Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven

Reflections on the "Uncinematic"

Stéphane Symons (Editor), Hilde Van Gelder (Editor),

Series: Lieven Gevaert Series 23

Category: Media and Visual Culture, Photography

Language: English

ISBN: 9789462700994

Publication date: March 27, 2017

€34.50 (including 6% VAT)

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Number of pages: 158

Size: 230 x 170 x mm

Number of illustrations: 44

Illustrations and other content description:
15 color illustrations, 29 halftones Guaranteed Peer Reviewed Content

Stock item: 116177

Standard delivery time for print books:

For Belgium: 5 to 8 working days

For EU: 2 to 3 weeks

For other countries: 4 to 5 weeks

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In-depth analysis of Victor Burgin’s video installation Parzival (2013).

In commemoration of the destruction of the University Library of Leuven (Belgium) in August 1914, the projection work Parzival, created by Victor Burgin (°UK, 1941) in 2013, was installed within the rebuilt Library. The installation uniquely marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I, which left its profound traces on both the consciousness and physiognomy of the city of Leuven. Parzival is a montage piece combining digital images of ruins and bombed out cities with audio-visual and literary material that references, amongst other works, Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal (premiere in 1882), Roberto Rossellini’s Germany Year Zero (1948) and Milan Kundera’s novel Identity (1998). This publication provides an in-depth analysis of Parzival, a work that is inspired by the period of seven months that Wagner spent in Venice (1858-1859). Burgin’s Parzival raises questions about some of the most fundamental elements in Wagner’s operatic work: the longing for a savior, the complex connection between violence and catharsis, and the presentiment that destruction awaits humanity in the future (Götterdämmerung). In an associative manner, Parzival brings together various artistic and political features to confront the romantic ideal of the ruin with the horrors that might result from such a myth. In addition, this book contains a reprint of Michel Foucault’s essay “The Imagination of the Nineteenth Century” (1980).

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Contributors: Geert Bouckaert (KU Leuven), Victor Burgin (University of California, University of London, University of Southampton), Alexander Streitberger (Université catholique de Louvain), Stéphane Symons (KU Leuven), Hilde Van Gelder (KU Leuven)

Preface Geert Bouckaert
Part ICollaborative Reflections on Parzival
Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven Stéphane Symons and Hilde Van Gelder
Victor Burgin’s Parzival: A Monument of Melancholia Alexander Streitberger
Roundtable Victor Burgin in Conversation with Alexander Streitberger, Stéphane Symons, and Hilde Van Gelder on the Occasion of a Symposium on Parzival
Part IIContextualizing Parzival Uncinematic Time Victor Burgin
The Imagination of the Nineteenth Century Michel Foucault
A Note on Parzival Victor Burgin
Parzival Wall Texts Victor Burgin
Part IIIParzival in Leuven
Notes Contributors

Stéphane SymonsORCID icon

Stéphane Symons is Full Professor of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Culture at the Institute of Philosophy of KU Leuven.

Hilde Van GelderORCID icon

Hilde Van Gelder is Professor of Art History at KU Leuven.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven" about?

In-depth analysis of Victor Burgin’s video installation Parzival (2013).

In commemoration of the destruction of the University Library of Leuven (Belgium) in August 1914, the projection work Parzival, created by Victor Burgin (°UK, 1941) in 2013, was installed within the rebuilt Library. The installation uniquely marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I, which left its profound traces on both the consciousness and physiognomy of the city of Leuven. Parzival is a montage piece combining digital images of ruins and bombed out cities with audio-visual and literary material that references, amongst other works, Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal (premiere in 1882), Roberto Rossellini’s Germany Year Zero (1948) and Milan Kundera’s novel Identity (1998). This publication provides an in-depth analysis of Parzival, a work that is inspired by the period of seven months that Wagner spent in Venice (1858-1859). Burgin’s Parzival raises questions about some of the most fundamental elements in Wagner’s operatic work: the longing for a savior, the complex connection between violence and catharsis, and the presentiment that destruction awaits humanity in the future (Götterdämmerung). In an associative manner, Parzival brings together various artistic and political features to confront the romantic ideal of the ruin with the horrors that might result from such a myth. In addition, this book contains a reprint of Michel Foucault’s essay “The Imagination of the Nineteenth Century” (1980).

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Contributors: Geert Bouckaert (KU Leuven), Victor Burgin (University of California, University of London, University of Southampton), Alexander Streitberger (Université catholique de Louvain), Stéphane Symons (KU Leuven), Hilde Van Gelder (KU Leuven)

Who edited "Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven"?

"Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven" was edited by Stéphane Symons and Hilde Van Gelder.

Stéphane Symons is Full Professor of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Culture at the Institute of Philosophy of KU Leuven.

Hilde Van Gelder is Professor of Art History at KU Leuven.

Is "Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven" part of a series?

Yes, "Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven" is part of the "Lieven Gevaert Series" series. It's book 23 in the series.

Named after a ground-breaking figure in the Belgian photography industry, the Lieven Gevaert Series is a peer reviewed series of  innovative books on photography. Launched in 2004, the LG Series takes into account the ubiquitous presence of photography within modern culture and, in particular, the visual arts. At the forefront of contemporary thinking on photography, the books offer new insights in the position of the photographic medium within the art historical, theoretical, social and institutional contexts.
The Lieven Gevaert Series is published by Leuven University Press, in collaboration with 'The Lieven Gevaert Research Centre for Photography, Art and Visual Culture' at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Université catholique de Louvain (www.lievengevaertcentre.be).

The series covers four types of publications:

  • outstanding monographic studies
  • multi-authored volumes on a specific topic
  • book length projects with artists
  • translations and/or reprints of classic texts.

All books are published in English and are written for an international audience of scholars.

Format

All books in the series are published in 17*23 cm paperback with French flaps, printed in black and white on white maco paper and with a maximum page extent of 300 pages (120.000 words) including images (unless agreed otherwise).

Authors interested in publishing their book in Open Access can check out the funding options here. Open access books are published under a creative commons license.

Series editors


Hilde Van Gelder, KU Leuven
Alexander Streitberger, UCLouvain

Proposals

Proposals and enquiries can be sent to the series editors.

Please make use of the submission form to present the full manuscript to our board.
Authors interested in Open Access can consult the available funding options.

Links & Resources

Proposal Submission Form
Guidelines to submit a book proposal for the Lieven Gevaert Series
Open Access & Funding Options

 

What is the Table of Contents for "Victor Burgin’s Parzival in Leuven"?

Preface Geert Bouckaert
Part ICollaborative Reflections on Parzival
Victor Burgin's Parzival in Leuven Stéphane Symons and Hilde Van Gelder
Victor Burgin's Parzival: A Monument of Melancholia Alexander Streitberger
Roundtable Victor Burgin in Conversation with Alexander Streitberger, Stéphane Symons, and Hilde Van Gelder on the Occasion of a Symposium on Parzival
Part IIContextualizing Parzival Uncinematic Time Victor Burgin
The Imagination of the Nineteenth Century Michel Foucault
A Note on Parzival Victor Burgin
Parzival Wall Texts Victor Burgin
Part IIIParzival in Leuven
Notes Contributors

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