n.b.k. Discourse Vol. 6 – Freedom of Speech

The publication Freedom of Speech accompanies the same-named exhibition at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein and at Kunstverein Hamburg. It analyzes the concept of freedom of speech and its ideological role, which they play in Western democracies today. Everything revolves around the central question: What, if only he or she may speak, who tells the truth? The publication draws on the principle of the exhibitions and interrelates examples of media coverage (including the “Muhammad cartoons” or the controversial covers of the Hustler magazine and the front pages of Stern and Spiegel), historical events (such as the Black Power Movement and the Free Speech Movement in the U.S.) as well as artistic positions (including Hans Haacke, Sister Corita Kent, George Maciunas, Silke Wagner, Mark Wallinger). Together with the Duisburg Institute of Language and Social Research (DISS), artworks and contemporary historical material are examined for their verisimilitude by means of the theories of Michel Foucault and the critical discourse analysis.

The publication can be purchased at local bookshops, via the website of Buchhandlung Walther König, and at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein. Members of Neuer Berliner Kunstverein can buy the book at n.b.k. for the special price of 15.00 Euro.