EWDP East-West Divan Project/ Oriental Journey 2013-2019
Théodor Chassériau, “Toilette d’Esther”, 1842 Louvre
Some 200 years ago, during a journey down the Rhine with his muse Marianne von Wellemer in the Spring of 1814, Goethe submerges himself in the lyrics written by the Persian poet under the pen name of Hafez (1326 –1390). Inspired by his work and the lyric form known as the ghasel, the couple begin to write the first of a larger collection of poems published five years later with the title West-Eastern Divan. In the opening Book of Song, Goethe privileges sound over sign, the spoken over the written word that remains a central theme throughout the Divan. His spiritual-lyrical journey to the East is grounded in a philosophy of language that turns away from a static „classicistic“ logocentric conception of language - in the beginning was the word - in favor of a dynamic, Hebraic-Aramaic conception of language - in the beginning was the deed (dabhar), a notion that is more in keeping with the language philosophy of the biblical countries. This lingusitic turn signals a re-orientation that is already suggested by Faust as he grapples with his translation of Genesis.
In celebrating the 200th anniversary of the West-Eastern Divan, this project follows Goethe’s lead by venturing beyond the confines of the written text. In a series of events scheduled to begin in 2014 in Berlin, Istanbul and Paris a core focus of the celebration will be a concert with musicians and artists from the east and the west, accompanied by a performance including a choir, dancing dervishes and a ballet that unites both traditions. The supporting programme for this “oriental journey” includes an exhibition, readings, a lecture and a film series exploring various aspects of orientalism and neo-orientalism from a cross-cultural perspective.
Bridging the Cultures
Collecting was was one of the greatest material and inspirational resources funding all areas of Goethe’s life work. His practice of staging smaller groups of objects with specific visitors in mind enabled and often provoked a dialogue between people that was otherwise not possible. With their creation of the West- Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said have applied
this same mediative socio-communicative function to music. In their jointly authored book Parallels and Paradoxes and other writings Barenboim and Said explore the connection between music and politics, sound and life, resonance and silence.
Between Occident and Orient
A key source and point of departure for the West-Eastern Divan Project is Edward Said's book on Orientalism. As a visiting scholar at Stanford University he regularly presented selections from the unpublished manuscript to us that was soon to revolutionize the discourse on this topic. While Foucault had promised us a new order of things, Said made this wish a reality by redefining the Orient as a cultural construct around an elusive East that was primarily a product of the Western imagination. For Said, Orient and Occident are not merely cardinal points on a compass such as North and South or East and West. The question of location gives way to one of orientation and perspective. From a historical and political standpoint perceptions of the Orient are determined largely by geographic location. Thus England, France and Germany - and after the Second World War the US as well - have divergent conceptions of the Orient. Every cultural sphere has its own Orient onto which it projects a plethora of ideas and notions, in a never-ending chain of projections that unbridles a phantasy that is not forcibly grounded in reality. Had the Orient intended to represent itself - or in fact been meant to do so - then this would have happened long ago. So Said, who quotes the 18th Brumaire here. Yet what about the Orient itself - we might ask - the question of representation and the objects of its imagination?
The three partner cities Paris-Berlin-Istanbul in which this trinational hommage to Goethe’s West- Eastern Divan and the collaborative work of Barenboim and Said is scheduled to take place, are not merely arbitrary locations for an oriental journey. Each city offers its own set of cultural artefacts and its own perspective on the Orient which is often folded into a population with its own migrational bi-cultural history, providing a wealth of material and inspiration for exhibitions, workshops, film and lecture series on this theme.
Supporting and collaborating partners: Ornamento, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Republic of Turkey, Goethe Institute, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Turkey (Berlin); Bilgi University- Istanbul, German-French Youth Works DFJW-OFAJ * (Paris/Berlin); lʼAssociation Générale des Conservateurs des Collections Publiques de France (PACA), Musée des Civilisations de lʼ Europe et de la Méditerranée (MuCEM-Marseille), Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV)
*West-Eastern Divan Project facilitates a cross-cultural dialogue through the arts and across the disciplines, offering opportunities for Youth (18-30) participation on all levels.
