Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society

University of Chicago
5701 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago

Through September 6

Physical, social, and spiritual exile is a condition closely linked to the life of the mind. In HUTOPIA, a clever play on words, the University of Chicago’s Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society has recreated a pair of the most well-known retreats: the cabins of Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

A scaled-down version of Heidegger’s cabin in Todtnauberg, Germany, forms the centerpiece of the show. A smaller model, rather than a full structure, of Wittgenstein’s hut in the Norwegian town of Skjolden, is also sited on the Collegium’s western terrace. Finally, Adorno’s Hut, a life-size re-creation of a sculpture by poet and artist Hamilton Finlay of an idealized Greek temple, has been built in the Neubauer Collegium gallery. All three huts are sculptures but will occasionally welcome visitors and solace seekers inside and will be used to host classes and lectures.

The name of the exhibition comes from a long-form poem by Alec Finlay, son of Hamilton Finlay, printed in the catalog of Machines à Penser, an earlier show at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale that led to HUTOPIA.