Context

Nicole Streitler-Kastberger
The Man Without Qualities

Video

The exhibition Future of Melancholia explores the tensions between nostalgia and belief in progress, which are particularly palpable in cities such as Belgrade, Vienna and Graz. In doing so, it picks up on a melancholy mood that is also reminiscent of the atmosphere of Kakania at the beginning of the 20th century and was condensed into literature by Robert Musil’s The Man Without Qualities. Musil’s protagonist Ulrich embodies a ​“sense of possibility” that eludes fixed life plans and oscillates between doubt, irony, devotion and creative negativity. The novel, which is considered an interdiscursive work, questions themes that are still valid today such as lifestyle, responsibility and the tense relationship between action and reflection — questions that remain relevant in our present day after retreat and reflection. In this conversation with Sandro Droschl, Musil expert Nicole Streitler-Kastberger has taken a precise approach to the monumental work and discussed these questions in more detail.

Artists

Participating artists

Nicole Streitler-Kastberger

* 1972 in Dornbirn, lives in Graz and Vienna

ist Literaturwissenschaftlerin, Kritikerin und Autorin. 1990 – 1995 Studium in Wien, dann von 1997 – 2000 und 2003 auf zwei ​„Wellness-Lektoraten“ in Nizza und Bari. Sie hat ihre Dissertation zu Musil als Kritiker (Bern 2006) verfasst und war zwanzig Jahre lang Mitarbeiterin der Wiener Ausgabe der Werke Ödön von Horváths (Berlin 2009 – 2024). Derzeit ist sie wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin (Senior Scientist) am Franz-Nabl-Institut für Literaturforschung der Universität Graz.

More contributions

Lisa Le Feuvre
Great Women Sculptors

Video

The extensive publication Great Women Sculptors, co-edited by Le Feuvre was recently published by Phaidon in collaboration with the Holt/​Smithson Foundation. It gathers more than 300 female artists who have been excluded from institutions and the canon based on their gender.

Lisa Le Feuvre