CAPA VISA – On Ludwig Stein • public presentation by photographer, Tim Rod (CH) & archivist, Balázs Som (HU) • FUTURES x Capa Center Residency↴

https://capacenter.hu/esemenyek/capa-visa-on-ludwig-stein-public-presentation-by-photographer-tim-rod-ch-archivist-balazs-som-hu-futures-x-capa-center-residency/

On Ludwig Stein – public presentation by Balázs Som archivist (Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, Budapest) & Tim Rod artist-in-residence (FUTURES European Photography Platform x Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest) in English

In his ongoing project, Prophetic Futures, Tim ROD, artist-in-residence (FUTURES European Photography Platform x Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest), explores the tension between the idea of progress and the real challenges of the present. Based on the work of his great-great-grandfather, Tim engages with Ludwig Steins’ philosophical theory of Evolutionary Optimism from a contemporary perspective.

Ludwig Stein (1859-1930) had a rich and varied career. He was born in Hungary, educated in Germany, and served for several years as an Orthodox rabbi in a Berlin congregation. He pursued postgraduate studies in philosophy under Eduard Zeller and in 1889, at the age of 31, he was appointed a full professor of philosophy at the University of Berne, Switzerland.

Stein‘s most significant philosophical contribution was his theory of social optimism and progress. Stein contrasts the prophetic- biblical dynamic world view with the classical and oriental view which extols rest. For Judaism and its daughter religions, Christianity and Islam, with their idea of messianic redemption, utopian society and the perfectibility of man still lies in the future and not in the remote past. Although the prophetic ideal may be an illusion, it is the motive force of progress.

The concept of Stein‘s social optimism and theory of progress can be critically examined today, especially in the tension between technological development, social justice, and ecological challenges. While the idea of messianic progress remains present in many societal narratives (e.g., the notion of technological utopia or infinite growth), we are simultaneously experiencing crises that call this belief in progress into question: climate change, social inequalities, and political instability.

The presentation will be introduced and contextualized by Balázs SOM, archivist (Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, Budapest).

Date: April 24, 2025, 6 pm– 7pm

Venue: Capa Center, studio

Free admission.

The event will be held in English

Balázs SOM • is one of the archivists of the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, PhD student at the University of Debrecen, Doctoral School of Human Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy. He is writing his doctoral thesis on Roland Barthes. He works in the photographic department of the archives of the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, where he is currently working on the legacy of Samu Szemere (1881–1978), philosopher, writer, aesthete, translator, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In parallel, he is mapping the philosophical milieu and academic life of the first half of the twentieth century.

Tim ROD • born 1992, is a Swiss artist based in Bern, Switzerland. He studied photography at CEPV—Vevey School of Photography (ES diploma, 2021) and holds a Master in Contemporary Arts Practice HKB—Bern University of Applied Sciences. He is currently participating in the artist-in-residence program of the FUTURES European Photography Platform in collaboration with the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center in the Art Quarter Budapest.

The FUTURES x Capa Center Residency Program provides selected emerging photographers with the time, space, and resources to develop new work, with a strong focus on the artistic process and research. Each residency creates an environment for experimentation, exploration, and production, offering participants the opportunity to push the boundaries of their practice while engaging with critical contemporary themes.

More info:

https://capacenter.hu/

https://www.futures-photography.com/news/futures-residency-program—open-call-2025

https://aqb.hu/

The aim of the FUTURES platform started in 2017 is to bring attention to the talented, emerging photographers of Europe. Co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Commission, the project provides an opportunity for creating art, as well as for exposure and mobility for hundreds of artists selected by the leading art institutions of Europe, year by year.

📸: Tim Rod

https://www.facebook.com/events/1560224201326456/