Dissect Events at Tieranatomisches Theater

The two »Dissect« events held as part of Berlin Science Week 2022 on November 2nd and 4th were a great success and unique experience. In the sold-out Tieranatomisches Theater (TA T) at Humboldt-Universität Berlin, researchers from different disciplines discussed contemporary artworks in a fascinating way, on the first evening about Marco Donnarumma's »Amygdala«, on the second evening about Tomas Saraceno's Spiders. Those who were unfortunately unable to attend can look forward to the video documentations, which will be published soon.

Critically referencing classic anatomy lessons—like that of Doctor Tulp, portrayed by Rembrandt in 1632 — »Dissect« is an updated theatre for the analysis and discussion of contemporary works of art and design in the presence of the works. We ought to not be talking about things, but rather with them, combining words, gestures, and objects in a public dispositif specifically designed for such an interactive process. Created by Samuel Bianchini and Emanuele Quinz at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (EnsAD), »Dissect« aims to restore more lively forms of exchange than the so-called »roundtable«, to spark radically multidisciplinary debates, and to grapple with the very objects of the discussion.

»Dissect« on November 2nd, 2022

The first event featured the work »Amygdala« of contemporary artist Marco Donnarumma in connection to the research led by the group Cutting of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU).

Guests: anthropologist Joffrey Becker, theatre scholar Maaike Bleeker, art historian Horst Bredekamp, computer scientist Johann Habakuk Israel, neurosurgeon Thomas Picht, and philosopher Margrit Shildrick.

Moderators: Patricia Ribault (weißensee school of art and design berlin) and Samuel Bianchini (EnsAD).

The event was part of the Berlin Science Week 2022 program.

»Dissect« on November 4th, 2022

The second event was organized in cooperation with the artist Tomàs Saraceno around the research led by the Material Form Function group and their exhibition Design Lab #13: Material Legacies at Kunstgewerbemuseum (KGM) in Berlin.

Guests: socio-legal scholar Xenia Chiaramonte, microbiologist Regine Hengge, arachnologist Peter Jäger, artist and researcher Alice Jarry, behavioral ecologist Alex Jordan, a researcher in Cultural Studies Martin Müller, and the spiders of the TA T.

Moderators: Patricia Ribault (weißensee school of art and design berlin), Emanuele Quinz (Université Paris 8/Ensad)

The event was part of the Berlin Science Week 2022 program.

Contributors and Partners

Organized by »Matters of Activity« in partnership with the Chaire Arts & Sciences of the École polytechnique, the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (EnsAD)—Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), and the Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso; the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin, and the Tieranatomisches Theater.

A project developed by the Reflective Interaction research group at EnsadLab (EnsAD’s laboratory). Scenography designed and directed by Samuel Bianchini, with Adrien Bonnerot and Pernelle Poyet (object design), Annie Leuridan (light design), Sylvie Tissot (software engineering), and Brice Ammar-Khodja (video).