Vilém Flusser: An Introduction

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VILÉM FLUSSER Electronic Mediations Katherine Hayles, Mark Poster, and Samuel Weber, Series Editors 34. Vilém Flusser: An Introduction Anke Finger, Rainer Guldin, and Gustavo Bernardo 33. Does Writing Have a Future? Vilém Flusser 32. Into the Universe of Technical Images Vilém Flusser 31. Hypertext and the Female Imaginary Jaishree K. Odin 30. Screens: Viewing Media Installation Art Kate Mondloch 29. Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greig de Peuter 28. Tactical Media Rita Raley 27. Reticulations: Jean-Luc Nancy and the Networks of the Political Philip Armstrong 26. Digital Baroque: New Media Art and Cinematic Folds Timothy Murray 25. Ex-foliations: Reading Machines and the Upgrade Path Terry Harpold 24. Digitize This Book! The Politics of New Media, or Why We Need Open Access Now Gary Hall 23. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet Lisa Nakamura (continued on page 178) Vilém Flusser An Introduction Anke Finger, Rainer Guldin, and Gustavo Bernardo University of Minnesota Press minneapolis london Electronic Mediations volume 34 Portions of this book were previously published in Portuguese as Vilém Flusser: uma introdução (São Paulo, Brazil: Annablume Editora, 2008) and in German as Vilém Flusser (Munich, Germany: UTB/Fink, 2009). Portions of chapter 7 were previously published as “Idea/Imagination/Dialogue: The Total Artwork and Conceptual Art,” in The Aesthetics of the Total Artwork: On Borders and Fragments, ed. Danielle Follett and Anke Finger (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011). Photographs courtesy of Dinah and Edith Flusser. Copyright 2011 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Finger, Anke K. Vilém Flusser : an introduction / Anke Finger, Rainer Guldin, and Gustavo Bernardo. p. cm. — (Electronic mediations ; v. 34) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8166-7478-7 (hc : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8166-7479-4 (pb : alk. paper) 1. Flusser, Vilém, 1920–1991. 2. Philosophers—Brazil. I. Guldin, Rainer. II. Bernardo, Gustavo. III. Title. B1044.F574F56 2011 193—dc22 2010033910 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Edith Flusser This page intentionally left blank Die Erste Elegie Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen? und gesetzt selbst, es nähme einer mich plötzlich ans Herz: ich verginge von seinem stärkeren Dasein. Denn das Schöne ist nichts als des Schrecklichen Anfang, den wir noch grade ertragen, und wir bewundern es so, weil es gelassen verschmäht, uns zu zerstören. Ein jeder Engel ist schrecklich. —Rainer Maria Rilke, Duineser Elegien The First Elegy Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the Angelic Orders? And even if one were to suddenly take me to its heart, I would vanish into its stronger existence. For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, that we are still able to bear, and we revere it so, because it calmly disdains to destroy us. Every Angel is terror. —Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies This page intentionally left blank ...