Bertold Brecht’s phrase “something’s missing” conveys the nutshell that holds the incentive for utopia. In all societies, there have been initiatives by individuals to set themselves apart and to initiate alternative systems of governance based on the feeling of a shortage of some kind. Ranging from anarchic artists’ communes during the early 20th century to terrorist movements of our time, a rejection of rules of the dominant class or society has often resulted in alternative forms of social organization that allowed new and different notions of justice. While the initial absence is a corrective, not seldom the realization of utopia means a violent act of annihilation against that society, which yields space for new deficiencies. What is this something that is missing, before and beyond utopia, and how can it be understood in terms of its critical as well as productive powers in contemporary American society and beyond?
This event is part of the Considering Forgiveness Cycle.
Participants
Lebbeus Wood, Professor of Architecture at Columbia University
Mary Kelly, artist
Moderator
Molly Nesbit, Vassar College