Ornaments, masses and the emergence of urban cultures

The idea of the interdisciplinary meeting »Ornaments, Masses and the Emergence of Urban
Cultures« was stimulated by the publication of the Slovenian translation of the seminal work
in the field of sociology of culture, The Mass Ornament (translation by Anja Naglič,
accompanying text by Marko Jenko, Založba /*cf., 2021), written by Siegfried Kracauer
(1889 – 1966), one of the most important, prolific and critical intellectuals of his time.
Kracauer was an architect, sociologist, philosopher, journalist, essayist, editor, writer, critic,
one of the first film theorists and a pioneer of the sociology of cinema. The broad range of
Kracauer’s work continues to appeal to theoreticians and researchers in the fields of
sociology, philosophy, contemporary dance, visual arts, architecture, publishing and film,
who will meet at Kino Šiška to discuss their work with the audience. We will conclude the
interdisciplinary event with a film screening of Wilhelm Prager’s 1925 feature-length silent
documentary Wege zu Kraft und Schöhnheit (Ways to Strength and Beauty).

Concept and execution: /*cf. publishing house in collaboration with CoFestival, Nomad
Dance Academy Slovenia and Centre of Urban Culture Kino Šiška.

Photo: Tiller’s girls in the musical Lumber Love Leslie Stiles, Emmetta, Bertha Adams and
Freda A. Leslie, Lyceum Theatre, London, 15 March 1928. Source: tollergirls.com
FREE ENTRY

Programme:
Lectures
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. Anja Naglič (translator and expert on Kracauer’s works)
4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Marko Jenko (curator and author of the accompanying text to The Crowd
Ornament in Slovenian translation)
Discussion and break

6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Miloš Kosec (architect and publicist)
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Magdalena Germek (philosopher and editor)
7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Rok Vevar (publicist, historian and theoretician of contemporary
performing arts) discussion and break
8 p.m. screening of Wege zu Kraft und Schöhnheit (dir. Wilhelm Prager, 1925) with
introduction and discussion