Auriculas asini quis non habet? –– Who does not have an ass’s ears?
The idea of Carnival can be found in almost all cultures and societies: A period when regular order is dispensed, hierarchies are overturned, and wastefulness and foolishness are celebrated in a feast of excess.
The fool’s head in our logo, rising high over the skyline of Cologne, echoes a sixteenth century map, representing the world in the frame of a fool’s cap. »Who does not have an ass’s ears?« is written on its horns as an epigraph. Folly here is understood as the human condition. Yet, as ubiquitous as the Carnivalesque appears as a cultural principle, as specific one must be in understanding its respective profile. Thus, reflecting on Carnival invites a trans-cultural and global perspective without eliminating contingencies and specificities.
Carnival does not mean mere escapism or light-hearted foolishness but rather provides an opportunity to seek for alternatives to existing power structures and hierarchies, for staging a world that is radically different from everyday life. But is Carnival really a catalyst for change, or is it just a safety valve for letting off steam, a way of securing the status quo?