3432 Caniff St.
Hamtramck, MI, 48212
Hamtramck, MI, 48212
Zero Hour
,
Limited
Edition
Edition
of 500
2025
Hardcover
Cloth
binding
136
Pages
9
"
x
12
"
$ 48
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New: New directly from publisher or artist.
As New: The book is in pristine, original condition as when published. This grade may apply to older books that have been carefully stored, never shelved, thumbed, or opened.
Fine: A Fine book is nearly As New in condition but without being crisp. The book may have been opened and read, but shows no defects to the book, jacket, or pages.
Near Fine: A book approaching Fine (or As New) but with a couple of very minor defects or faults, which must be noted by the seller
Very Good: A book showing small signs of wear but no tears on either binding or paper. The book maintains its structural integrity, and any defects must be noted by the seller.
Good: Describes a book with average wear while maintaining complete text pages. The book is intact and readable, but shows signs of use. Any defects must be noted by the seller.
Fair: A worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. (which must be noted).The binding and jacket (if any) may show significant wear. All defects should be noted.
A reminder that history always resides in the present, and democracy can never be taken for granted.
In Zero Hour, Birthe Piontek looks into Germany's past to understand a war-ridden and divided present tense, tracing the country's post-WWII history, societal structures and values by looking at photography's role in reconstructing a nation emptied of symbolism and role models after 1945. Combining images from Piontek’s family archive, press images, and constructed still lifes with political transcripts and documents, Piontek seeks to understand how Germany, once the "poster child of peace and democracy”, finds itself entangled in current wars and seduced by a rising national populism.
Zero Hour visualizes the tangled web of multinational interests and policies related to Germany's postwar rise to power, influenced predominantly by the United States. Some of the book’s archival images serve as source material for digital collages and alterations; others are left untouched. Some texts are historical, while others are taken from current political party platforms. Promises, facts, and fiction are blended, asking the viewer to re-evaluate our relationship to seemingly well-known narratives, history, and collective and individual memory.
Zero Hour lays bare the inherent biases in these photographs, the invisible layers of inequality and dominant social structures central to western ideals. The images show that social norms like patriarchy, whiteness, and heteronormativity, were reinforced by photography, suggesting that Germany's democracy and the social-political fabric of the nation were deeply flawed from its inception.
