Markus Klammer is Schaulager Professor of Art Theory at the University of Basel and member of the Governing Committee of eikones – Center for the Theory and History of the Image. His research interests include art theory and aesthetics, image theory, the epistemology of psychoanalysis and situationism. His current research investigates the relations of subjectivity and exemplarity in the arts under the conditions of late modernity. Recent publications: “Cavell’s Realism. Toward a Theory of the Type”, in: A. Boetzkes and M. Ouellet, eds., Art’s Realism in a Post-Truth Era, Edinburgh 2024; “Material and Equivalence in Charles Ray”, in: M. Klammer and S. Baier, eds., Aesthetics of Equivalence. Art in Capitalism, Berlin 2023; “Exemplifikation”, in: M. Krajewski, A. von Schöning and M. Wimmer, eds., Enzyklopädie der Genauigkeit, Konstanz 2021; “Awkward Freedom. Freiheit und Programm bei Michael Snow”, in: R. Ubl and R. Villinger, eds., Michael Frieds “Shape as Form” und die Kritik der Form von 1800 bis zur Gegenwart, Paderborn 2018; “Bergsonscher Platonismus. Gregory J. Markopoulos’ ›Gammelion‹ (1968)”, in: M. Klammer and M. Naef, eds., Kino der Zukunft. Gregory J. Markopoulos, München 2017; as editor: Aesthetics of Equivalence. Art in Capitalism, Berlin 2023 (with S. Baier); Bild-Beispiele. Zu einer pikturalen Logik des Exemplarischen, Paderborn 2020 (with A. Cremonini).
Talking Time and Experience: A Presentation by Markus KlammerSunday, 16 November 2025, 2 PM
Auditorium
Markus Klammer
Photo: Dominik Hagel
At the heart of Steve McQueen’s immersive work Bass (2024) lies a fundamental inquiry: how do we make sense of time and space? What do we need for orientation—and how is perception shaped not only by sight, but also by sensations, movement, and bodily presence? These questions echo throughout McQueen’s practice and are brought into sharp focus in Bass, one of his most abstract works to date. Described as the essence of cinema—light and sound—it engages viewers both visually and haptically, challenging the boundary between observing the world and being immersed within it. Drawing on his expertise in film history and image theory, Markus Klammer, Schaulager Professor of Art Theory at the University of Basel, will explore Bass through the lens of McQueen’s distinctive film and television works. His talk considers how McQueen navigates and reconfigures conventional perceptions of time, space, memory, and history through rhythm, duration, and a carefully constructed involvement of the viewers as embodied spectators within certain technological and institutional frameworks. Focusing on the works’ scenographic strategies and affective impact, Klammer invites the audience to reflect on the complications of historical and experienced time in McQueen’s oeuvre.
The presentation is held in German.
The exhibition ticket also includes the talk and can be purchased here.