Autopsia – Thanatopolis

25,00 € VAT Included

Only 1 left in stock

16x 24×1,5cm, 112 pages, paperback.

“Features: Limited edition on fine art paper with reproductions of Autopsia’s artworks and graphics printed in exceptional duotone shades.

Headline: “With the increasing pixellation of history in the media age and the rise of commodifiable humanist ‘utility’ art, the narcissistic fetish of individualism and the ‘New Puritanism’ of third-stage (late-) Capitalism, Alexei Monroe’s illuminating and thorough study of Autopsia is a reminder that non-aligned counter positions are more essential than ever if we are not to live in Autopsia’s ‘Civilization of Death’…” Dr. Simon Bell, Lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University

About the book: Thanatopolis is the first extended work in English on a complex and mystifying body of work, dating back to 1979. Now based in Prague, it is an obscure part of industrial culture, which has been the subject of increasing interest over the last decade. AutopsiA is a highly cryptic and esoteric project so far ignored in the histories of this period. It uses an extremely diverse range of musical, philosophical, theological, poetic, literary, ideological and artistic sources, from biblical quotations to dubstep. The central theme this shadowy and shifting identity explores is death. Working in music, graphics, installations and film, AutopsiA intensively examines death as a cultural force that is increasingly repressed. Thanatoplis examines the key processes behind AutopsiA’s work and how it has of ten come to act as an uncanny commentary on future events. Thanatopolis explores the implications of its work appearing in 21st Century London, teetering on the brink of massive historical change and the attempted technological abolition of death.

Alexei Monroe is a London-based cultural theorist and writer. His book on Laibach and NSK has been published in Slovenia, America, France and Germany. He is co-editor of a major publication on British industrial group, Test Dept, Total State Machine (PC Press 2015). He was a member of the organising committee of the 2nd NSK State Folk Art Biennale held in Ireland in June 2016 and is currently editing t he exhibition catalogue. Current research interests include Ger man techno, Kraftwerk, the connections between industrial music and British science fiction and the Stag as a symbol. He also runs the electronic music label VEB89.”