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Sade

Freedom or evil

An exhibition that explores the aesthetic, philosophical and political legacy of the Marquis de Sade in contemporary culture, from the early 20th-century avant-gardes to the present day.

Stéphanie Genand. Who was the Marquis of Sade?

In this interview, Stéphanie Genand, researcher and lecturer in 18th-century French Literature at the University of Paris-Est Créteil, talks about the life of the Marquis of Sade (1740-1814). Sade was a long-lived author who lived under different political regimes, an experience ...

Dany-Robert Dufour. Sade and capitalist society

Dany-Robert Dufour is a philosopher and lectured in educational sciences at the University of Paris-VIII until 2015. In this interview, he shares Pier Paolo Pasolini’s view of Sade not as a representative of fascism, but as an author who exalts the individual and the sacred law of egoism. ...

Éric Marty. Sade in the 20th century

Éric Marty is a writer, essayist, teacher specializing in contemporary literature and the history of ideas, and author of the book Pourquoi le XXe siècle a-t-il pris Sade au sérieux? [Why did the 20th century take Sade seriously?] (Seuil, 2011). In this interview, he talks ...

Jean-Jacques Lebel. Sade and freedom of expression

Jean-Jacques Lebel is a visual artist, writer and creator of artistic events. In 1966 he orchestrated the happening 120 minutes dédiées au divin marquis [120 minutes dedicated to the divine marquis], leading to his arrest for obscenity and the subsequent petition for his release ...

Fictional dialogue between Ester Jordana and Michel Foucault about Sade

Ester Jordana, Doctor of Philosophy and lecturer at the University of Saragossa, converses with the philosopher Michel Foucault on the basis of a selection of texts that the French author wrote about Sade. Foucault was one of the intellectuals who, in the 1960s, began to reinterpret Sade’s ...

Fictional dialogue between Laura Llevadot and Maurice Blanchot about Sade

Laura Llevadot, lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Barcelona, talks to writer and literary critic Maurice Blanchot, based on a selection of texts that the French author wrote about Sade’s work. Starting in the 1940s, Blanchot published a series of critical essays analysing Sade’s ...

Gonzalo Torné and Lucía Lijtmaer

From public morality to cancellation

Writer Gonzalo Torné, author of La cancelación y sus enemigos, speaks with writer Lucía Lijtmaer, author of Ofendiditos, about cancel culture.

Laura Bates

From sadist cruelty to the machosphere

Feminist writer Laura Bates, creator of the website Everyday Sexism Project, speaks with the collective Proyecto UNA about the new forms of misogyny in the digital sphere.

Albert Serra

From desacralization to myth

Cinema and its relationship with hallowed figures have changed during the last 21st century. Filmmaker Albert Serra speaks with critic and journalist Violeta Kovacsics about the relationship between myth and religion in cinema.

Virginie Despentes and Irantzu Varela

From libertinism to the right to sex

Writer Virginie Despentes speaks with journalist Irantzu Varela about libertinism from a feminist perspective in a conversation moderated by writer Lucía Lijtmaer.

Shu Lea Cheang and Quimera Rosa

Sade: from the perspective of art

Cheang and Chimera Rosa discuss how Sade's work is used to reflect on subjectivity and resistance around gender identity norms, in a conversation moderated by researcher Jara Rocha.

Laia Abril, Marcelo Brodsky, Joan Morey

Sade: from the perspective of art

On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition “Sade. Freedom or Evil”, we bring together the curators and some of the participating artists to speak about the relevance of the controversial French author in contemporary art.

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Sade. Freedom or evil

An exhibition that explores the aesthetic, philosophical and political legacy of the Marquis de Sade in contemporary culture, from the early 20th-century avant-gardes to the present day.