Hito Steyerl. Hot Media: Images in the Age of Heat (2017–2024). ISBN: 978-987-827-241-2. Publisher: Caja Negra Editora, 2025.

Abstract

The book Hot Media: Images in the Age of Heat (2017–2024) by Hito Steyerl proposes a critical theory of the contemporary image centered on its infrastructural, energetic, and algorithmic dimensions. Through a series of recent essays, the author examines visual production in the era of artificial intelligence, platforms, and crypto economies, arguing that digital images must be understood as material processes embedded in systems of data extraction and energy consumption. The work shifts image theory away from representation toward a thermodynamic theory of the image and offers relevant conceptual tools for the analysis of contemporary art and visual culture.