Book Discussion: The Integrity of the Avant-Garde: Karel Teige and the Biography of an Ambition, by Peter Zusi

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

The Czech theorist of the avant-garde Karel Teige was a figure of central importance in interwar European discourses on modernist architecture, visual culture, film and literature. At various times a close associate of figures such as Le Corbusier, André Breton, and Hannes Meyer, Teige formulated original programs for Constructivism, Surrealism, and an original Czechoslovak movement called Poetism. In doing so he aimed to formulate a ‘unified field theory’ for the disparate elements of the interwar avant-garde, with their often clashing ideals of rationalism and irrationalism, discipline and freedom. The roundtable will discuss how Zusi’s book attempts to formulate the significance of Teige’s project for modernist studies more broadly.

Sub Unit

• Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts

Chair

• Jonathan H. Bolton, Harvard U

Roundtable Members

• Barbora Bartunkova, The Museum of Modern Art

• Christina Kiaer, Northwestern U

• Katerina Ruedi Ray, Bowling Green State U

• Veronika Tuckerova, Harvard U