Detlev von Graeve
Detlev Edler von Graeve (b. 1944) has lived most of his life in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. After studying Philosophy, History, and Political Sciences at the universities of Frankfurt/M, Vienna and Berne, he started teaching 1971 at a technical college and, from 1976 on till his retirement in 2006, at a grammar school near Frankfurt. From the seventies on he travelled as a backpacker in Africa, China and elsewhere. He is a fervent photographer and a collector of ethnographic objects, co-author of “Tigermaske und Knochengespenst – die neue chinesische Karikatur“ (Köln 1978, with Johnny Erling), and co-curator of “Bilder vom Glück – chinesische populäre Grafik aus dem 20. Jahrhundert“ at the Museum der Weltkulturen, Frankfurt/M in 2002. He has been a critical friend of Vilém Flusser’s philosophy since 1998.
Articles of Detlev von Graeve
Vilém Flusser als Kunsttheoretiker und Kunstkritiker / Vilém Flusser as an Art Critic
Flusser an die Schule! Die Essays im Ethikunterricht
Does it make any sense to teach Vilém Flusser’s essays in the advanced courses of a secondary school? While all over Europe school subjects have increasingly been restricted by a formal frame, some precautions have to be taken in the interest of Flusser’s method and message. As a pioneer in the newly established subject of Ethics in the federal state of Hessen/Germany, the author tested the essays without a strict curriculum for more than six years. He gives an overview of general conditions at the school and offers a vivid personal record of his experiences. He then deals with Flusser’s phenomenological style and intellectual challenges for students and teachers alike. As this essay has a practical purpose, too, he shows the crucial points of relating Flusser’s way of thinking. Such training is worth the effort in the political context of 2011, when citizens all over the world are trying to regain some influence on political and economic structures. In the second part, the author presents a dozen of short essays and examines their interrelation, as they share the same subject. They center on Flusser’s well-known conviction that the exilee should consider himself part of an avant-garde. Some useful hints to a sequel or an alternative approach are provided. Excerpts from four student texts have also been included.