Siegfried Zielinski Libri

A diverse, enriching volume of media analysis from a pioneering thinker in the field   Expanding on Siegfried Zielinski’s groundbreaking inquiry into “deep time” of the media, the essays in Variations on Media Thinking further the eminent media theorist’s unique method of expanded hermeneutics , which means for him interpreting technical artifacts as essential parts of our cultural lives. Covering such topics as the televisualized “Holocaust,” the ubiquity of media today, the Internet, the genealogy of sound art, and history’s first hacker movement, these essays further diversify Zielinski’s insight into the hidden layers of media development, which he first articulated in his pioneering work Deep Time of the Media . Including many previously untranslated and scarce essays, these “written time machines” open new lines of investigation for cultural scholars. From the automata of the Arabic-Islamic Renaissance (800–1200) to the largest and loudest techno-event ever, known as The Symphony of Sirens—which transformed Baku in 1922 into an immense music box of modern noise— Variations on Media Thinking covers Zielinski’s inquiries since 1975. Richly illustrated and full of provocation, brilliant insight, and fascinating research, this volume is perfect for students of media archaeology, philosophy, and technology, as well as any adventurous, rigorous thinkers engaged with culture and media.

This title presents a quest to find something new by excavating the "deep time" of media's development - not by simply looking at new media's historic forerunners, but by connecting models, machines, technologies, and accidents that have until now remained separated."Deep Time of the Media" takes us on an archaeological quest into the hidden layers of media development - dynamic moments of intense activity in media design and construction that have been largely ignored in the historical-media archaeological record. Siegfried Zielinski argues that the history of the media does not proceed predictably from primitive tools to complex machinery. In "Deep Time of the Media", he illuminates turning points of media history - fractures in the predictable - that help us see the new in the old. Drawing on original source materials, Zielinski explores the technology of devices for hearing and seeing through two thousand years of cultural and technological history: a theater of mirrors in sixteenth-century Naples, an automaton for musical composition created by the seventeenth-century Jesuit Athanasius Kircher, and the eighteenth-century electrical tele-writing machine of Joseph Mazzolari, among others. Uncovering these moments in the media-archaeological record, Zielinski says, brings us into a new relationship with present-day moments; these discoveries in the "deep time" media history shed light on today's media landscape and may help us map our expedition to the media future

Jahrhunderte bevor erste Automaten in Europa für Erstaunen sorgten, wurde ihre Technik in arabisch-islamischen Kulturen entwickelt: Bereits zwischen dem 9. und 13. Jahrhundert notierten arabische Gelehrte ihr durch die Übersetzung und Weiterentwicklung antiker Texte und Ideen erworbenes Wissen über Maschinen zur Lobpreisung Gottes des Allmächtigen. Die opulente Publikation stellt vier Meistermanuskripte des Automatenbaus vor: zwei Schriften der Banu Musa ibn Shakir aus der Mitte des 9. Jahrhunderts, eine des Ingenieurs Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari, die wohl um 1200 entstanden ist, sowie ein Manuskript des andalusischen Ingenieurs Ahmad ibn Khalaf al-Muradi aus dem 11. Jahrhundert. Begleitende Essays rekonstruieren aus medienarchäologischer Perspektive die Entwicklung der muslimischen Automaten aus den Traditionen von Alexandria, Rom oder Byzanz und eröffnen Ausblicke auf ihre Weiterentwicklung in Europa.

In an overview of developments spanning the past seventy years, Siegfried Zielinski discusses how the means of technology-based communication assumed a systemic character and how theory, art, and criticism were operative in this process. [ . . . After the Media] advocates for a distinction to be made between online existence and offline being.

We orient ourselves on the Orient, literally meaning “the rising sun,” also known as the Levant. This perspective guided our fourth variantological expedition exploring the interconnections between arts, sciences, and technologies. Our journey began at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where the ninth century saw the creation of programmed music automatons and a new worldview. We then visited a chamber in Cairo, where the early eleventh century redefined the laws of seeing and visual perception. In the al-Jazira region, between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, we discovered detailed descriptions and constructions of automaton theatres from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Further stops included Andalusia, India, Iran, Istanbul, and the Three Moons monastic school in Beirut, Syria, each site enriching our sense of wonder. By the journey's end, we felt akin to Averroes of Cordoba, writing in Latin, thinking in Greek, and dreaming in Arabic. We are certain that future histories of arts and media must deeply engage with the profound legacy of Arabic-Islamic culture. Contributors include Ulrich Alertz, Hans Belting, Arianna Borrelli, and many others.

Desde la filosofía presocrática, pasando por la alquimia del Renacimiento y la cosmología del Barroco, hasta llegar al futurismo ruso, esta obra emprende una delirante exploración a través de los estratos ocultos de los medios para la audición, la visión y la combinación técnica. Arqueología de los medios es un libro revelador que no legitima nuestra cultura tecnológica contemporánea como el resultado de una evolución predecible, desde las herramientas primitivas hasta las máquinas complejas, sino que ilumina aquellas rupturas que nos ayudan a ver lo nuevo en lo viejo. Su aproximación al pasado remoto de estos artefactos ofrece un método que irradia vida y rinde homenaje a los héroes olvidados por el discurso establecido. En palabras de Zielinski, “los medios son espacios de acción para construir ensayos al servicio de la combinación de lo separado”.

Video hat sich in den letzten vier Jahrzehnten zu einem elementaren Bestandteil unserer Technikkultur und einer markanten Kulturtechnik entwickelt. Von der Innovation im Kontext des professionellen Fernsehens über die Diversifikation in verschiedene gesellschaftliche Bereiche hinein (Kunst, Film, alternative Medienpraxis, Popmusik) bis hin zur Medientechnik für den Alltag wird dieser Prozeß rekonstruiert, in herausragenden Phänomenen beschrieben und in seinen kulturellen Bedeutungen interpretiert; und zwar in exemplarischen Beiträgen, die zum Teil selbst schon Geschichte gemacht haben. Die Autoren gehören zu den weltweit anerkannten Experten des Mediums, u. a.: A. Abramson, G. Aristarco, R. Armes, J.-P. Fargier, W. Herzogenrath, A. Muntadas, S. Muratow, Nam June Paik, C. Sartori, K. Tomaselli, P. Weibel.