Images of the World and the Inscription of War
Co-presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto
The sudden death of Harun Farocki this July at the age of 70 came as a shock to all who knew of him, particularly since he was still making important new work at full steam. At the same time, his previous films continue to gain renewed significance years after they were first made, pointing to Farocki’s particular insight into the relevance of the technological image in the always expanding society of the spectacle.
Images of the World and the Inscription of War is a key Farocki text in that it has often been reinserted into contemporary discussion despite being 25 years old. Its central argument, that how we see an image is defined by the context we bring to it, is movingly illustrated by aerial photography of the German concentration camps of World War II—images that initially weren’t identified as such because they could not be seen that way. Predating the First Gulf War by two years, the film has nevertheless gained new meanings in relationship to the drone bombings of both that war and its 2003 sequel. Today, with the tools of militarized vision even more a part of everyday life, it is interesting to consider the film in relation to now ubiquitous tools like Google Maps and other technologies that allow us to see beyond our human range. That this film, and many of his others still have something new to teach is at least some solace now that Farocki’s corporeal voice is silent.
Programme:
Images of the World and the Inscription of War, Harun Farocki, 1989, Germany, 16mm, 75 min
@ Gladstone Hotel, Ballroom | 1214 Queen St West
Monday November 17, 2014 | 8:00 PM screening | $5-10 suggested donation
Special thanks to Karin Oehlenschläger, Goethe-Institut Boston and Jutta Brendemühl. Goethe-Institut Toronto
Images of the World and the Inscription of War