Culture et pop | ARTE

Kultur und Pop | ARTE

Culture | ARTE

Cultura y pop | ARTE

Kultura | ARTE

Cultura | ARTE

In 2022, Salman Rushdie narrowly survived an assassination attempt by an Islamic extremist. This year's winner of the German Publishers' Peace Prize at the Frankfurt Book Fair, we interview the acclaimed writer in New York. Also in the programme: Russian journalist Elena Kostyutchenko, Slovenian authors Pia Prezelj and Suzana Tratnik, and a focus on the graphic novel “Woman, Life, Freedom" by Marjane Satrapi.

Salman Rushdie and Freedom of Speech

Interview in New York with the acclaimed British writer, this year's winner of the German Publishers' Peace Prize.

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Freedom and diversity are important in Timisoara, the birthplace of the Romanian revolution in 1989. Twist visits the city which has been designated European Capital of Culture 2023 and looks at the wind of freedom blowing through the cultural scene.

Timisoara: City of Freedom?

A visit to the European Capital of Culture 2023 where a wind of freedom is blowing through the cultural scene.

Climate change, scarce resources, and increased sustainability - how do we want to build in the future? Everything is being examined, not just architecture. Politics and art must offer interdisciplinary models and designs for the future of construction and housing.

Venice Architecture Biennale 2023

Climate change, scarce resources, and increased sustainability - how do we want to build in the future?

The Codex Seraphinianus is the most mysterious book in the world, full of bizarre drawings and an indecipherable language. It won over prestigious fans such as Roland Barthes, Italo Calvino, Federico Fellini and Tim Burton. Published in 1981, the Codex has become an object of worship: some try to decipher its language and give it meaning; others appreciate it simply because it represents the greatest surrealist work ever made. ARTE asks its author, Luigi Serafini, what's behind his enigmatic work.

The Strangest Book in the World

The Codex Seraphinianus is full of bizarre drawings and an indecipherable language.

Gymnastics

Picasso 2023: 50 years after the artist's death, how does the artist's work resonate today? Cuture magazine show Twist meets the British designer Paul Smith, who has designed a new exhibition at the Picasso Museum in Paris and the Gauthier Dance Company, which was inspired by "Bathers", a group of sculptures exhibited at the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart.

Picasso Now

Picasso 2023: 50 years after the artist's death, how does the artist's work resonate today? 

Federico Fellini is renowned for his extravagant productions. On the sets, there was often a mixture of creativity and chaos. But why did the filmmaker make his actors recite numbers and pasta recipes rather than scripts?

Federico Fellini's creative process was chaotic but legendary

Carbonara Alla Fellini

At the first hint of sadness, out comes the pints of icecream and the sad power ballads. But why is listening to sad music our idea of a good time? Does sad music make us happy?

Why is listening to sad music our idea of a good time?

Why Do We Love Sad Music?

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She was called the queen of Warsaw. A prominent figure in the drag scene in Poland, Kim Lee was a muse for photographers, painters, and writers. In a country with a conservative government, Kim Lee was an icon for the Polish queer community. An ode to a Queen taken during the pandemic.

Warsaw's Queen of Drag

In a country with a conservative government, Kim Lee was an icon for the Polish queer community.

Certain Bourbon monarchs were known for their dissolute and hedonistic lifestyles. In Spain, a recent discovery in a military base has uncovered film reels that belonged to King Alfonso XIII. In the late 1910s, Alfonso XIII went so far as to write and produce the first pornographic films shot in Spain.

Spain's Royal Pioneer of Porn

In the late 1910s, King Alfonso XIII wrote and produced the first pornographic films shot in Spain.

Featuring masks, faceless faces, truncated bodies either dismembered or dissolved, Polish artist Aneta Grzeszykowska creates uncanny, unsettling imagery. Her art prompt us to question our identity and society's expectations of women.

Feminism Behind a Mask

Featuring masks, faceless faces, and truncated bodies, Aneta Grzeszykowska creates unsettling imagery.

We tie knots every day without a second thought, but it's all about context. Tying your shoelaces is nothing special, but that very same movement becomes charged with meaning when it is practised as part of Shibari. This Japanese art of tying someone into a tightly woven mesh of intricate knots and bindings started off as a form of punishment. But it is now a sexual fetish, and a craft, full of precision.

Bondage: The Ties That Free

The tradition of Shibari started off as a form of punishment. But it is now a sexual fetish, and a craft, full of precision.

Is pacifism still relevant as war rages in Ukraine? What is the point of peaceful demonstrations when the aggressor will stop at nothing? Tracks East gives a voice to the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian opposition and peace movements.

Pacifism: What’s the Point?

Is pacifism still relevant as war rages in Ukraine? What is the point of peaceful demonstrations when the aggressor will stop at nothing? 

Tracks East

The mysterious Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) is a recurring figure in pop culture. He is on the Beatles album cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. David Bowie and Ozzy Osbourne dedicated songs to him, and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page even bought Crowley's Scottish country estate, which is believed to be haunted. Some consider him a great occultist, others have declared him insane.

The Wickedest Man in the World

The mysterious Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) is a recurring figure in pop culture. Some consider him a great occultist, others have declared him insane.

With Russian missiles raining down over their cities, Ukrainians have no choice but to take refuge below ground. After more than a year of war, basements, bunkers and metro stations have become more than just temporary shelters. Tracks East looks at what life is like underground.

Underground

With Russian missiles raining down over their cities, Ukrainian have no choice but to take refuge underground. 

Pop culture

Who are we? And how do we want to live? Streetphilosophy looks for answers to life's big question on the streets of Berlin.

Streetphilosophy

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Ex-footballer turned anti-poverty activist Neven Subotić had the world at his feet. But it wasn't enough. He knew something was missing and turned to books to help him find meaning in his life. What he read changed his outlook, his way of thinking, and his future. 

In the Words of Ex-Footballer Neven Subotic

Ex-footballer turned anti-poverty activist Neven Subotić discusses the books that changed his life.

The Book That Changed My Life

How can we live a happy life? And should we be pleased that our lives are short? Ronja von Rönne investigates the philosophy of happiness by meeting Jean-Remy von Matt, a major figure in German advertising and Sister Katharine, who left her job in finance to become a nun.

A guide to living a contented existence.

How can we live a happy life? And should we be pleased that our lives are short? Ronja von Rönne investigates the philosophy of happiness.

Unhappy

Could your perfect look alike be out there in the world somewhere? The idea that a stranger could be living a completely different life to us, but wear the same face, is a troubling, intriguing concept. New technologies might make finding our 'twin' even easier.

Do We All Have Dopplegangers?

Could your perfect look alike be out there in the world somewhere?

Cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular in Europe and the world. We talk about the plastic surgery craze with French plastic surgeons Mauricio de Maio and Oren Marco and philosopher Heather Widdows.

We talk about the plastic surgery craze with French plastic surgeons Mauricio de Maio and Oren Marco and philosopher Heather Widdows.

Crazy for Plastic Surgery

Is lazy good? Ronja meets ex-football player Kevin Pannewitz, who was about to break through into the Bundesliga, but was kicked out by the clubs for lack of discipline. Today he plays in the district league and is a happy father. Does he still feel like he missed something because of his lack of work ethic? Laziness can have meaning: it's a form of resistance, says philosopher Marilena Berends. It's a radical act against our high-speed society and the never-ending drive for production and growth. 

Ronja meets ex-player Kevin Pannewitz, who was kicked out of professional football due to lack of discipline

Being Lazy is Awesome

"The aim of education is to form beings adapted to a system," said philosopher Johannes Winter. But Rousseau convinced us that children must be free to develop as they wish. Can we educate entire societies? Ronja discusses the idea with a lifeguard from Berlin, Extinction Rebellion activists and a couple of artists.

Can we educate entire societies? Ronja discusses the idea with a lifeguard from Berlin, Extinction Rebellion activists and a couple of artists

The Importance of Being Educated

What does it mean to be a man in the modern world? Jan goes in search of answers on the streets of Berlin where he meets barbecue grillers, American football players and queer foresters.

Be a Man! - But How?

What does it mean to be a man in the modern world? Streetphilosophy's Jan goes in search of answers on the streets of Berlin where he meets barbecue grillers, American football players and queer foresters.

Ideas

Deborah Feldman found worldwide fame with her autobiography Unorthodox, adapted into a highly successful Netflix series. In this extensive interview, she talks about the central and vital role books have played in her life, on post-war writing dealing with the holocaust, and also contemporary events, notably the Israel-Hamas war.

With Deborah Feldman

An extensive interview with writer Deborah Feldman, famous for her autobiography Unorthodox, adapted into a highly successful Netflix series.

The Book that Changed my Life

The Time of Your Life

The painting "Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy" was discovered in a modest private collection. But is it really one of the last great works by Caravaggio, the Italian master of chiaroscuro? A fascinating investigation travelling from Paris via Italy to Malta in search of the truth.

Is a painting found in a modest private collection really one of the last great works by Caravaggio?

The Caravaggio Mystery

In Israel everything changed overnight on 7 October. In this episode, Tracks East looks at life in the Jewish state after the Hamas attack.

Israel: Life After Terror

In Israel everything changed overnight on 7 October. In this episode, Tracks East looks at life after the Hamas attack.

Far from being a mere material detail, our homes can have a real influence on our well-being... City or country? Flat or house? A philosophical exploration of how we live, hosted by Ronja von Rönne.

Happiness and Habitat

Far from being a mere material detail, our homes can have a real influence on our well-being...

Since the Hamas attacks on Israel, the Ha'achim restaurant in Tel Aviv has become a community kitchen with volunteers, who prepare food parcels there, still reeling from the shock of recent events. In Ukraine, chef Ievgen Klopotenko has been proudly showcasing his country's gastronomy as an expression of culture and identity.

When Cooking Gets Political

How food is an expression of community, culture and identity in Israel and Ukraine.

Highly respected theatres are programming gory productions that have more in common with slash horror films than traditional theatre.

Gore at the Theatre

A simple hut on the Côte d‘Azur shows all of Le Corbusier’s architectural genius.

Le Corbusier and his Cabin

Ancient Greek statues are white, pure and classical, just like the marble they are carved from. False. These statues were painted in fabulous bright colours. Archaeologists and art academics have known this for centuries so why does the white myth endure?

Ancient Greek Statues Were Not White

Conductors can gesticulate wildly when they conduct an orchestra. But have you ever wondered what exactly they are doing with their hands? And why do they use a baton?

Why Do Conductors Use Batons?

In 1973 choreographer and dancer Carolyn Carlson brought an breath of American fresh air into the Paris Opera. In true hippy style she brought barefoot dancing, improvisation and a relaxed attitude. Not everyone was ready for change.

Carolyn Carlson: The Day They Danced Barefoot at the Paris Opera

The humble accordion may not have a reputation as the coolest instrument on the block. But in the hands of Mario Batkovic it takes on another dimension. Since 2017 the Bosnian accordionist has been wowing audiences and recording film and game scores, notably for hit survival game, Red Dead Redemption 2.

Mario Batkovic: Superstar Accordionist

The humble accordion may not have a reputation as the coolest instrument on the block. But in the hands of Mario Batkovic it takes on another dimension.

Are we happier when we live a healthy life? Or does being happy make us healthy? To find out, Ronja von Rönne meets biohacker Andreas Breitfeld and international DJ Ellen Allien.

Happiness and Health

Are we happier when we live a healthy life? Or does being happy make us healthy?

Italy has the largest number of World Heritage sites of any country, wonders that are becoming increasingly difficult to preserve. Can they all be saved, or should some be left to crumble? Twist criss-crosses Italy to discover its lost places.

Lost Places in Italy

Italy has the largest number of World Heritage sites of any country, wonders that are becoming increasingly difficult to preserve. Can they all be saved from ruin?

When war disrupts daily life, social issues often take a back seat. Tracks East meets the men and women who refuse to let armed conflict get in their way. Anna, a doctor in Kyiv, wants sexual liberation along with sexual health and Alina and Stanislava are campaigning for equal marriage.

Social Activism in Wartime

Tracks East meets the men and women who refuse to let armed conflict get in the way of social issues.

What do creative couples have to say about love? Culture magazine Twist asked novelists Monika Helfer and Michael Köhlmeier, dancers Anna Konjetzky, Sarah Huby and Quindell Orton, and Swedish artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg for their views.

Artist Couples and Love

What do creative couples have to say about love? Culture magazine Twist asked novelists, dancers and artists in relationships for their views.

Tracks East finds out how militarisation, migration, and an increasing polarisation within society are affecting the mood in Poland as elections approach.

The Polish Paradox

Tracks East finds out how militarisation, migration and an increasing polarisation within society are affecting the mood in Poland as elections approach.

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Belgium’s Africa Museum was created by King Leopold II to glorify his ‘civilising mission’ in the Belgian Congo, in reality a brutal and ruthless colonisation. As the museum recently underwent a major overhaul this documentary looks at how it shaped negative European attitudes towards Africa and how the newly renovated museum can challenge the dark colonial past.

Belgium's Colonial Museum

Totems and Taboos

In Berlin, clubs and alternative spaces are closing and rents are soaring. But in one of the capital's richest districts, there is resistance. On the shores of Rummelsburg lake, behind Ostkreuz station, alternative groups have built makeshift barges in defiance of the Berlin property market.

Berlin's Floating Alternative Scene

In Berlin, clubs and alternative spaces are closing and rents are soaring. But in one of the capital's richest districts, there is resistance

Tracks

Tracks East looks at the human rights situation in several parts of the world: Freedom of expression in Russia, Women’s rights in Iran, the inhabitants of Gaza under bombardment, and the forced exile of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

War. Freedom. Human rights.

Tracks East looks at the human rights situation in several parts of the world: Russia, Gaza, Armenia, and Iran.

Has Russia's invasion of Ukraine plunged the world back into the Cold War? And what if Russia's attack on its neighbour was actually aimed at the United States? Jean-Michel Scherbak travels to New York for Tracks East to meet Ukrainian and Russian communities there.

USA-Russia A New Cold War?

Jean-Michel Scherbak travels to New York for Tracks East to meet Ukrainian and Russian communities there. Has Russia's invasion of Ukraine taken us back to the Cold War? 

The children of the Russian elite live out their dreams while their non-elite compatriots are sent to the front in Ukraine, invoking a well-connected parent allows them to escape mobilisation. Exiled Russian journalist Masha Borzunova sheds light on these parallel worlds.

Parallel Worlds at War

Exiled Russian journalist Masha Borzunova sheds light on the parallel world of the Russian elite's kids avoiding the war.

At the front, the war continues, but for Ukrainians, the process of remembering has already begun. How can the country honour its many dead while conflict endures? In this episode, Tracks East looks at the way in which men and women evoke the past and perpetuate its memory.

The Dead Don't Die: Never Forgetting

At the front, the war continues, but for Ukrainians, the process of remembering has already begun. How can the country honour its many dead while conflict endures?

Eighteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine, how is Russian civil society coping with Putin’s dictatorial drift? Tracks East investigates with journalist and debunker of fake news, Masha Borzunova.

Daily life in Putin's Russia

Eighteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine, how is Russian civil society coping with Putin’s dictatorial drift?

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Humanity is addicted to lighting up the night, and that comes at a huge energy cost, and a cost to wildlife. Twist meets artists inspired by the nocturnal world: photographer Oskar Schlechter, musician Pascal Schumacher and light sculptor Giny Vos. Finally, visual artist Anne Imhof grants us an exclusive interview.

The Power of Darkness

Twist meets artists inspired by the nocturnal world.

When bombs are raining down all around, when freedom of expression is removed, does this make you laugh? Tracks East looks at how humour is used as a weapon in testing times in Belarus, Ukraine and Bulgaria. (And how dictators don’t have a very developed sense of humour.)

Humour as a Weapon

Tracks East looks at how humour is used as a weapon in testing times in Belarus, Ukraine and Bulgaria. (And how dictators don’t have a very developed sense of humour.)

Truman Burbank, a 35-year-old skateboarder from Paris, has a sense of humor as sharp as his stunts

Truman Burbank - Skateboard Joker

Religion has played a major role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill supports the war - Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is sending Muslim soldiers to Ukraine in a "holy war". We meet the Ukrainian muslim bloggers. Artist Masha Maroz takes us on a journey through the ancestral rites of Polesia and Mihaela Drăgan invokes Roma superstitions about witches.

Myth, Religion and War

Religion has played a key role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In Kyiv's Closer Club, Ukrainians are trying to preserve a bit of normality in wartime. In the past, dance fans from across Europe made the pilgrimage to the Ukrainian capital's legendary techno nights. Every December, the Black Factory Night takes place, and this winter is no different. If there’s a blackout, they’re got generators at the ready.

Blackout

In Kyiv's Closer Club, Ukrainians are trying to preserve a bit of normality in wartime as the country experiences blackouts.

Exiled in Latvia since 2022, Russian journalist Masha Borzunova and her team are on a mission to teach Europe what Russian state media propaganda actually looks like: Sinister, full of contradiction and absurd.

Fake News: Russian Propaganda for Beginners

In Chicago at the end of the 19th century, the businessman Henry Howard Holmes became America's first serial killer. He used modern industrial methods to build his own house of horrors, a labyrinth filled with mechanised ways of murdering people and getting rid of the body. He may have killed hundreds.

The Real House of Horrors

America's first serial killer; Henry Holmes, turned his house into a labyrinth filled with mechanised ways to kill

Depictions of Venus and nude women in general in art can be considered objectifying and insulting. In 1914, a suffragette even slashed a painting in the National Gallery in protest. But Venus is perhaps more inclusive than she looks at first glance. 

Aphrodite's Child

Depictions of nude women can be objectifying and insulting. But Venus is perhaps more inclusive than she looks

Look but Don't Touch

Olympia is a classic Venus with a 19th century twist. She caused quite a stir, as Édouard Manet painted her as a prostitute waiting for the client. 

Olympia by Édouard Manet

Olympia is a classic Venus with a 19th century twist: she's a prostitute

An author once described this work as a portrait of a woman done by a painter who had forgotten to paint the feet, legs, thighs, stomach, hips, chest, hands, arms, shoulders, neck and head. 

The Origin of the World by Gustave Courbet

At first glance, it's an image of innocence. A motherly milkmaid pouring out the milk in a kitchen, preparing snacks from our childhoods. But there's actually far more to her than meets the eye.

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

A famous image that at first glance looks totally innocent, but is in actual fact full of innuendo

Diana, the mythological goddess of the hunt, lives with her band of nymphs in the forest, free of men. Representations of her in painting are a contradictory mix of fantasy and repulsion. These nympths are both virgins and lesbians, naked and threatening, seductive and violent.

Diana and Callisto by Le Titien

Representations of Diana in art are a contradictory mix of fantasy and repulsion. 

Hercules is known as an allegory of strength and virility. But his love life doesn't quite match up to that, with the exception of his relationship with Xena, the warrior.

Hercules and Omphale by Pierre Paul Rubens

Hercules is known as an allegory of strength and virility. But his love life doesn't quite match up to that

Is Saint Thomas' touching of Jesus' wounds homoerotic? It's certainly in stark contrast to Mary Magdalene, who is told not to touch him and spends the rest of her life living in a cave.

The incredulity of Saint Thomas - Caravaggio

Is Saint Thomas' touching of Jesus' wounds homoerotic?

In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Jupiter transforms into a swan to have sex with Leda. In this work, the painter takes the opportunity to explore the sensuality of the encounter, working with colours and fabrics to convey pleasure.

Leda and the Swan by Paolo Veronese

The painter explores the sensuality of the encounter between Leda and Jupiter

In the 1980s, a Japanese television channel financed the restoration of the Sistine Chapel and during that restoration, workers discovered the garish colours and parts of the body that had since been covered up. So which version of the painting is more important to preserve?

Original Sin by Michelangelo

The Sistine Chapel could have looked very different...

Written in the Middle Ages, the accounts of the life and death of the saints occupy an important place in the Catholic tradition, especially accounts of their torture... JK, this is actually an episode about BDSM. But no worries! We're just doing soft stuff.

San Sebastian by Perugino

Is this an episode about Catholic saints or BDSM? Maybe... both?