The Creation of an Avant-Garde Brand

Pohlmanns study of Mllers media presence is one of the few English-language books on this important postwar dramatist in the past two decades. Embedded in a discussion of avant-garde aesthetics and branding in capitalist market contexts, its nuanced focus examines Mllers strategies for navigating the East-West divide prior to and after Germanys unification in 1990. (Marc Silberman, Professor Emeritus of German, University of WisconsinMadison) The Creation of an Avant-Garde Brand is an impressive scholarly achievement that enlarges our understanding of postwar German culture in general and Heiner Mller in particular. Pohlmann convincingly demonstrates that Mllers status as a leading figure of the avant-garde needs to be understood in light of his dynamic engagement with mass culture. Highly recommended. (Matthew W. Smith, Professor of German Studies and Theater & Performance Studies, Stanford University) Branding became a crucial technique over the course of the twentieth century. It changed the way we perceive politics and goods, but also works of art and authors. This development has called into question the traditional idea of authenticity as well as the intention to resist capitalist marketing practices. This book examines the extent to which an author like Heiner Mller adopted branding strategies to present himself in the public sphere, investigating the impact that this had on his public persona. By focusing on Mller, this study analyzes the self-presentation and promotion of an adversarial author who drew on the ideals of the avant-garde and the artistic critique of capitalism. Yet Mller also inserted himself into the mainstream public sphere and the media, arenas that are highly influenced by the laws of the market. Thus, the author asks whether Mllers use of marketing methods and media environments undermined his outsider credibility and the integrity of his work, or, alternatively, how he may have been able to develop strategies to engage with marketing principles and the media in ways that allowed him to remain subversive nonetheless, perhaps working within the system and against it at the same time.