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A Man Digging | Un homme qui creuse
Tue February 4, 2020 @ 18:30 - 20:30
Presentation and Discussion with the Author Michael Blum
Moderation: Sonja Finck
Michael Blum’s book Oranienstraße Ausgrabungen, Eine Verschronik tells the story of a building in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Oranienstrasse 10/11, and the life of the Baum family from the middle of the 19th century until today. Everything begins as in a fairy tale: A man and a woman, born on the same day, fall in love with each other and have five sons over the next two decades. We follow the lives of their descendants from integration to persecution and exile to Rome, Haifa, Buenos Aires and Washington DC.
Embedded in a web of other narratives – the architectural history of the building, the social history of Berlin, Kreuzberg’s alternative and protest culture, housing feudalism and gentrification, the Jewish sports club Bar Kochba and the development of muscular Judaism – and related historical figures such as Max Nordau, Folke Bernadotte, Konrad Zuse or Aras Ören, we follow the voice of the author-cum-researcher to the present day.
Due to limited space, registration is recommended
Entrance to this event is free
Michael Blum is an artist, author, and professor at the École des arts visuels et médiatiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada. In his artistic work, he deals with people, stories and places between everyday life and politics. Since studying history at the University of Paris and photography at the Ecole Nationale de la Photographie in Arles, he has produced an extensive body of work that includes videos, installations and books.