
Ontographies
A Media Philosophy of Immanence
Lorenz Engell(Author)
University of Exeter Press
Published on 28. April 2026
Book
Hardback
140 pages
978-1-80413-246-3 (ISBN)
Description
Ontographies proposes a radical shift, moving beyond the crisis of representation by embracing a philosophy of immanence, and offering a vital new perspective for understanding our media-saturated world.
In light of recent media developments in algorithmic, digital and picture-based mediaspheres, we must accept that received models of representation (in politics, in the realm of signs, in philosophies of consciousness) have long since collapsed. Nothing stands for anything any longer; the world has a massive media ontological problem. This book provides readers with a way to, if not cope with this problem, then at least map it and thereby to think beyond it. The volume sets out the concept of ontographies as a completely different form of access to the world, one that can overtake (and ultimately replace) the media ontological challenge of our time.
Through a rich tapestry of examples-from Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited and Oscar Cavandoli's La Linea to analogue photography and algorithmic computation-Ontographies argues that the world does not operate via hierarchical structures of signification (signifier/signified, beings/Being, subject/object) but by way of immanent, operative processes of inscription that blur the boundaries between recording and reality.
Whatever exists comes into being through graphic operations: ontography. Indeed, the world exists solely insofar as it operatively records and describes or is being recorded and described. This compelling, refreshing book presents a bold and provocative intervention in media philosophy, challenging the dominant frameworks of representation, ontology and mediation.
In light of recent media developments in algorithmic, digital and picture-based mediaspheres, we must accept that received models of representation (in politics, in the realm of signs, in philosophies of consciousness) have long since collapsed. Nothing stands for anything any longer; the world has a massive media ontological problem. This book provides readers with a way to, if not cope with this problem, then at least map it and thereby to think beyond it. The volume sets out the concept of ontographies as a completely different form of access to the world, one that can overtake (and ultimately replace) the media ontological challenge of our time.
Through a rich tapestry of examples-from Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited and Oscar Cavandoli's La Linea to analogue photography and algorithmic computation-Ontographies argues that the world does not operate via hierarchical structures of signification (signifier/signified, beings/Being, subject/object) but by way of immanent, operative processes of inscription that blur the boundaries between recording and reality.
Whatever exists comes into being through graphic operations: ontography. Indeed, the world exists solely insofar as it operatively records and describes or is being recorded and described. This compelling, refreshing book presents a bold and provocative intervention in media philosophy, challenging the dominant frameworks of representation, ontology and mediation.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Exeter
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
382 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80413-246-3 (9781804132463)
DOI
10.47788/JRHK6764
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2026
University of Exeter Press
€90.99
Available for download
Person
Lorenz Engell is professor of Media Philosophy at Bauhaus Universitaet Weimar, Germany. Prior to that, he was professor of Perception, Communication, and Media Studies (HAB Weimar 1993-2003). His habilitation was in Film and TV studies with 'Motion Description'. He was co-director of the Internationales Kolleg fuer Kulturtechnikforschung und Medienphilosophie (IKKM), Weimar 2008-2020. Among his recent books are The Switch Image: Television Philosophy and (coedited With Christiane Voss and Tim Othold) Anthropologies of Entanglement. His current research focuses on Media Anthropology, Media Ontology and Media Philosophy of Nature.
Content
Prologue: Cartographies
1 Phantographies
1. Heterographies
2. Phenographies
2 Cinematographies
3 Chronographies
4 Cosmographies
5 Historiographies
Epilogue: Hydrographies
1. Swimming Upstream
2. The Parallax View
3. The Ontoface
4. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Filmography
Index
1 Phantographies
1. Heterographies
2. Phenographies
2 Cinematographies
3 Chronographies
4 Cosmographies
5 Historiographies
Epilogue: Hydrographies
1. Swimming Upstream
2. The Parallax View
3. The Ontoface
4. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Filmography
Index