Intimate Companions

The German cinema director Nicola Graef created during a time period of three years the movie “Neo Rauch – comrades & companions” (Original title: Neo Rauch, Gefährten und Begleiter). She found an intimate access to the German artist, interviewed comrades like the gallery owners Gerd Harry Lybke or David Zwirner and important collectors.

Plutarch is one of the most prolific and important writers from antiquity. His Parallel Lives continue to be an invaluable historical source, and the numerous essays in his Moralia, covering everything from marriage to the Delphic Oracle, are crucial evidence for ancient philosophy and cultural history.

The idea of humans falling in love with artificial beings is not a modern conception. Our relationship with artificial partners has come a long way since Pygmalion and his ivory lover. In recent years, there has been a strong upsurge of interest and discussions in the various aspects of intimate relationships between humans and artificial partners. This interest is evidenced by the increase in media coverage, TV documentaries and films on this topic, as well as the active research efforts within the academic community.