Exposition

A History of Violence (2023)

Kai Ziegner
open exposition

About this exposition

en
Through experimental writing and conceptual photography, my PhD uses my own biography to investigate the consequences of societal transformation processes in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The focus is on the period of regime change known as the »Wendezeit« in the late 1980's to the early 1990's in East Germany. To date, this subject has been analysed primarily by scholars of history and cultural sciences, while approaches to this topic by artistic researchers are still rare. With my research, I would like to reveal causes for the outbreaks of violence that accompanied this radical shift. The objective of my PhD is thus to submit critical testimony to the silence about seldom-discussed side effects of the transformation during and after the turnaround which Germans call the »Wende«. Based on the example of (my own) individual history, it demonstrates how authoritarian regimes and structures impacted on three generations of citizens, and how they affected the individuals. Throughout an experimental narrative, outbreaks ofsenseless violence are treated as side effects of disruptive transformation processes, just as are ambivalent situations in which actors of social change recognise themselves to be simultaneously victims and perpetrators of violent incidents. Since personal memories and historical documents served as the basis of this work, the central challenge of my artistic research was to carve out generalisable elements from individual examples, and to try out and experiment with various textual and photographic formats to find an adequate way to present the research material. Important sources of inspiration for this process included works like Alexander Kluge’s »Lebensläufe« (‘Case Histories’), Primo Levi’s »Ist das ein Mensch?« (‘If This Is a Man’), Walter Benjamin’s »Denkbilder« [Thought-Images], Klaus Theweleit’s »Männerphantasien (‘Male Fantasies’), Georges Didi-Huberman’s »Bilder trotz allem« (‘Images in Spite of All’), Claude Lanzman’s documentary film »Shoah«, and W.G. Sebald’s novel »Austerlitz«. The result of my research is an experimental book that portrays the multidimensional nature, polyphony and complexity of the subject, and offers the readers an opportunity to deal with the material in the way they desire, and perhaps to make it useful for their own work and research.

sv
Genom experimentellt skrivande och konceptuellt fotografi använder jag i min doktorsavhandling mina personliga erfarenheter för att undersöka konsekvenserna av de samhälleliga omvandlingsprocesserna i DDR, Tyska demokratiska republiken. Fokus ligger på det sena 1990-talets och det tidiga 1990-talets samhällsomvandlingar i Östtyskland som på tyska kallas ”die Wendezeit”. Ämnet har tidigare framförallt behandlats av forskare inom historia och kulturvetenskap. Bidragen från konstnärlig forskning har hittills varit få. I min forskning vill jag synliggöra orsaker till de många våldsutbrott som skedde parallellt med denna radikala samhällsomvandling. Målet med min avhandling är att bidra med ett kritiskt vittnesmål om den tystnad som kringgärdar dessa våldsamma sidoeffekter av den samhällsomvandling som i Tyskland kallas ”die Wende”. Med utgångspunkt i min egen historia visar avhandlingen hur tre generationer av medborgare påverkades, både som grupper och individer, av auktoritära regimer och samhällsstrukturer. I avhandlingens experimentella berättande behandlas utbrott av meningslöst våld som sidoeffekter av en omstörtande transformation och som ambivalenta situationer där de olika aktörerna uppfattar sig själva som både förövare och offer. Då personliga minnen och historiska dokument fungerade som utgångspunkt i min konstnärliga forskning, har huvudutmaningarna varit att urskilja generaliserbara aspekter av personliga erfarenheter och att experimentera med olika textformer och fotografiska format för att hitta ett adekvat sätt att presentera forskningens material på. Några viktiga inspirationskällor är Alexander Kluges Lebensläufe (’Personakter’), Primo Levis Ist das ein Mensch? (’Är detta en människa?’), Walter Benjamins Denkbilder (Tankebilder), Klaus Theweleits Männerphantasien (’Mansfantasier’), Georges Didi-Hubermans Bilder trotz allem (Bilder trots allt), Claude Lanzmans dokumentärfilm Shoah, och W.G. Sebalds roman Austerlitz. Utkomsten av min forskning är en experimentell bok som åskådliggör ämnets komplexitet, och dess multi-dimensionella och polyfona karaktär. Det är ett arbete som ger läsarna möjlighet att ta del av materialet på de sätt de själva önskar, och att använda det i sina egna praktiker.
typeresearch exposition
keywordsexperimental writing, conceptual photography, non-linear storytelling, process of transformation, acts of violence, GDR, German reunification
date31/10/2022
published14/03/2023
last modified14/03/2023
statuspublished
share statusprivate
copyrightKai Ziegner
licenseCC BY-NC-ND
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1779420/1891313
doihttps://doi.org/10.22501/vis.1779420
published inVIS - Nordic Journal for Artistic Research
portal issue9. VIS Issue 9


Simple Media

id name copyright license
1779425 insideout - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779428 _DSF2511_ba - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779433 _DSF2484_ba - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779438 S_25_HF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779442 AHOV_06-ba-gs-SW - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779445 S_26_HF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779447 tk200-ddr-volk - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779450 S_27_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779452 S_28_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779457 S_29_HF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779461 S_31_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779463 _DSF2525_ba - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779465 S_30_HF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779469 S_32_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779477 S_33_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779481 S_35_HF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779485 S_37_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779487 _DSF2547_ba - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779491 S_39_HF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779494 S_34_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779497 S_36_HF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779500 S_38_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779503 S_40_HF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779507 tk200-ddr-staat - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779512 S_41_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779516 S_43_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779518 _DSF2528_ba - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779520 AHOV_05-ba-gs-SW - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779523 S_42_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779526 S_44_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779532 S_45_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779536 S_47_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779539 S_46_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779542 S_48_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779544 carte - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779550 S_49_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779554 S_51_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779556 _DSF2534_ba - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779560 S_53_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779562 AHOV_14-ba-bw - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779565 S_50_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779568 S_52_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779571 S_54_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779578 S_55_QF_SW 2 Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779580 S_57_HF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779584 S_59_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779587 S_56_QF_FA 2 Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779590 S_58_HF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779593 S_60_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779595 carte-1 - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779603 S_61_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779605 S_63_HF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779607 S_65_QF_SW Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779609 AHOV_07-ba-gs-SW - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779612 S_62_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779615 S_64_HF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779618 S_66_QF_FA Kopie - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779620 _DSF2516_ba - copy Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1779631 PAPIERTEXTUR Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1896885 IMG_1934_AF_ba_6.0x8.08cm-Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896887 IMG_1936_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896889 IMG_1940_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896891 IMG_1934_AF_ba_6.0x8.08cm-Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896893 IMG_1936_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896895 IMG_1940_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896897 IMG_1941_cut - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896899 IMG_1947_cut Kopie ba - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896901 IMG_1953_cut Kopie_ba - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896903 IMG_1955_cut - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896905 IMG_1962_cut - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896907 IMG_1967_cut 123 - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896909 IMG_1973_cut - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896911 IMG_1974_cut Kopie 2 2 - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896913 IMG_1979_cut Kopie_ba - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896915 IMG_1981_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896917 IMG_1987_ba_white - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896919 IMG_1993_ba_AF - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896921 IMG_1996_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896923 IMG_1998_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896925 IMG_2003_cutaa - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896927 IMG_2006_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896929 IMG_2009_cut - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896931 IMG_2013_cut Kopie - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1896933 IMG_2018_cut Kopie_ba - copy Sate Security Service All rights reserved
1901629 BACKGROUND_PICTURES Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1901633 AHOV_BACKGROUND Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1901634 AHOV_BACKGROUND2 Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1907451 Directory of locations Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1907460 Directory of locations Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1955965 DIRECTORY OF LOCATIONS AND EVENTS Kai Ziegner All rights reserved
1955971 AHOV_DIRECTORY Kai Ziegner All rights reserved

Comments are only available for registered users.