Part of our series of courses, thinking about art: Philosophical approaches to art history.

In this final session, alongside Vid Simoniti, we will trace the philosophical question of art’s political content. We take in Plato's banishment of the artist from his ideal state, to the place of art in political modernity, with the work of philosophers such as Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, and W.E.B. Du Bois. 

You will be invited to draw connections between historical works and selected examples from the 21st century, while reflecting on ideas such as artistic objectivity, activism, and the place of art in a democratic society. This will equip you with a new critical lens through which to study the Gallery’s collection, and connect art of the past to art of the present day.  

Part of our series of courses, thinking about art: Philosophical approaches to art history.

This fifth session, with Panos Paris, will explore prominent philosophical ideas about beauty in search of an answer to the question: what is beauty? To this end, we will broach more specific questions, notably: is beauty objective or in the eye of the beholder? Is it linked to moral values and the inner qualities of objects, or is it merely skin-deep? In exploring the nature of beauty, we will look at a number of works from the Gallery’s collection for guidance and to elucidate different theories. 

Click here to learn more and book tickets.

Part of our series of courses, thinking about art: Philosophical approaches to art history.

Although we now think of empathy as something we feel towards other people, it was originally thought of as the explanation of our high regard for works of art. 

In this week's session with Derek Matravers, we will look at the ‘empathy theory of beauty’; at the role of empathy in engaging with figurative art; and what role empathising with the artist plays in our appreciation of art. We will test these various claims on pictures from the Gallery's collection. 

Click here to learn more and book tickets.

Part of our series of courses, thinking about art: Philosophical approaches to art history.

In this session with Lucy McDonald, we will investigate the nature of intimacy, focusing in particular on love. What does it mean to love somebody? Some conceive of love as a kind of union between two people. Others argue that to love someone is to be selflessly concerned about their wellbeing, or to see them as especially valuable. 

We will look at several works from the Gallery's collection which support these different ideas. We will also reflect on the different forms love can take – from friendships to romantic partnerships – and on its potential dark side. 

Click here to learn more and book tickets.

Part of our series of courses, thinking about art: Philosophical approaches to art history.

In this second session, with Vanessa Brassey, we will start by examining the seemingly straightforward assumption that artworks can embody emotions such as sadness, happiness, or melancholy. How is it possible for a picture to be sad (or happy) when having or expressing emotions presupposes the existence of a mind? 

In addition to exploring various historical theories and recent neuroscience findings, by using the philosopher's toolkit, we will form our own opinions on how certain cherished works from the Gallery's collection appear to encapsulate and evoke a spectrum of emotions. 

Click here to learn more and book tickets.

Part of our series of courses, thinking about art: Philosophical approaches to art history.

The sublime, a mingled experience of awe and terror, is one of the central modes through which Western art has sought to capture the natural and supernatural worlds – from shipwrecks to volcanoes, to the Last Judgement itself. It is also one of the most important concepts for modern philosophy of art, mined for insight into everything from morality to ecology. 

In this introductory session with Sacha Golob, we begin with classic presentations of the concept from the Gallery’s collection, including paintings by Turner and Claude-Joseph Vernet. 

We will then explore how the idea has developed in modern paintings and photography as artists turned to industrial and urban or sublimes.

Click here to learn more and book tickets.

Embark on a six-week course, in partnership with Kings College London’s Centre for Philosophy and Art, to explore the National Gallery’s collection anew by discovering connections to timeless philosophical puzzles. Each week, we will introduce and unravel a question about a different philosophical theme in dialogue with a painting in the National Gallery Collection. 

Over the six weeks we will cover the sublime, emotions, love and intimacy, empathy, beauty, and politics. You'll learn to recognise, articulate, and respond to the philosophical quandaries the pictures present, finding solutions by navigating between traditionally focused on art historical works and contemporary visual art.

This course offers a blend of art appreciation and philosophical inquiry and is designed for curious-minded people who have not studied philosophy formally before.

Click here to learn more and book tickets.

The Richard Wollheim centenary anounces an upcoming workshop, Richard Wollheim’s Philosophy and the Arts, to be held at St John’s College, Oxford on Saturday 20 January 2024.

The workshop will be in two parts. The morning session (10am-1:30pm) will feature 30-minute presentations, detailed below, which engage with the theme of the workshop. The afternoon session (2:30pm-5pm) will be given over to a discussion of future directions for research on this theme.

See here for more information, including registration instructions.

The Centre for Philosophy of Art in collaboration with the Institute of Psychoanalysis welcome you to our upcoming event: On Hope. This is the next event from the 'Questioning the obvious' series for the general public.

Dostoevsky was emphatic about hope: “To live without hope is to cease to live. Hell is hopelessness.” In our world today, hope does intuitively feel like a vital necessity. But: what is hope? Is it the same as optimism? As faith? Or desire? Was Dostoevsky right about it being essential for life? Or is it an unhelpful denial of our difficulties, a destructive fob?  What might art, theory and clinical practice tell us about this elusive thing called hope? Join philosophers, analysts and artists to debate these questions.

Event Fee(s):

• Standard £25.00

• Concession £15.00

Register here

Speakers

Nishan Kazazian is an American Artist, licensed Architect and Educator. Born and raised in Beirut to an Armenian family, Nishan lives and works in New York City and East Hampton, NY. His art resonates with aspects of his childhood, personal and family history - anchored in the present and looking to an imaginative future. This is a narrative of being dispersed and then gathered together, of resilience and adaptation, expressed through the synergy of various artistic media.

Colette Olive is a PhD candidate at King’s College London, where she is also Administrator of the Centre for Philosophy & Arts. Her research centres on a variety of topics in the philosophy of art including whether we can learn from art and whether art improves us morally.

William Badenhorst is a psychoanalyst with the British Psychoanalytical Society and a psychiatrist in private practice.

Chair: Alla Rubitel is a psychoanalyst with the British Psychoanalytical Society and a consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

A panel organised in partnership with The Centre for Philosophy and Art, King’s College London, this panel discussion is the third in a series exploring the relationship between the National Gallery Collection, as well as art more widely, and our emotions.

 What is ‘euphoria’ and, perhaps more intriguingly, what is it for? On one account it is a sense of perfect harmony, individuality, and purity, accompanied by a feeling of extreme wellbeing that connects us to the heavenly realm. On another, it’s an exquisite dissimulation of the self.

Book your free ticket here

Art and Emotions

Organised in partnership with The Centre for Philosophy and Art, King’s College London this series explores different emotions in the light of the National Gallery collection. Each film is broadcast at the National Gallery as part of a interactive speaker and panel event.

Nature is powerful. We play at escaping to it, long to return to it, wish to conquer it, say we will protect it, risk destroying it. But what is it? How do we engage with our natural environment? What is natural vs unnatural? What might art, theory and clinical practice tell us about our relationship with the natural world that we are an intrinsic part of? 

Join philosophers, analysts and artists to debate these questions.

Click here to register.

Attendees can tune in live, or access a recording over the following 48 hours, enabling viewing at their own convenience. (After this time, the recording will no longer be available)

Feifei Zhou is a Chinese-born artist and architect. She holds an MA in architecture from the Royal College of Art in London and was a guest researcher at Aarhus University Research on the Anthropocene (AURA). Her work explores spatial, cultural, and ecological impacts of the industrialized built environment. She co-edited the digital publication Feral Atlas: The More-than-Human Anthropocene with Anna Tsing, Jennifer Deger and Alder Keleman Saxena, published in October 2020.

Vanessa Brassey is a philosopher, artist, and visiting research fellow at King’s College London, where she is also Director of the Centre for Philosophy & Arts. She publishes in academic journals, magazines and makes short-form documentaries. During the lockdown she returned to landscape painting, documenting her daily dog walks on Hampstead Heath (a tonic to break up the zoom lecturing and teaching).

William Badenhorst is a psychoanalysis with the British Psychoanalytical Society, a psychiatrist, in private practice and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London.

Chaired by Alla Rubitel, a psychoanalyst with the British Psychoanalytical Society, a consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London.

The National Gallery in collaboration with The Centre for Philosophy and Visual Arts at King’s College London, discuss whether we can still love the work of celebrated artists despite their immoral behaviour.

About

Gauguin’s legacy as a painter is undeniable, but his lifestyle presents a challenge to our appreciation of his greatness. To some, he was a bohemian renegade, who broke free from Europe’s bourgeois shackles in his quest for creative liberation in the South Seas. To others, he abused the myth of the noble savage, abandoning his family to satisfy his exotic fantasies, while boosting the market for his art back home.

In the wake of recent scandals, and movements such as #MeToo and #StayWoke gaining significant attention, once-admired artists, writers, actors and filmmakers have been disgraced. Can we still love the work of artists whose behaviour we loathe? Is it ever really possible for objects of beauty not to be spoiled by the dirty hands that made them? Or could Gauguin’s artistic achievements even justify what he did?

This discussion poses questions about how we can (and if we should) make such moral judgements, inviting us to reflect on our relationship to art and consider what we take to be its purpose or responsibilities. 

Speakers include Shahidha Bari, Daniel Callcut, Sacha Golob and Janet Marstine.Image: Detail from Paul Gauguin, 'Self-Portrait', 1885 © Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas (AP 1997.03)

Book tickets here

Shahidha Bari

Shahidha Bari is a writer, academic and broadcaster. She is a Fellow of the Forum for Philosophy at the London School of Economics. Bari appears regularly on BBC Radio 3's Arts and Ideas programme, 'Free Thinking', and is an occasional presenter of BBC Radio 4's 'Front Row'. Bari is currently Professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at the London College of Fashion and is the author of 'Dressed: The Secret Life of Clothes'.

Daniel Callcut

Daniel Callcut is a freelance writer and philosopher with a wide interest in the arts. He writes for 'Prospect' magazine, 'Aeon', and 'Arts Professional'. Cambridge University Press and Routledge have published Callcut’s academic work and he is the editor of 'Reading Bernard Williams', an extensive collection of essays on one of the great philosophers of his generation.

Sacha Golob

Sacha Golob is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at King’s College London. He is the Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Visual Arts and the Associate Editor of the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. Golob has published extensively on French and German Philosophy and the Philosophy of Art. His current research looks at contemporary conceptions of degeneration, transformation and virtue.

Janet Marstine

Janet Marstine is Honorary (Retired) Associate Professor, School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester. She writes on diverse aspects of museum ethics from codes of practice to diversity initiatives and artists’ interventions as drivers for ethical change. She is author of 'Critical Practice: Artists, museums, ethics' (Routledge 2017), among other titles, and co-editor, with Svetlana Mintcheva, of the forthcoming volume 'Curating Under Pressure: International perspectives on negotiating conflict and upholding integrity'.

Join our panel for a debate about the ethics of exhibiting

What ethical dilemmas do curators face when arranging an exhibition?In particular, which considerations arise when displaying earlyanthropological photography today? Are there images that should not beshown? With reflection on TPG’s The Impossible Science of Being: Dialogues Between Anthropology and Photography (1995), we will examine the ethics of contemporary exhibition practices.

Speakers include: playwright and researcher Raminder Kaur (University of Sussex); anthropologist and art historian Christopher Pinney (University College London); curator and cultural historian Mark Sealy (Autograph ABP); and chaired by Sarah Fine, Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts, King’s College London.

Biographies

Raminder Kaur is professor of Anthropology andCultural Studies in the School of Global Studies at the University ofSussex. Her research has foregrounded visual cultures from a variety ofperspectives. Publications include Atomic Mumbai: Living with the Radiance of a Thousand Suns (2013) Kundankulam: A Story of an Indo-Russian Nuclear Power Plant (2020), and Performative Politics and the Cultures of Hinduism (2003/5). Aside from her academic writing, she writes scripts for theatre. www.sohayavisions.com

Mark Sealy is Director of Autograph ABP, anindependent photography organisation which champions work investigatingissues around cultural identity, race, representation and human rights.He completed a PhD at Durham University, where his research focused onphotography and cultural violence. He has curated several majorexhibitions, and his publications include Different (Phaidon 2001) with Professor Stuart Hall and most recently Decolonising the Camera: Photography in Racial Times (Lawrence & Wishart 2019).

In the lead up to TPG's 50th anniversary in 2021, The Ethics ofPhotography is a series of events bringing together practitioners,curators, academics, and other stakeholders, to discuss the enduringethical issues at the heart of photography. Looking back through aselection of pathbreaking exhibitions from the Gallery’s archive, weexplore in depth the moral issues connected with the images at hand.

A collaboration between The Photographers’ Gallery and the Centre for Philosophy and Art at King’s College London.

£8/£5 members & concessions.

By booking for this event you agree to our Terms & Conditions

A Collaboration between The Photographers’ Gallery and the Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts at King’s College London.

Photography plays a powerful and pervasive role in contemporary society, and raises a series of complex ethical questions for photographers, their subjects, curators, and audiences. For example, who or what should be captured, and by whom? When, if ever, should we refuse to photograph or be photographed? Which images should be circulated? When should we look, or look away?In the lead up to TPG's 50th anniversary in 2021, The Ethics of Photography is a series of events bringing together practitioners, curators, academics, and other stakeholders, to discuss the enduring ethical issues at the heart of photography. Looking back through a selection of pathbreaking exhibitions from the Gallery’s archive, we explore in depth the moral issues connected with the images at hand.This first event unpicks The Ethics of… Capturing, with reflection on TPG’s opening exhibition The Concerned Photographer. Questions addressed, both relevant to then and now, include: Does a photographer have a distinct set of artistic, ethical, and professional obligations, different from those of (other) visual artists? Or are there people/objects/scenes that should not be captured or circulated?

Speakers include, Paul Lowe, photographer and Course Leader for MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at London College of Communication; Laura Pannack, British social documentary and portrait photographer, Dawn M Wilson, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Hull; and chaired by Sarah Fine, Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts, King’s College London. Book Tickets here £8/£5 members & concessions.

Looking at our present situation across the world, one word often comes to mind: ‘stupidity’. But what exactly is stupidity? How does it differ from foolishness or naivety? Can you be stupid and smart? Is stupidity static? How has it been understood throughout history, and does it say something about our current predicaments?Join us for an interdisciplinary conversation drawing on art, philosophy and psychoanalysis. Welcome drinks and registration from 6.45pm.

This event is a collaboration between the Institute of Psychoanalysis and the Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts at King’s College London. Get Tickets

Join an artist, a historian and a philosopher to explore representations of anxiety within the visual arts.

In the final session of this three-part series responding to the All Too Human exhibition, an artist, historian and philosopher explore the concept, experience and representation of anxiety, from the personal to the societal, within the visual arts. Speakers include poet and visual artist Heather Phillipson, art historian Caterina Albano and philosopher Aaron James Wendland. The panel discussion will be chaired by Dr. Sacha Golob from The Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Art, King's College London. Read more here.

Whenever I really want to know what someone looks like I always ask a queer – because homosexuals are always more ruthless and more precise about appearance. After all, they spend their whole lives watching themselves and others, then pulling the way they look to pieces.

- Francis Bacon

Join artists, historians and philosophers for a discussion around the concept of the body in response to the All Too Human exhibitionIn the second of a three-part series, artists, historians and philosophers explore the concept of the body within the visual arts. How is the reality of embodiment conveyed through mediums such as photography or painting? What is the political or social significance of the bodies chosen and of their framing? And to what extent is the artistic process itself an embodied one?

The panel discussion will be chaired by Dr. Dominic Johnson with speakers including artist Michael Armitage, artist Noemi Lakmaier, philosopher Hans Maes and art historian Gregory Salter.​ The panel discussion will be chaired by Dr. Sacha Golob from The Centre for Philosophy and Art, King's College London. Read more here.

What is the gaze? Why does it make us aware of ourselves in an unexpected way? How does it shape our sense of who we are? What is the connection between the gaze and gender or between the gaze and objectification? Why might it be intimate, uncomfortable or disturbing to be subjected to someone’s gaze? How does the idea of the gaze change as we move from painting to photography to contemporary social media?

In this first of a three-part series responding to the All Too Human exhibition, Amalia Ulman (artist), Timothy Secret (philosopher) and Katharina Günther (art historian) will lead a discussion exploring the concept of the gaze within the visual arts, its power to objectify or be objective, create intimacy or distance. The event will be chaired by Sacha Golob, CPA Director. Join us afterwards for a discussion with the CPA team from 15.30–17.30 in the Duffield Room. This two hour seminar explores some of the key philosophical issues raised by the notion of the gaze. The first half opens with Jean-Paul Sartre's classic discussion: Sartre uses the story of a voyeur caught in the act to explore objectification and shame through the lens of the gaze. We'll examine how the gaze relates to gender and subjectivity, and we'll consider to what degree it might be a positive, as well as a negative, phenomenon. The second half broadens the discussion to look at the gaze across different formats - how should we understand it in the context of painting, photography, social media or even writing? Each session will provide a concise introduction to the core themes and their significance for philosophy and the arts. We’ll then break into smaller groups for a guided discussion in which participants can explore the ideas and develop their own take on them in relation to the exhibition and to contemporary events.  No prior knowledge is required. There will be a 10 minute interval between the two halves.The seminar will be led by Dr. Sacha Golob, Dr. Emma Syea and Vanessa Brassey from the King's College London, Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute to a research article on the relationship between philosophy and their experience of the All Too Human exhibition.

This event is part of the three-part series: What Makes Us Human: Conversation on Art and Philosophy.

You can book tickets here.