In Medias Res #1: Histories Read Across

Opening the publication series In Medias Res: Media, (Still) Moving, In Medias Res #1: Histories Read Across poses questions about how past histories are recounted and how present narratives are shaped, be it in art, cinema, historiography, or other transdisciplinary approaches.

In Medias Res #1: Histories Read Across interrogates the methods of historical research and the production of knowledge through a critical engagement with sources and their corresponding narratives. The focus lies on the historical development of the building in Berlin-Dahlem, covering the period from the construction and use of the building as “Luftgaukommando III” during the Nazi era to the escalation of the Cold War between the US military stationed in Berlin and neighboring Soviet forces. Multiple, richly illustrated spreads present an extensive body of archival material, some of it previously unpublished, that weaves together intersecting narratives that show how discourses, documents and locales, past and present intertwine. The history of Fluentum's exhibition space serves as a starting point for scholars from the fields of architectural and art history, as well as political, economic, and military history, who elaborated on events and figures in short profiles for In Medias Res #1: Histories Read Across. Contributions addressing questions relating to art and curatorial practices and the relationship between politics, aesthetics, and knowledge broaden the methodological variety of the research.

In Medias Res #1: Histories Read Across was edited by project curators Dennis Brzek and Junia Thiede. Berlin-based studio HIT is responsible for the design of the publication series. Generous support for the research underlying the publications is provided by the Allied Museum.