Intermedia and Intermittency

It is commonly known that medial reflections have been initiated by attempts to secure the borders of discrete medial forms and to define the modus operandi of each essentialized medial area. Later on, the focus of study has shifted to plurimedial formations and the interactions between predefined medial genres. In the last few decades, taxonomic approaches to various multi-, inter-, and transmedial phenomena dominated the discussions, which offered invaluable support in mapping the terrain, but at the same time hindered the analysis of the ephemeral, time-dependent aspects of plurimedial operations. While we explore the properties of each medial configuration, we lose sight of the actual historical drivers that produce ever-new configurations. My thesis is that any discourse on intermediality should be paralleled by a discourse on cultural intermittency, and consequently, media studies should involve an approach that focuses on the “ecosystem” of the constantly renewing media configurations from the point of view of their vitalizing potential and capability to trigger heightened experiences. This approach draws much inspiration from K. Ludwig Pfeiffer’s media anthropology that gives orientation in my paper.