Michael Diers (born 15 March 1950, in

Werl Werl (; Westphalian: ''Wiärl'') is a town located in the district of Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Werl is easily accessible because it is located between the Sauerland, Münsterland, and the Ruhr Area. The Hellweg road ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Diers studied art history,

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

and Hamburg, where he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

with a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on Aby Warburg. He also received his postdoctoral lecture qualification in 1994. From 1990 to 1992 he was assistant

at the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut,

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, and subsequently at the Department of Art History,

Universität Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

, in the joint research project "Politische Ikonographie". In 1994 he became lecturer at the

Universität Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, in 1999 at the

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, where he also served as Director of the Department of Art History (2000–2002). In 2004, Diers was appointed professor of art history and

visual studies Visual culture is the aspect of culture expressed in visual images. Many academic fields study this subject, including cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, media studies, Deaf Studies, and anthropology. The field of visu ...

at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg, where he retired in 2017. In the same time, he was also

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

of art history at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. His fellowships include the IKKM (Weimar), the Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte (Paris), the Bard College Center (New York), the Deutsches Studienzentrum (Venice), and the Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles, 2017/18). Apart from his academic affiliations, Diers has also worked extensively as a free-lance

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. In his teaching practice and in his art historical research, Diers follows a motto he first encountered in a neon sculpture by Maurizio Nannucci: "All art has been contemporary". Diers' research interests are the art of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

and

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

(

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, new media), focusing on political

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, intellectual

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, picture theory, and media theories. In 1991 Diers became first

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, and subsequently chief editor, of the renowned pocketbook series "Kunststück" (Fischer Verlag,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, 1991–2001, 102 vols). From 2005 to 2007 he edited the series "FUNDUS" (Philo Fine Arts, Hamburg). He currently serves as co-editor of the "Studienausgabe Aby Warburg, Gesammelte Schriften" (De Gruyter, since 1998) and from 2004 to 2016 the

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

series "Humboldt-Schriften zur Kunst- und Bildgeschichte" (Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin). Diers is a regular contributor to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, to the

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. History ...

, to the

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ne ...

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

and

Tageszeitung ''Die Tageszeitung'' (, “The Daily Newspaper”), is counted as being one of modern Germany's most important newspapers and amongst the top seven. taz is stylized as ''die tageszeitung'' and commonly referred to as ''taz'', is a cooperative-own ...

Books

*''Warburg aus Briefen. Kommentare zu den Kopierbüchern der Jahre 1905–1918'', Weinheim 1991 *''Schlagbilder. Zur politischen Ikonographie der Gegenwart'', Frankfurt/M. 1997 *''Fotografie Film Video. Beiträge zu einer kritischen Theorie des Bildes'', Hamburg 2006 *''Vor aller Augen. Studien zu Kunst, Bild und Politik'', Paderborn 2016 *'' Mary Warburg. Leben – Werk. Porträt einer Künstlerin'', Munich 2020 (with Bärbel Hedinger)

As editor

*''Aby Warburg. Akten des internationalen Symposiums Hamburg 1990'', Weinheim 1991 (with

Horst Bredekamp Horst Bredekamp (born 29 April 1947, in Kiel) is a German art historian. Life and work Bredekamp studied art history, archeology, philosophy and sociology in Kiel, Munich, Berlin and Marburg. In 1974 he received his doctorate at the Phili ...

and Charlotte Schoell-Glass) *''Porträt aus Büchern. Bibliothek Warburg & Warburg Institute, Hamburg - 1933 - London'', Hamburg 1993 *''Mo(nu)mente. Formen und Funktionen ephemerer Denkmäler'', Weinheim 1995 * Martin Warnke, ''Nah und fern zum Bilde. Beiträge zu Kunst und Kunsttheorie'', Köln 1997 * Aby Warburg, ''Gesammelte Schriften. Studienausgabe, Bd. I,1.2'' (= Reprint of the original edition Leipzig/Berlin 1932), new edition with a foreword (with

), Berlin 1998 *''"Der Bevölkerung". Aufsätze und Dokumente zur Debatte um das Reichstagsprojekt von Hans Haacke'', Köln 2000 (with

Kasper König Kasper König (born 1943) is a German museum director and curator. Career König was born in Mettingen. In 1965 he traveled to New York as a courier on behalf of the Robert Fraser Gallery, where he lived intermittently until 1978. From 1973 to ...

) * Rudolf Arnheim, ''Stimme von der Galerie - 25 kleine Aufsätze zur Kultur der Zeit'', Berlin 2004 *''Topos RAUM. Die Aktualität des Raumes in den Künsten der Gegenwart'', Berlin und Nürnberg 2005 (gemeinsam mit Robert Kudielka, Angela Lammert and Gerd Mattenklott) *''Dissimulazione onesta oder Die ehrliche Verstellung. Von der Weisheit der versteckten Beunruhigung in Wort, Bild und Tat. Martin Warnke zu Ehren. Ein Symposium'', Hamburg 2007 (with Horst Bredekamp, Ruth Tesmar and Franz-Joachim Verspohl) *''Topos Atelier. Werkstatt und Wissensform''. Berlin 2010 (with Monika Wagner) *''Das Interview. Formen und Foren des Künstlergesprächs'', Hamburg 2013 (with Hans Ulrich Obrist and Lars Blunck) *''Max Liebermann: Die Kunstsammlung. Von Rembrandt bis Manet'', Munich 2013 (with Bärbel Hedinger and Jürgen Müller) *Focus on BLOW-UP. Die Gegenwart der Bilder bei Antonioni, Hamburg 2018 (with Denis Grünemeier and

Beat Wyss Beat Wyss (born in 1947 in Basle) is a Swiss art historian, professor ordinarius for art history and media theory at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, Germany, and member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Life Beat Wyss ...

) *''O Superman. Gedanken über Film, Kunst, Politik (und Lehre)'', Hamburg 2019 *Aby Warburg, ''Briefe (= Gesammelte Schriften. Studienausgabe, V.1–2)'', Berlin 2021 (with Steffen Haug and Thomas Helbig)

References

Sources

*S. Haug, H.G. Hiller von Gaertringen, C. Philipp, S.M. Schultz, M. Ziegler u. T. Zürn (Hg.), ''Arbeit am Bild. Ein Album für Michael Diers''. Köln, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln 2010 *Michael Diers, in: ''Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender. Biobliographisches Verzeichnis deutschsprachiger Wissenschaftler der Gegenwart''. 22. Ausgabe, München 2009
Michael Diers - Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte - HU Berlin
*All biographical and academic informations are an translation of the German Wikipedia article on Michael Diers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Diers, Michael German art historians German male non-fiction writers 1950 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Hamburg University of Hamburg alumni University of Münster alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Jena