stedelijk forum: Geeta Kapur

Join the stedelijk|forum series with the internationally renowned art historian, curator, and critic Geeta Kapur. Kapur, an expert on contemporary art and theory from India and noted for her many accomplishments in curating and art criticism, will present a keynote lecture entitled “End and means: critical inscriptions in contemporary art.” The lecture is based on her forthcoming book of the same title.

Join the stedelijk|forum series with the internationally renowned art historian, curator, and critic Geeta Kapur. Kapur, an expert on contemporary art and theory from India and noted for her many accomplishments in curating and art criticism, will present a keynote lecture entitled “End and means: critical inscriptions in contemporary art.” The lecture is based on her forthcoming book of the same title.

The central thesis of Kapur’s lecture is the notion of “ends and means,” which she presents as part of her ongoing research. She explores how these two concepts – as separate and paired entities – have informed our thinking about aesthetics as well as modern and contemporary art. Yet Kapur adds another dimension of analysis to the equation: ethics. She contends that “ends and means” propose an ethical bind. Thinking from within Kapur’s own context, she takes Gandhi, a seminal 20th century figure, who validates the bind between ends and means and develops the principle of non-violence like no other. While he sought political and spiritual freedom for his own people, it made sense to him only when the quest embraced humankind.

By discussing the work of artists The Raqs Media Collective, Sheela Gowda, Dayanita Singh, and Amar Kanwar, Kapur further explores the relation between the “ethical” and the “aesthetic,” using the “ends and means” as key concepts of analysis.

In collaboration with de Appel arts centre, and the University of Amsterdam.

More information about the speaker:
Geeta Kapur is a Delhi-based critic and curator. Her books include “Contemporary Indian Artists” (1978); “When Was Modernism: Essays on Contemporary Cultural Practice in India” (2000); “Ends and Means: critical inscriptions in contemporary art” (forthcoming, 2013). Her curatorial work includes the co-curated “Bombay/ Mumbai” for “Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis” at Tate Modern (2001) and “subTerrain” at House of World Cultures, Berlin (2003).

Location: Teijin Auditorium, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Language: English
Entrance: Entrance price to the Stedelijk Museum + additional charge € 2,50
Reservations: It is necessary to make a reservation. Send an e-mail to reservations [​at​] stedelijk.nl, stating your full name, e-mail address, telephone number, and the date of the program you want to attend.