Tanzschritte, Handgesten, eine Mrdangam Trommel, ausdrucksstarke Mimik und oft sehr humorvolle Texte, dass ist die Mischung, die den aus dem südindischen Kerala stammenden Thullal Tanz so attraktiv machen. Der Freiburger Künstler Hartmut Schmidt beschäftigt sich seit über 30 Jahren sehr intensiv mit dieser bis heute populären Kunstform. In seiner Lecture Demonstration stellt er die unterschiedlichen Stilrichtungen vor und erklärt anhand zahlreicher Beispiele die Besonderheiten von Thullal. Sechs Geschich-ten wurden von ihm aus der Originalsprache Malayalam ins Deutsche übertragen, sind so nachvollziehbar für das kleine und große Publikum bei seinen Auftritten an Schulen und in Theatern.

Public lecture by Dr. Anna Grasskamp: The creative reuse of materials “made in China” has a short history in the daily practices of middle-class households, but a long history in art, craftsmanship and design. When Ming dynasty potters in China’s “porcelain capital” Jingdezhen made plates, cups, and bowls, they could not have known that their work would be reused to decorate European sites, for examples as hats in two sculptures at Berlin’s Charlottenburg Castle; likewise, factory workers and ragpickers on contemporary garbage dump sites in China may be unaware of artworks made entirely of discarded objects exhibited in exclusive urban art spaces all over the world. This paper discusses and analyzes historic and contemporary practices of upcycling in art and design with a special focus on materials and objects “made in China” in relation to research on the social lives of things and ecologies of matter.

Old Goa developed as one of the major port cities of the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth century, as the Portuguese attempted to control maritime trade routes by occupying the region’s major coastal settlements and blockading others. The city became both a trade emporium and a religious center for the Portuguese State of India (Estado da Índia), an “informal” empire that stretched from Eastern Africa to the Pacific Ocean rim. In this presentation, I will describe Old Goa’s urban development during the Early Modern period, focusing on slavery, caste and religion as essential aspects in shaping the city. Addressing issues such as urban layout, segregation, sacral landscapes and dwellings, I will highlight how the most vulnerable and disenfranchised population groups fared in Old Goa’s multilayered society.

Online Lecture by Prof. Dr. Julia A. B. Hegewald: “Islamic Aesthetics for Jaina Temples in Crisis: Dependency, Destruction and Creative Adaptation for Survival”: The arrival of Islam in the Indian subcontinent drastically changed the political, religious and cultural landscape. While historic accounts and inscriptions portray a situation of crisis for indigenous religious groups and destroyed statues and temples are still visible today, the available architecture also displays a surprisingly creative response to this threat. Despite at times violent persecutions of the Jainas, the stylistic influence Islamic art has had on Jaina religious buildings is startling. This presentation draws attention to this fascinating phenomenon and considers a series of possible reasons for this hybrid style.