Bazon Brock, German philosopher and Beuys collaborator, turns 90

Bazon Brock, the self-described 'thinker on duty' and 'artist without a work,' turns 90 on June 2, 2026. The emeritus professor of aesthetics at the University of Wuppertal and longtime collaborator of Joseph Beuys remains active, rejecting retirement as an insult. Brock founded numerous institutes including the Institute for Rumorology, the Laboratory for Universal Poetry and Prognostics, and the Pathos Institute. In 2014/2015 he was appointed honorary professor of 'Prophecy' at the Saar College of Fine Arts. Since 2011 he has run the 'Denkerei' in Berlin as an institute for theoretical art. His birthday will be celebrated at the Hoftheater Kreuzberg with actors Martin Wuttke, Angela Winkler, and Fabian Hinrichs. Born Jürgen Johannes Hermann Brock in 1936 in Stolp, Pomerania, he studied under Theodor W. Adorno. He developed 'Action Teaching' and led the Documenta visitor schools in Kassel from 1968 to 1992. With Peter Sloterdijk he organized 'professional citizen movements' in Karlsruhe. Brock continues to comment on public debates, including the controversial Documenta 15 in 2022.