Guggenheim Forum is a continuing series of moderated online discussions catalyzing intelligent conversation on the arts, architecture, and design. Several times each year, experts from a variety of fields inquire into and debate topics related to the museum’s exhibition program.

Each Forum unfolds over the course of one week. During that period, visitors to Guggenheim.org are encouraged to send in comments. Responses will be posted for consideration by the panelists and to contribute to the overall dialogue. A live chat session takes place during each Forum, allowing visitors to communicate directly with our experts in a lively, immediate approach to the subject at hand.

Guggenheim Forum

Get Real
September 12–16, 2011

Lee Ufan began making art in the mid-1960s out of a conviction that modern existence has been increasingly detached from its underlying conditions, isolating us in a bubble of representations. Today the intensity and penetration of mass media in daily life has reached a point at which the question of where existence “really” lies has become difficult to answer. In this iteration of Guggenheim Forum, experts ask whether what is real is based more in material or code, social agreement or spirit. Panelists include Elizabeth Grosz, Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, and Douglas Hofstadter, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Comparative Literature at Indiana University. The discussion will be moderated by Alison Goddard, correspondent for The Economist.

As part of “Get Real,” one-hour live chat with Alison Goddard and Ian Hacking took place September 12, 2011. “Get Real” is presented in concert with the exhibition Lee Ufan: Marking Infinity, on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, through September 28, 2011.

UPCOMING GUGGENHEIM FORUM

The next Guggenheim Forum will take place in spring 2012. Information on its subject and participants will be announced soon.

Declarations

Declarations showcases a wide range of artists, scholars, activists, businesspeople, and government leaders offering concise remarks on topical themes related to the museum’s exhibitions. Readers are invited to join the discussion by submitting their own statements.
 

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