RE-TOUCHING McLUHAN – THE MEDIUM IS THE MASSAGE

McLuhan in Europe 2011 // Berlin Centennial Weekend May 27 – 29, 2011

transmediale, in collaboration with the Embassy of Canada Berlin and Marshall McLuhan Salon invite you to a key weekend event celebrating the legacy of Canadian media philosopher Marshall McLuhan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Part of the McLuhan in Europe 2011 network of events initiated by transmediale, Berlin’s Centennial Weekend will take place May 27 - 29 at the Embassy of Canada and Marshall McLuhan Salon.

The RE-TOUCHING McLUHAN Conference, curated by Dieter Daniels and moderated by Christopher Salter, features lectures by leading international media and digital culture researchers including Richard Cavell, Martina Leeker, Claus Pias, Dieter Daniels, Katja Kwastek, Liz Kotz, Janine Marchessault, Graham Larkin and Lorenz Engell.

Legendary McLuhanist Derrick de Kerckhove and local McLuhan scholar Steffi Winkler elaborate on rare material from the McLuhan archive in McLuhan vs McLuhan, the first session in the McLuminations Illuminated Screenings series, produced by Baruch Gottlieb.

The opening of the Centennial Weekend features the worldwide (re-)launch of McLuhan's 1968 audio art classic The Medium is the Massage, digitally remastered for the first time, produced and presented by hip-hop musician and conceptual artist Paul D. Miller aka  DJ Spooky.

The Centennial Weekend will feature the European première of Through the Vanishing Point, a major new multi-media installation by leading Canadian digital artists David Rokeby and Lewis Kaye, as well as Play_McLuhan, an exhibition by media art students from the Hochschule Darmstadt under the direction of Sabine Breitsameter will be presented.

All events over the McLuhan Centennial Weekend are free and open to the public, but spaces are limited so please RSVP at rsvp@mcluhan2011.eu.

Programme Highlights

Friday May 27, 18.00
Re-Touching McLuhan Centennial Weekend
Opening and Reception featuring Richard Cavell and Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky

Saturday May 28, 10.00 – 18.00
Re-Touching McLuhan: The Medium is the Massage
Conference chaired by Dieter Daniels

Sunday May 29, 14.30
McLuminations #1
Screening & Discussion featuring Derrick de Kerckhove and Steffi Winkler

Sunday May 29, 17.00
Through The Vanishing Point
Installation by David Rokeby and Lewis Kaye - Vernissage

Full event schedule: mcluhan2011.eu/schedule

Special Pre-Events

Friday, May 27, 12.00 – 17.00
Global Village: Calamity or Chance?
2nd German-Canadian Professionals Conference
gcp-conference.de/2011

Friday, May 27th, 17.00
PLAY_McLUHAN
Exhibition presentation by Sabine Breitsameter and students of the Hochschule Darmstadt

Event Details

All events are free and open to the public but spaces are limited so please RSVP at rsvp@mcluhan2011.eu, and arrive early to ensure enough time for embassy security.

If you are unable to attend, please join us online at mcluhan2011.eu/berlin. All RE-TOUCHING McLUHAN conference presentations will be streamed live and there will be opportunities to participate in a moderated online forum. To register your interest in our streaming programme, please contact Lalitha Rajan on lr@mcluhan2011.eu.

For more information visit mcluhan2011.eu/berlin or contact Michelle O'Brien on mo@mcluhan2011.eu.

Re-Touching McLuhan is a project of transmediale in collaboration with the Embassy of Canada and its Marshall McLuhan Salon with the support of the Government of Canada, the Deutsch-Kanadische Gesellschaft, Blackberry, the McLuhan Estate and the Gingko Press. The event is part of the McLuhan in Europe 2011 Network, initiated and directed by Stephen Kovats in collaboration with Michelle Kasprzak, celebrating the centenary of Marshall McLuhan and his impact on European Art and Media Culture.

Through The Vanishing Point was commissioned in 2010 by the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival (Bonnie Rubenstein, curator) and the Faculty of Information McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology (Dominique Scheffel-Dunand, director) University of Toronto, Canada.or updates please check back to this page, subscribe to the transmediale newsletter or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.