MIT World Speakers

Boris Groys

Boris Groys is an internationally acclaimed expert on late-Soviet postmodern art and literature and the Russian avant-garde. In the 1970s, Groys, who had studied philosophy and mathematics at Leningrad State University, immersed himself in the unofficial cultural scene in Russia’s capitals, coining the term “Moscow conceptualism.” In 1981, he immigrated to West Germany, where he earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Müenster.

Best-known as the author of The Total Art of Stalinism: Avant-Garde, Aesthetic Dictatorship, and Beyond (MIT Press), Groys has recently released Art Power (MIT Press), a collection of essays examining modern and contemporary art according to its ideological function. Other recent publications include Under Suspicion: A Phenomenology of the Media and Ilya Kabakov: The Man Who Flew into Space from his Apartment (Afterall/MIT Press). Groys has also edited collections of articles in Russian and German and has written more than a hundred articles. Since 1994, in addition to serving as the curator and organizer of numerous international art exhibitions and conferences, Groys has been a Professor of Aesthetics, Art History, and Media Theory at the Center for Art and Media Technology in Karlsruhe.