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The Art of the Archive: Uses of the Past in the German Essay Film By The Art of the Archive: Uses of the Past in the German Essay Film by Tara Allison Hottman A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in German and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies and the Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Anton Kaes, Chair Professor Deniz Gokturk Professor Martin Jay Summer 2018 The Art of the Archive: Uses of the Past in the German Essay Film © 2018 by Tara Allison Hottman Abstract The Art of the Archive: Uses of the Past in the German Essay Film by Tara Allison Hottman Doctor of Philosophy in German Designated Emphasis in Film Studies and in Critical Theory University of California, Berkeley Professor Anton Kaes, Chair This dissertation tracks the changing conception of the archive in film and media art. It examines filmmakers who reflect upon the historicity of cinema in their work and use the archive as a model for creating their essay films, video essays and installations. The four filmmakers whose work is under examination—Alexander Kluge, Hartmut Bitomsky, Harun Farocki and Hito Steyerl—have each played an instrumental role in the development of the film industry in postwar and contemporary Germany. Considered in a constellation with one another, they cover an important period of German—and global—media history, in which the forms of moving images and their mode of exhibition have diversified. New archival sources and media technology expanded the possibilities for these filmmakers to explore the contents of the German cinematographic archive and to integrate moving images from previous sources into their works. Taking their cue from Walter Benjamin’s concept of history and his practices of citation, these filmmakers use montage to put films from the past into constellation with present-day film and media. Their montages unearth aspects of earlier films that were not visible in their original context and they reveal the shifting configurations between past and present in film history, illustrating the need for a non-linear film historiography. In these works, film history and the cinematographic archive become a site of potentiality that offers alternative paths for film in the art gallery and museum, and on the Internet. Their works collectively demonstrate how essayistic practices have expanded from the essay film of auteur cinema to the video and digital essay of media artists featured in art installations and on the Internet. The evolution of these essayistic practices testifies to the essay’s continued ability to function as a form that runs against the grain of commercial production. If, as some theorists argue, the bureaucratic documentation of the archive is now the primary force through which biopolitics renders life deathlike, then the archival practices exhibited by these filmmakers not only illustrate how the past might gain a functional, creative use for the present, but they also provide an example for ways in which the archive might be employed against existing forms of control. Their works illustrate the need for increased access to the archive and a democratization of who has the authority to investigate its contents and document its histories today. 1 To my parents i Contents Introduction The Art of the Archive: Uses of the Past in the German Essay Film 1 Changing Theories of the Archive 6 Found Footage, the Essay Film, and the Video Essay 13 The Art of the Archive 17 Chapter One Film Experiments: Hartmut Bitomsky’s Video Essays and Filmkritik Writings 21 Modernity in the Archive 21 The Prescience of the Early Cinematographic Archive 24 Germany’s Images and Its Archives 27 Nazi History as German History 34 Recycling the Archive 37 From Analog to Digital, From Scrap Metal to Dust 40 Chapter Two The Language of the Archive: Alexander Kluge’s Essay Films and Internet Archive 45 The Archive as Rhetorical Space 45 Refunctioning German Myths 47 The Cinematographic Archive’s Founding Myths 54 The Temporality of New Media 56 New Media Archives 61 Information Overload in the Digital Archive 64 Chapter Three The Cutting Room as Laboratory: Harun Farocki’s Essay Films and Installations 70 The Archive of Moving Images 70 Labor on Film, in the Gallery, on the Internet 72 Film-Historical Investigations from Video Essay to Installation 78 Staging (Silent) Film as Installation 89 Chapter Four The Subjective Archive: Hito Steyerl’s Video Essays and Media Art 96 The Essay as Digital Form 96 The Layered Archive 98 Artistic Practice in the Digital Age 105 The Lifecycle of the Archive 108 The Museum-Factory as Laboratory 112 ii Re-producing the Archive 114 Epilogue: Cinema and/in the Gallery 117 Bibliography 123 iii Acknowledgments This study would not have been possible without the generous support from a number of institutions. Two year-long grants permitted me to pursue uninterrupted research in Berlin. The Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies with funds from the Freie Universität Berlin provided me with financial support and a lively colloquium of engaged fellow researchers at a pivotal stage in my research and writing. A year-long research fellowship from UC Berkeley’s Graduate Division allowed me to conclude my research in Berlin before returning to Berkeley. The Department of German at UC Berkeley, as well as the Max Kade Foundation, awarded me with short-term research and travel grants that enabled me to focus solely on this study at crucial early junctures. Summer fellowships from the Institute for European Studies at UC Berkeley and the American Friends of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach provided for research stays that enriched this study in its formative stages. Thanks are due to the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein for their friendly assistance and screening of several of Hartmut Bitomsky’s video essays, and to the gallery KOW in Berlin for facilitating access to a number of Hito Steyerl’s works. The Akademie der Künste in Berlin kindly granted me entry to the Alexander Kluge Archive. Much of the writing of this study was undertaken at libraries and cafés all over Berlin and the Bay Area. At the Staatsbibliothek and the Kunstbibliothek in Berlin, I learned to appreciate the idiosyncratic rules and bureaucracy of German research institutions. Portions of various chapters were presented at conferences, colloquia and summer schools at the Freie Universität in Berlin, the German Studies Association Annual Conferences, and at the Institute of Modern Languages Research at the University of London. The feedback that I received from fellow participants and the various conveners strengthened my arguments at decisive phases. I also wish to thank the staff of the Department of German at Berkeley, particularly Andrea Rapport, Nadia Samadi, Cathie Jones and Myriam Cotton, for their guidance and dedication to the graduate program. This study is a testament to the vibrant intellectual community at Berkeley. For their rigorous criticisms and meticulous attention to detail, I am grateful to my advisors, Tony Kaes, Deniz Göktürk and Martin Jay. Tony’s seminars, and the brilliant seminar participants over the years, inspired many lines of inquiry within my research. For providing me with training in film studies and in critical theory, I want to thank sincerely the faculty in the Department of Film & Media and the Critical Theory program at Berkeley. The Department of German was a warm and welcoming home base on campus. In addition to my advisors, I want to thank Niko Euba, Karen Feldman, Niklaus Largier and Chenxi Tang for their thoughtful seminars and mentorship. I would not have successfully made it through the research and writing process without the encouragement and friendship of my colleagues. To Yael Almog, Erik Born, Jenna Ingalls, Ken Fockele, Seth Meyers, and Courtney Johnson—this program would not have been as interesting, challenging or fun without your collaboration and compassion. Andrew Sears, Lauren Richman and Leigh York made writing in Berlin feel more like pleasure than work. I am iv particularly indebted to Erik Born, Annika Orich and Sasha Rossman for their energizing conversations and careful reading of chapters at various stages. Sasha and Sebastian Haselbeck were the kind and charming officemates in Berkeley and Berlin that helped me to stay engaged. To Megan Hoetger, Alicia Roy, Grace Kuipers and Becky Levitan for their uplifting and thoughtful exchanges over the final year of this study. Bud Dorfman reminded me at a vital moment what a privilege it is to be able to pursue passion projects. For their unflagging support and encouragement, I am forever grateful to my family. Without the inspiration, motivation and love of my parents, Gary and Patricia, and my brother and sister, Colin and Molly, truly none of this would have been possible. v Note: Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own. vi Introduction The Art of the Archive: Uses of the Past in the German Essay Film At a time when our present-day media landscape is rapidly changing, the film Dreams Rewired (Mobilisierung der Träume, 2015) probes early cinema for evidence that sheds light on how our media history has evolved.1 More of a media archaeological investigation than a documentary, the film is comprised solely of footage from earlier films and focuses on their depiction of past forms of media such as the telegraph and the gramophone. Dreams Rewired aims to discern whether time and technological advancements enable us to understand better the media we have left behind and, conversely, to appreciate how these older forms of media might help us comprehend new media. The film’s investigation into the cinematographic archive unearths the rhetorical strategies that have been used in media histories to frame our understanding of how and why certain technologies have evolved, and others were abandoned.
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