Performance, Landscape, and Shamanism in Werner Herzog’s 'Of Walking in Ice'
Giselle Bader
Fieldwork in Religion October 15, 2018 DOI: 10.1558/firn.35568 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that Herzog's walk from Munich to Paris, undertaken to save Lotte Eisner's life, functions as a shamanic performance recorded as an incantation, and that publishing Of Walking in Ice produced a lasting shift in his public persona as an eccentric artist and outsider. |
Abstract
This article examines Werner Herzog's 1978 diary Of Walking in Ice (Vom Gehen im Eis) as fundamental in establishing his eccentric public persona as an artist. His decision to walk from Munich to Paris in an effort to save Lotte Eisner's life is read as a shamanic performance. Herzog records this performance as an incantation played out across the magical backdrop of the Germanic forest, its periphery, and towns along the way. His performance speaks to the connection between himself and Eisner, of the importance of continuity in art, and of the artist's role as an outsider. Ultimately, the publication of Herzog's performance allows for a permanent shift in his public persona.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |