Niklaus Largier will discuss the history of flagellation in terms of pornographic and sex practices, accompanied by a performative staging and an ‘arousal performance’ by members of The Public School.
Whippings
An exploration of the emotional and sensual, religious and erotic excitement of the whip, a crucial instrument of stimulation in devotional and sexual practices, focusing on its role in the modern pornographic imagination. Here flagellation becomes a form of affective-imaginary arousal that both affirms and deterritorializes the body. Accompanied by a whipping demonstration and preceded [...]
Delicatessen
A discussion of contemporary “food staging” as a medium to stimulate and evoke sensation. Arrangements of objects that present specific objects of touch, smell, taste, hearing, and seeing, read not as allegorical representations (which they are as well), but as artifacts that are meant to guide the “application of the senses” — a technique that [...]
Rubber Rose
Niklaus Largier will discuss the history of flagellation in terms of pornographic and sex practices, accompanied by a performative staging and an ‘arousal performance’ by members of The Public School.
Pillar Saints
Niklaus Largier will discuss religious/spiritual practices (involving prayer, martrydom, etc.) in terms of how they serve to stimulate the senses and inform the artistic imagination.
Niklaus Largier’s Bio
Niklaus Largier is currently chair of the German department. He is affiliated with UC Berkeley’s Program in Medieval Studies and the Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory. After studying German Literature, Philosophy, and Russian in Zurich and Paris, Professor Largier received his Ph.D. from the University of Zurich in 1989. His research deals with the history [...]