Event — Lecture

Words at Play, Language at a Loss

09 May 2007

09/05/2007 - 17:00 9 May 2007
17.00-18.30 HRS

A Lecture by artist Xu Bing

Organised by the International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS), the Hulsewé-Wazniewski Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in the Art and Material Culture of China, the research school CNWS, and the Sinological Library and the Department of Chinese Studies at Leiden University

Venue:
Leiden University
PJ Veth Building
Nonnensteeg 1-3
Room 329
2311 VJ, Leiden

What happens when language becomes unable to express meaning? When words seem to signify something that does not make sense? Internationally renowned artist Xu Bing urges viewers of all backgrounds to question the usefulness of language in articulating feelings and ideas across cultures. Using Chinese writing and the Roman alphabet as the main sites of his inscriptional alterations, Xu Bing has produced through the years an impressive and aesthetically mesmerizing body of work, offering an ongoing reflection on the ambiguous role of language both to communicate and to say nothing. Critiquing his own work, Xu Bing says that ‘it is a virus that disrupts the habits and tendencies of the human mind', especially when the mind has been made lazy by established preconceptions.

Everyone is welcome to attend an open lecture in which listeners will be challenged on everything they think they know about the power and shortcomings of communication.

Information:
Francesca Dal Lago
CNWS
Telephone: +31-71-527 4110
Email: f.dal.lago@let.leideuniv.nl
or check: http://www.xubing.com