Deutsches Haus at NYU presents a conversation among Silvia Boadella, Tess Lewis, and Rachel Cohen (moderator) about Boadella's new book A Life Through Art, translated from the German by Tess Lewis, that tells the story of Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943), a pioneer of modern art whose joyous and multi-faceted art spanned two world wars and became the center of Zurich’s Dada movement. Largely considered the most important Swiss artist of the early 20th century, Sophie Taeuber-Arp is exhibited in museums around the world. An eponymous exhibition will be open to the public at MoMA 3 days after this talk, on November 21, 2021.
RSVP here.
About "A Life through Art: Sophie Taeuber-Arp:"
A Life Through Art – Sophie Taeuber-Arp offers an intimate look at the life and career of the Dada hero known for the unique joy of her work across mediums as reimagined by her great niece. Sophie Taeuber-Arp is a pioneer of modern art. This boldly imaginative and creatively versatile woman was at the center of Zurich’s Dada movement and is considered the most important female Swiss artist of the early twentieth century. She was a modern dancer, painter, sculptor, textile artist, designer, and interior architect. She made paper, textiles, wood, and glass shine – she bound light to matter in paintings, jewelry, embroidery, rugs, marionettes, furniture, and sculptures.
Silvia Boadella’s unique portrait shows how Sophie remained passionately devoted to her art despite the threat of two world wars. Through her work, she not only found and preserved her inner self and joy in extremely difficult circumstances, but also tapped enormous strength to endure the challenges in her life and remain true to herself.
About the participants:
Great-niece of Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Silvia Boadella, PhD, is a writer and psychotherapist. Born in 1948, she grew up in Basel, Switzerland. She studied philosophy, literature, psychology and art history in Basel and then at the University of Tübingen, where she received a Ph.D. in philosophy.
Tess Lewis is a writer and translator from the French and German. Her translations include works by Peter Handke, Walter Benjamin, Klaus Merz, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Christine Angot, Pascal Bruckner, and Jean-Luc Benoziglio.
Rachel Cohen (moderator) is the author of Austen Years: A Memoir in Five Novels, A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Artists, which won the PEN/Jerard Fund Award and was a finalist for the Guardian First Book Prize, and Bernard Berenson: A Life in the Picture Trade, which was longlisted for the JQ Wingate Literary Prize. Her essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Believer, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the New York Foundation for the Arts, and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Chicago.
Attendance information:
To RSVP for this conversation, please click here. Registration is (as always) free and open to the general public. Only registered attendees will receive Zoom webinar information via email prior to the event.
“A Life through Art – Sophie Taeuber-Arp” is funded by the DAAD from funds of the German Federal Foreign Office (AA).
