Videophilosophy - (Columbia Themes in Philosophy, Social Criticism, and the Art) by Maurizio Lazzarato (Paperback)

About the Book

The Italian philosopher Maurizio Lazzarato reveals the underpinnings of contemporary subjectivity in the aesthetics and politics of mass media. This book discloses the conceptual groundwork of Lazzarato's thought as a whole for a time when his writings have become increasingly influential.

Book Synopsis

The Italian philosopher Maurizio Lazzarato has earned international acclaim for his analysis of contemporary capitalism, in particular his influential concept of immaterial labor and his perceptive writings on debt. In Videophilosophy, he reveals the underpinnings of contemporary subjectivity in the aesthetics and politics of mass media. First written in French and published in Italian and later revised but never published in full, this book discloses the conceptual groundwork of Lazzarato's thought as a whole for a time when his writings have become increasingly influential.

Drawing on Bergson, Nietzsche, Benjamin, Deleuze and Guattari, and the film theory and practice of Dziga Vertov, Lazzarato constructs a new philosophy of media that ties political economy to the politics of aesthetics. Through his concept of "machines that crystallize time," he argues that the proliferation of digital technologies over the past half-century marks the transition to a new mode of capitalist production characterized by unprecedented forms of subjection. This new era of the commodification of the self, Lazzarato declares, demands novel types of political action that challenge the commercialization and exploitation of time. This crucial text by an essential contemporary thinker offers vital new perspectives on aesthetics, politics, and media and critical theory.

Review Quotes

Like his comrade Antonio Negri, Maurizio Lazzarato has dedicated himself to exploring the less-traveled paths of modern thought in search of alternatives to capitalist modernity. In Videophilosophy, that exploration produces stunning results. Drawing on Bergson, Nietzsche, Vertov, Nam June Paik, and Bill Viola, Lazzarato constructs an innovative and compelling sequel to two of the most revolutionary texts in media studies: Gilles Deleuze's Cinema books and Walter Benjamin's 'The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility.'--Timothy Murphy, author of Antonio Negri: Modernity and the Multitude

How can time become crystallized in machines? From the cinematic image to the computational image of digital technologies, the artificial dilatation and construction of time has become equivalent to processes of thought. Videophilosophy takes you on a journey across these machinic syntheses of time, inaugurating a much-awaited media theory binding together materiality and technology in an unprecedented fashion.--Luciana Parisi, author of Contagious Architecture. Computation, Aesthetics, and Space

This elegant translation makes available to Maurizio Lazzarato's growing English readership the theoretical cornerstone of his intellectual project, and puts into context his collaborative practice in video art. Videophilosophy makes an indispensable contribution to the philosophy of time and technology amidst and against the proliferation of contemporary capitalist subjectivities.--Gary Genosko, author of When Technocultures Collide: Innovation from Below and the Struggle for Autonomy

About the Author

Maurizio Lazzarato is a philosopher and sociologist. In the 1970s, he was involved with the Autonomia Operaia movement in Italy and was a founding member of the French journal Multitudes. His books in English include Signs and Machines: Capitalism and the Production of Subjectivity (2014) and Governing by Debt (2015).

Jay Hetrick is assistant professor of art history and theory at the College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sharjah.