Thorsten Botz-Bornstein: Werckmeister Harmonies

The Real of Reality | International Conference on Philosophy and
Film


Wed, 02.11.2016 – Sun, 06.11.2016
ZKM_Media Theater, ZKM_Lecture Hall, ZKM_Media Lounge, ZKM_Cube


In Tarr’s film »Werckmeister Harmonies« the musicologist Eszter
is haunted by a question that can be seen as the theme of the
film: is math real or simply imagined? It is possible to derive
from this question further questions about the reality character
of film. Can math be the arbiter of beauty or is there something
more fundamental about beauty, which the human ear can hear but
which logic and math cannot grasp? The Werckmeister Harmonies
problem questions the categorical distinction between the given
(nature) and the constructed (culture) and asks whether culture
(in the film designated as “math”) is real.


Eszter discovers that there is a gap between math (or
mathematically established music) and reality (or real music).
The philosophical criticism addresses the »reality character« of
geometry/math altogether. Mathematically, if one goes up seven
octaves from a C (an octave defined as an interval that always
doubles the frequency of the preceding note), one should end up
on exactly the note that the human ear identifies as a higher C.
The problem is that one doesn’t. After seven octaves, the note
that we land on will be a quarter of a semitone off if measured
mathematically. Is this an imperfection of the human ear, of
mathematics, or of nature? Ratios that appear to exist in nature
do not necessarily overlap with mathematical order. Natural laws
hold the individual intervals together inside a harmonic system
that might be irrational from a mathematical point of view but
still needs to be accepted.


Eszter’s questions bear a strong metaphorical link with
philosophical questions concerning the reality character of
cinema. What is »reality« for cinema? Is it calculated beforehand
(in terms of time and space) or is there an organic reality that
evolves in cinema and from cinema?


International Conference on Philosophy and Film
Photography and film in particular paved the way for complex
philosophical questions regarding the nature of reality and its
mechanical reproduction. What does film reproduce and how can we
grasp this element, which has the transactive ability to form
reality although originating in reality? This shaping takes palce
through a complex interaction of image, action and narration and
tends to permeate reality completely. It is an inconspicuous
process that already affects our everyday life profoundly and is
based on a revolution of the real. What does film show? Do we
have access to reality that is not based on images or narrations?
And what can film and its analysis contribute to philosophical
debates on the real?
These are questions we are asking to engage in a dialogue between
philosophy and film. For five days, one hundred and fifty
philosophers, media scholars and filmmakers will connect
philosophical theory with cinematic practice and open up new
ideas and concepts. To accompany the program, there will be film
screenings of documentaries of the invited filmmakers.
The participation at the conference is also possible without the
presentation of a paper.
The conference will be held in English.


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Internationale Konferenz zu Philosophie und Film
Mi, 02.11.2016 – So, 06.11.2016
ZKM_Medientheater, ZKM_Vortragssaal, ZKM_Medialounge, ZKM_Kubus


Fotografie und insbesondere Film haben den Weg bereitet für
komplexe philosophische Fragestellungen bezüglich der Natur der
Realität und ihrer technischen Reproduktion. Denn trotz ihres
Abbildcharakters sind Fotografie und Film keine bloßen Kopien der
Realität, sondern besitzen die Fähigkeit Realität selbst zu
formen. Diese Gestaltung geschieht sowohl durch Bilder als auch
durch Erzählungen. Die apparat-basierten (Ab)Bilder der Realität
streben durch ihre Präsenz dahin, die Realität zu ersetzen. Dies
ist ein unauffälliger Prozess, der bereits unseren Alltag
tiefgreifend beeinflusst. Was zeigt ein Film? Haben wir überhaupt
einen Zugang zur Realität jenseits von Bild und Erzählung? Und
was können Filme und deren Analyse zur philosophischen Debatte
über das Reale beitragen?
Diesen Fragen versuchen wir in einem Dialog zwischen Philosophie
und Film näher zu kommen. Über hundert PhilosophInnen,
MedienwissenschaftlerInnen und FilmemacherInnen werden in fünf
Tagen philosophische Theorie und filmische Praxis miteinander
verknüpfen und neue Gedanken offenlegen. Begleitend zum Programm
wird es Vorführungen von Dokumentarfilmen eingeladener
FilmemacherInnen geben.
Die Veranstaltung findet in englischer Sprache statt.