Julius von Bismarck: Talking to Thunder

Research output: Book/ReportAnthologyResearch


In a historical moment gripped by environmental catastrophes of our own making, Julius von Bismarck confronts the forces of nature at their unruly extremes. Deploying sculpture, photography, video and technological devices designed to harness the elements, Bismarck stills water droplets and fragments of exploding stone, shaping them into slow-motion disasters calibrated to the rate of human perception. Through performative encounters with lightning, wildfires, hurricanes and ocean waves, the artist stages a timely reckoning with the fate of age-old ideas of nature. Following a forward by museum director Susanne Pfleger, Talking to Thunder explores the implications of Bismarck’s latest work through essays by philosopher Dehlia Hannah and curator Nadim Samman, interviews by Julius von Bismarck with Wiwa shaman Taita and Jurgen Trittin of the German Green Party, a dialogue between Dehlia Hannah and fire historian Stephen Pyne, and excerpts from Gaston Bachelard and Max Frisch.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherHatje Cantz Verlag
Number of pages176
ISBN (Print)9783775745611
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes

ID: 366559715