The Rocket’s Red Glare uses the life of instrumental German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun to explore the selective way history is told. The series of historical documents, archival and contemporary images, and manipulated photographs challenges the often dual retelling of significant events, starting in Nazi Germany and culminating in the Moon landing. Barbara Diener’s interest comes from her own reckoning with history and her complicated German heritage surrounding World War II. Rather than present a complete view, she leaves intentional holes in the narratives, seeing how stories pass through generations and how facts are distorted, embellished, or undermined.
360 pages, 22 x 30cm, hardcover, Fw: Books (Amsterdam).