Thinking inside out: Post-Readymade

On a sunny day in February 2023, a large iron sphere washed ashore on Enshu Beach (Japan). The object in the sand prompted a major response from the local police and subsequently made headlines in the international press for several days. Under headlines such as “Spy balloon, UFO, or Dragon Ball?” (The Guardian), images and video clips circulated showing men in protective suits approaching the sphere with X-ray devices while helicopters circled overhead.

“Post-Readymade” addresses artistically appropriated objects that are surrounded by a complex system of references, including infrastructures, sites of discovery, eyewitness accounts, and origin stories. With works by Luke Willis Thompson, Hito Steyerl, and Lindsay Lawson in view, Katharina Weinstock traces the reception histories of Duchamp’s “Readymade” and Breton’s “Objet Trouvé” in parallel, developing from their interplay the new term “Post-Readymade.”

In the joint lecture series thinking inside out by ZKM and HfG, we invite guests from the fields of philosophy, literature, and art to engage in an open exchange with university members, ZKM staff, and the people of Karlsruhe.