Stefan Boness: Flander Fields

Der preisgekrönte Fotograf Stefan Boness setzte sich in seiner langjährigen Serie „Flanders Fields“ mit den Schlachtfeldern des Ersten Weltkriegs in Flandern auseinander. Der Titel verweist auf das insbesondere in der englischsprachigen Welt bekannte Gedicht “In Flanders Fields” des kanadischen Offiziers John McCrae, sowie auf die konzeptionelle Eingrenzung auf die einstigen Schlachtfelder Belgiens. Von 2005 bis heute kehrte Boness immer wieder und bewusst zu unterschiedlichen Jahreszeiten zurück, zusammen für mehr als ein dreiviertel Jahr: „Manche Themen sind flüchtig, andere bleiben. Das ist eben ein Thema, von dem kommt man nicht los.“

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Welcome Home Allen (short film, Down Under Berlin Film Festival)

Welcome Home Allen

Soldiers returning home have already been pictured in several movies, such as Ted Kotcheff’s “First Blood” or Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker”. Usually, the actual return to home and thus to a completely different reality, is just a small part. Andrew Kavanagh’s short film “Welcome Home Allen” (Australia 2016, 11′) focusses on this issue, with an approach that is both surprising and convincing. Continue reading “Welcome Home Allen (short film, Down Under Berlin Film Festival)”

Automatic, autonomous, out of control? The Future of Warfare (Ingolstadt, Germany)

EuroMALE © Airbus 2018

From 14 to 16 June 2018, Stadttheater Ingolstadt (municipal theatre of Ingolstadt, Bavaria) organises the interdisciplinary “infotainment spectacle” Futurologischer Kongress (Futurological Congress) with various partners on the future of our society, with a strong focus on the possible results of the so-called fourth industrial revolution. The title, of course, refers to Stanisław Lem’s eponymous dystopia. In this respect, the Bavarian Army Museum hosts the panel discussion “Automatic, autonomous, out of control? The Future of Warfare”. Experts from politics, science, the defence industry and the military will discuss unmanned military systems, their possibilities and limits, and how we should deal with them. Continue reading “Automatic, autonomous, out of control? The Future of Warfare (Ingolstadt, Germany)”

The First World War in Comics (Meaux, France)

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On 4 March 2018 and for the third time already, the highly visitable Musée de la Grande Guerre (Europe’s largest museum dedicated on the First World War, located in Meaux close to Paris) invites to the half-day event La Grande Guerre en BD (The First World War in Comics). An impressive lineup of authors and artists of contemporary comics and graphic novels on the First World War will be present, including Fabien Bedouel, Régis Hautière, Milan Jovanovic, Kris, Maël, Marko, Alain Mounier, Olier, Patrice Ordas, Pat Perna, Ivan Stojkovic and Philippe Zytka. Continue reading “The First World War in Comics (Meaux, France)”

(Deutsch) 68. Berlinale 2018: Filme mit Kriegsbezug

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.

Conference: Central and Eastern Europe after the First World War

Central and Eastern Europe after WW1
From 31 January until 2 February 2018, the academic conference “Central and Eastern Europe after the First World War” will take place at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic. Various presentations will address this highly interesting segment of post-war history.

The Embassador of the Slovak Republic, H.E. Peter Lizák, will give the welcome address, followed by the keynote speech “The Second Great War, 1917-1923” by the renowned historian Jay Winter.

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Exhibition: Stephan Schenk – Kreuzweg (Berne)

© 2012 Stephan Schenk: Tannenberg, a.d.S. Kreuzweg
Between 13 January and 11 February 2018, photogapher Stephan Schenk presents his most impressive cycle “Kreuzweg” (way of the cross/crossing) on the global battles of the First World War in the eponymous exhibition at gallery Kunstraum Oktogon in Berne, Switzerland.

The whole cycle consists of 14 monumental woven tapestries, based on large-format photos of First World War battle landscapes. Schenk, however, did not make classic landscape pictures, but used reduction and abstraction instead: He photographed an area of two by three metres of the respective ground – the individual fighting space of a soldier, as well as the space for being laid at rest.

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Essay: 1917 – A German Perspective

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My short essay “1917 – A German Perspective” about the war year of 1917 is now online on New Zealand’s official website about the First World War Centenary. For both New Zealand and Australia, the First World War is of pivotal importance for shaping the national self-concept. Other perceptions are crucial if a reduction to the own perspective is to be avoided. It has been a pleasure and honour to make a small contribution in this respect.

Works by German artists from the times of the First World War were used as illustration, mostly coming from the wonderful collection of Dr Gerhard Schneider – a sincere word of thanks for this support! Continue reading “Essay: 1917 – A German Perspective”