Lutz P. Koepnick Ordre des livres

New essays providing innovative ways of understanding the altered position of media in Germany and beyond.

"In Framing Attention, Lutz Koepnick explores different concepts of the window - in both a literal and a figurative sense - as manifested in various visual forms in German culture from the nineteenth century to the present. He offers a new interpretation of how evolving ways of seeing have characterized and defined modernity." "Koepnick examines the role and representation of window frames in modern German culture - in painting, photography, architecture, and literature, on the stage and in public transportation systems, on the film screen and on television. He presents such frames as interfaces that negotiate competing visions of past and present, body and community, attentiveness and distraction. From Adolph Menzel's window paintings of the 1840s to Nam June Paik's experiments with television screens, from Richard Wagner's retooling of the proscenium stage to Adolf Hitler's use of a window as a means of political self-promotion, Framing Attention offers a theoretically incisive understanding of how windows shape and reframe the way we see the world around us and our place within it."--Jacket

Walter Benjamin and the Aesthetics of Power delves into Benjamin's influential writings on mass culture and fascism, providing a nuanced critique of aesthetic politics. The book engages with contemporary discussions about Nazi Germany's cultural projects, the evolving role of popular culture in the twentieth century, and the lingering impact of Nazi aesthetics today. Lutz Koepnick traces the development of Benjamin's aestheticization thesis from the early 1920s until his death in 1940, illuminating how the Nazis utilized industrial mass culture to transform politics into a self-referential space of authenticity. Koepnick evaluates the relevance of Benjamin's analysis of fascism in light of recent historical research on the National Socialist era and explores whether his aestheticization thesis can inform our understanding of current cultural politics. While acknowledging key differences between modern and postmodern political action, Koepnick emphasizes that Benjamin's focus on experience offers valuable insights for contemporary discourse. This work is a significant contribution to Benjamin studies and enhances our comprehension of the Third Reich and the complex relationship between contemporary culture and Nazi aesthetics.