Hand at Work: Evald Ilyenkov on Art and Technology
30. April 2025, 16.00 Uhr Kunstuniversität Linz, Domgasse 1, EG, Seminarraum DO.EG.21
Die Abteilung Kunstgeschichte und Kunsttheorie lädt zum Vortrag von Isabel Jacobs, moderiert von PhD Kandidat Samet Yalçın.
The Department of Art History and Art Theory at Kunstuniversität Linz hosts a talk by Isabel Jacobs on the Soviet philosopher Evald Ilyenkov (1924–1979), whose work remains pivotal for contemporary debates in aesthetics, technology, and dialectical thought.
Jacobs will examine Ilyenkov’s theory of art and technology, with a focus on embodied thinking, creativity, and collective imagination. The talk will also engage with his dialectical critique of cybernetics and machine intelligence, offering insights into its resonance with current discussions around art and artificial intelligence. Texts to be discussed include On Idols and Ideals (1968) and Ilyenkov’s reflections on a 1964 Pop Art exhibition in Vienna, attended as part of a Soviet delegation.
The event will be moderated by Samet Yalçın (PhD Candidate, Department of Art History and Art Theory) and is supported by the PhD Research Collective and the Department of Art History and Art Theory.
Isabel Jacobs is a philosopher and writer specializing in Soviet and East European visual culture and thought. She is currently a Josef Dobrovský Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, and holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of London. Her work explores the intersections of philosophy, culture, and politics, with particular attention to nonhuman agency and the environmental humanities. She is currently working on a book on Alexandre Kojève and leads a monthly research group on socialist conceptions of time.
