Eckhart Nickel

Dr. Eckhart Nickel studied German Literature and Art History in Heidelberg and New York and graduated with a study on Thomas Bernhard and Dandyism. The first chapters from his forthcoming novel „Hysteria“ (Piper 2018) won him the Kelag-Prize at the Bachmann-Wettbewerb 2017. He also works as a Journalist for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung  and is Editor-in-Chief of ACHTUNG Magazine.

Talk: Hunting High & Low

Track: Lifecycles of a Cultural Distinction
Date: Day 1 – 14:30
Location: Neufert-Mansion, Gelmeroda
Language: German

The unstoppable rise of Muji as a highbrow aesthetic brand with low-cost product strategies. What once started with the leftovers of a mushroom, is now a japanese lifestyle imperium challenging the likes of Ikea: What can the modus operandi of Muji tell us about the complex dynamics of cheap and expensive (Karl Lagerfeld: „If you’re cheap, nothing helps.“), craftsmanship and mass production, marketing techniques and the aesthetic superiority of Japan itself? The lecture will discuss a unique german-japanese cooperation as an example: the development of an umbrella, that Konstantin Grcic created for Muji in 2006.