In Memory of Walter Benjamin

lisafrankfurtschool: This is how one pictures the unicorn of...

francescakrihely — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:36:59 -0400

This is how one pictures the unicorn of history. Its face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, it sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of its hooves. The unicorn would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in its wings with such violence that the unicorn can no longer close them. The storm irresistibly propels it into the future to which its back is turned, while the pile of debris before it grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress.

In which Walter Benjamin is walking close at hand

francescakrihely — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:00:29 -0400

In which Walter Benjamin is walking close at hand: gormandgasp: Link to a longer piece on Berlin,...

"Memory is not an instrument for exploring the past but its theatre. It is the medium of past..."

francescakrihely — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:00:38 -0400

““Memory is not an instrument for exploring the past but its theatre. It is the medium of past...

ardora: “March 1922, from Walter Benjamin’s notes: - Mummy, why...

francescakrihely — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:00:30 -0400

ardora:

“March 1922, from Walter Benjamin’s notes:

- Mummy, why do you always say saucer [Untertasse]; it is a plate, isn’t it?
- Yes, but these plates have a special name because they are always under the cup [Tasse].
- Yes, but if you take away the cup, then you cannot say saucer anymore.”

— Walter Benjamin’s Archive, tr. Esther Leslie, Verso, 2007, p. 129

Image: Walter Benjamin and his mom, ibid, Fig 5.1, p. 115 (via)

poorgrammar: “The kind of happiness that could arouse envy in...

francescakrihely — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 09:43:24 -0400

poorgrammar:

“The kind of happiness that could arouse envy in us exists only in the air we have breathed, among people we have talked to, women who could have given themselves to us. In other words, our image of happiness is indissolubly bound up with the image of redemption. The same applies o our view of the past, which is the concern of history. The past carries with it a temporal index by which it is referred to redemption” (254).

las notas: Capitalism / Capitalismo

francescakrihely — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:00:44 -0400

las notas: Capitalism / Capitalismo: ficcionalista: “Capitalism is probably the first instance of...

species-of-spaces: Walter Benjamin at Heringsdorf, c.1896,...

francescakrihely — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:00:22 -0400

species-of-spaces:

Walter Benjamin at Heringsdorf, c.1896, Walter Benjamin Archiv, Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

"Modernity has its antiquity, like a nightmare that has come to it in its sleep."

francescakrihely — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:00:15 -0400

“Modernity has its antiquity, like a nightmare that has come to it in its sleep.” -...

I love this. Well done. metamaartje: (Concept, Design and book...

francescakrihely — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:46:52 -0400

I love this. Well done.

metamaartje:

(Concept, Design and book binding by Lotte Bogels, Stan de Natris (www.standenatris.com) and me)

Unpacking Our Libraries

Walter Benjamin already described the delicate operation of unpacking his library. Taking this idea as a starting point for the project, we managed to obtain a large part of our classmates home library and bring it together in a huge catalogue. Each book gets one spread in the catalogue, using only the frontcover, spine, inside-spread and the backcover to give a glimpse of the book.

The catalogue functions as a request platform for other students who are looking for a book they can’t find in the ArtEZ library. This process of searching for a book gets easier when you use the table of contents or the category index, also provided in the catalogue.

If someone wants to borrow a book, they have to fill in a form on bookmarks we created, and place it between the pages where the desired book is displayed.

Histoire et Narration Chez Walter Benjamin Great recommendation....

francescakrihely — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:45:17 -0500

Histoire et Narration Chez Walter Benjamin

Great recommendation. I am going to try and find it in English, but if not, I will have to read it in French!

altissonante: Walter Benjamin’s library card.

francescakrihely — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:26:26 -0500

altissonante:

Walter Benjamin’s library card.

"A very different air [than that of optimism] is breathed in the Naville essay that makes the..."

francescakrihely — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:49:54 -0500

““A very different air [than that of optimism] is breathed in the Naville essay that makes the...

Thanks for the Recommendations André!

francescakrihely — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:40:10 -0500

I love getting emails from readers, so thank you to everyone who sends in photos and book...

"A person who observes good manners but condemns lies is like someone who, while dressing stylishly,..."

francescakrihely — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:28:13 -0500

“A person who observes good manners but condemns lies is like someone who, while dressing...

nometalnomedal: Fascism is the aestheticizing of politics....

francescakrihely — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:44:51 -0500

nometalnomedal:

Fascism is the aestheticizing of politics.
-Walter Benjamin

thebenolivas: walter benjamin - art in the age of mechanical...

francescakrihely — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:22:28 -0500

thebenolivas:

walter benjamin - art in the age of mechanical reproduction

concept word collage

"Criticism is a sociable art. A healthy reader mocks the reviewer’s judgement. But what pleases..."

francescakrihely — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:00:47 -0500

“Criticism is a sociable art. A healthy reader mocks the reviewer’s judgement. But what...

"Theory of distraction. Attempt to determine the effect of the work of art once its power of..."

francescakrihely — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:00:28 -0500

“Theory of distraction. Attempt to determine the effect of the work of art once its power of...

"Begging has lost its strongest foundation, the bad social conscience, which opens purses so much..."

francescakrihely — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 10:00:49 -0500

“Begging has lost its strongest foundation, the bad social conscience, which opens purses so...

"Novels are there to be devoured. To read them is a pleasure of consumption."

francescakrihely — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:12:43 -0500

“Novels are there to be devoured. To read them is a pleasure of consumption.” - Walter...