Esther Leslie, a Professor of Political Aesthetics, Kevin McLaughlin, a Professor of English, and Carolin Duttlinger, a German Literature expert, illuminate the complex life of Walter Benjamin. They discuss his innovative ideas on art and media, particularly the concept of 'aura' and the impact of reproducibility. The conversation reveals Benjamin's struggles during his exile in France and his significant work on the Arcades Project, exploring the tension between capitalist culture and artistic expression. His tragic end further highlights the personal cost of his intellectual journey.
Walter Benjamin's examination of new media explored how film and photography transformed art and politicized politics.
Benjamin viewed the Paris arcades as sites of commerce, consumerism, and fleeting modern life, reflecting the ephemeral nature of culture within them.
Deep dives
Walter Benjamin's Diverse Contributions
Walter Benjamin was a versatile thinker and writer of the twentieth century, engaging with philosophy, criticism, history, and cultural investigation. He examined the influence of new media, such as film, photography, and radio, on art and politics. Born in Berlin in 1892 to a wealthy Jewish family, Benjamin faced academic setbacks and struggled financially throughout his life. His writings covered a wide range of topics, including German literature, German romanticism, and seventeenth-century German Baroque theater. He built strong intellectual relationships with figures like Gershom Scholem and Theodor Adorno. Benjamin's legacy is marked by his exploration of art in the age of mechanical reproduction and his insights into the politics of aesthetics.
The Arcades Project: Benjamin's Exploration of Nineteenth-Century Paris
Walter Benjamin's interest in the Paris arcades and their architectural significance began in the late 1920s. He saw the arcades as encapsulating the fading remnants of old Paris, enclosed by iron and glass roofs. Through his readings of Louis Aragon's novel 'Paris Peasant,' he delved deeper into the significance of the arcades and their connection to the history of capitalism and modernity. Benjamin viewed the arcades as sites of commerce, where consumerism was born, and individuals, particularly the flâneur, experienced the delights of the street, gazing into shop windows. His writings reflected the transient and ephemeral nature of modern life and culture within the arcades.
Benjamin's Notable Work on Art and Mechanical Reproduction
Walter Benjamin's influential and widely studied essay, 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,' explores the transformative impact of reproducing and creating art in various forms, such as postcards, photography, and film. Benjamin argued that the reproduction of art diminished its aura, the unique and authentic quality associated with the original work. However, he also acknowledged that reproduction democratized art, making it accessible to a wider audience. Benjamin's essay stimulated discussions on the changing nature and value of art, its relationship with technology, and the possibilities for political engagement within artistic media.
Benjamin's Tragic End and Posthumous Influence
Walter Benjamin's life ended tragically as he found himself caught in the tumultuous events of World War II. Unable to secure an exit visa from France, he attempted an illegal departure to Spain and tragically died in Portbou in 1940. Despite his untimely death, Benjamin's writings and ideas continued to gain recognition and influence in the postwar years and beyond. His works were translated into English and German, reaching wider audiences, and his multidisciplinary approach, creative experimentation, and insights into the intersections of art, technology, and politics made him an enduring figure in intellectual and cultural discourse.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most celebrated thinkers of the twentieth century. Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) was a German Jewish philosopher, critic, historian, an investigator of culture, a maker of radio programmes and more. Notably, in his Arcades Project, he looked into the past of Paris to understand the modern age and, in The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, examined how the new media of film and photography enabled art to be politicised, and politics to become a form of art. The rise of the Nazis in Germany forced him into exile, and he worked in Paris in dread of what was to come; when his escape from France in 1940 was blocked at the Spanish border, he took his own life.
With
Esther Leslie
Professor of Political Aesthetics at Birkbeck, University of London
Kevin McLaughlin
Dean of the Faculty and Professor of English, Comparative Literature and German Studies at Brown University
And
Carolin Duttlinger
Professor of German Literature and Culture at the University of Oxford
Producer: Simon Tillotson
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