Curations

Viewpoints Out of Season

Drawing from Nietzsche’s concept of the “untimely” (Unzeitgemäß), Giorgio Agamben reinterprets the question of the contemporary. For Nietzsche, to be contemporary is to place oneself in a state of rupture and disintegration: “Those who truly belong to their time are those who neither conform to its demands nor adapt to its rhythms. Precisely through this misalignment, they perceive and grasp their era more acutely than anyone else.” Visionary artists often belong to this untimely realm. From the tragic brilliance of fashion icon Alexander McQueen, to Chinese photographer Ren Hang’s raw, poetic gaze; from the transcendent cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky, to the solitary grandeur of Austrian writer Peter Handke, and the provocative anti-totalitarian performance of Laibach—these creators exist where genius borders on madness. Watch how they spark moments of radiance within the mundanity of flesh—the fleeting glow of existence.