n.b.k. Discourse Vol. 10

Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König

To Harun Farocki writing was inextricably linked with his cinematic works; his work on the concept of the image always involved a translation from the image to the text and vice versa. The autobiography from his estate, which has now been published, constitutes a great exception in his oeuvre: Farocki was not able to complete it; he died in July 2014. We here have a work, which has remained unfinished in itself—but precisely this makes this autobiography so fascinating. It portrays his tragic childhood, Farocki’s escape to West Berlin, the fortune of having discovered film, although he wanted to become a writer, his turning to outsiderism, his radicalism of thought, his vision, his power of observation, the growing ability to analyze social structures, the politicization of life. In his autobiography, Farocki adopts the attitude of the filmmaker, he is not only a critical reader of his own life, but also of the current events, which form the backdrop of the entire narrative.

The autobiography is published on the occasion of the Harun Farocki Retrospective, September 14, 2017 – January 28, 2018, initiated by Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in cooperation with Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art, the Harun Farocki Institute, Harun Farocki GbR, Silent Green Kulturquartier, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König and Savvy Contemporary as part of the Berlin Art Week, sponsored by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture.