Cologne/Weimar/Vienna: Böhlau 2009. 247 pages, numerous black-and-white images, soft cover Series: Literatur – Kultur – Geschlecht, Studien zur Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte [Literature – Culture – Gender, Studies on Literature and Cultural History], short series, Volume 26 ISBN: 978-3-412-20279-8
Information about the book
In the 1990s, dandyism experienced a renaissance with the pop literature authors surrounding Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre and Christian Kracht. In their book, »Tristesse Royale«, the term was reinvented both performatively and with regards to cultural theory. The images and arguments crafted therein have since been found throughout German-speaking pop literature.
The authors of this collection ask questions about new variations on dandyism and decadence. Is the new dandyism really as apolitical as it presents itself to be? What forms and media do today’s dandies use? What role do popular art and music play in that? From which traditions do authors borrow, thus advancing the tradition and becoming part of it? What about the gender identity of the figure that is considered feminized? Are there also female dandies? What self-marketing strategies are pursued by the authors? And, lastly: Why are the dandies in the pop-modern era so depressed?
Reviews
- Lydia Herms: Short discussion of the book in the context of the publication of the German version of Sebastian Horsley’s Underworld Dandy on MDR Sputnik.
- Anonymous: Pop-Dandys zwischen Depression und Vermarktung [Pop Dandies Between Depression and Marketing]. In: Basler Zeitung [Basler Newspaper]. Kulturmagazin [Culture Magazine]. 05.06.2009, p. 7.
- Constanze Griessler: Television program about the book, Depressive Dandys and Sebastian Horsley’s Underworld Dandy on Kulturmagazin [Culture Magazine] from ORF 2 (Austria).
- Anonymous: Reviews of Depressive Dandys In: http://dandysme.eu/2009/08/14/¬de-pressive-dandys7
- Anne-Kathrin Neumann: Eitler Gockel oder dekadenter Lebenskünstler? Wie der Dandy das 21. Jahrhundert erobert [Preening Cock or Decadent Hedonist? How the Dandy Conquered the 21st Century]. In: Ruhr Nachrichten [Ruhr News], 01.09.2009.
- Felix Johannes Enzian: As much as I love the shocking, one thing is certain: My suit is better than yours. The taste-maker elite or wealthy plebes? Two books celebrate the resurrection of the dandy in the pop-modern era and stop by the men’s clothing tailors’ atelier. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung [Frankfurter Allgemeine Newspaper], Saturday, 17.04.2010, No. 89, p. 38.
- Jochen Strobel: »Dandyism’s not Dead«. A collection published by Alexandra Tacke and Björn Weyand follows the footprints of the depressed dandy through to the pop-modern era. In: literaturkritik.de, No. 10 October 2010 http://www.literaturkritik.de/public/rezension.php?rez_id=14847.