The Great Sense of New Beginnings

Shattering conventions, revolutionising perceptions, imagining new things – that was the spirit of radical modernism. Bertolt Brecht spoke of the great sense of new beginnings. Today, all utopian optimism seems to have evaporated – is it a thing of the past?

»Not at all!« is Robert Misik’s reply to such laments. He sets out on a tour de force through 200 years of leftist art: from Heinrich Heine to Elfriede Jelinek, from Patti Smith to Soap & Skin, from Bauhaus to Gemeindebau. Revolting against the outdated and revolutionising styles as well as excess and intensity are still the grand tasks of art today. »Change the world, it needs it,« Misik says in the spirit of the ol’ Bert Brecht. He outlines an aesthetic programme beyond commerce, entertainment and stale traditions.