Caught in a flash, arrested at a standstill. German colonialism and the Holocaust in William Kentridge’s Black Box. A reading with Benjamin and Buikema
Publication year
2023Author(s)
Publisher
Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press
ISBN
9789048560110
In
Ponzanesi, S.; Thiele, K. (ed.), Transities in kunst, cultuur en politiek. Transitions in Art, Culture, and Politics, pp. 147-156Related links
Publication type
Part of book or chapter of book
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Editor(s)
Ponzanesi, S.
Thiele, K.
Organization
Duitse Taal en Cultuur, inzonderheid Duitslandstudies
Languages used
English (eng)
Book title
Ponzanesi, S.; Thiele, K. (ed.), Transities in kunst, cultuur en politiek. Transitions in Art, Culture, and Politics
Page start
p. 147
Page end
p. 156
Subject
Categories Contested; Colonial Relations and Structures; Europe in a Changing WorldAbstract
This article seeks to articulate in one image the diverse genocides in German history, an image able to capture the piling wreckages of history in a flash. The point of departure is a multimedia installation by William Kentridge called Black Box (2005), in which he thematizes the Herero and Namaqua genocide during German colonial rule between 1904 and 1908. This research wants to respond to Kentridge’s demand for grief work, and relies on Walter Benjamin’s (1968) vision of history writing and Rosemarie Buikema’s (2020) concept of revolts to seek out theoretical and conceptual possibilities that allow it to posit simultaneously the singularity of the Holocaust, to articulate its deep connections with colonial crimes, and to demand a working through of Germany’s genocidal history.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [245050]
- Electronic publications [132309]
- Faculty of Arts [29859]
- Open Access publications [105922]
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