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On photography /

By: Contributor(s): Publisher: London, England : Reaktion Books, 2015Description: 156 pages : illustrations ; 20 cmISBN:
  • 1780235259
  • 9781780235257
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Introduction : Walter Benjamin and the birth of photography -- Small history of photography (1931) -- Nothing wrong with the illustrated press! (1925) -- Letter to Grete Cohn (16 October 1927) -- New things about flowers (1928) -- Paris, the city in the mirror : declarations of love by poets and artists to the 'capital of the world' (1929) -- The wall (c. 1932-4) -- Review of Gisèle Freund's La photographie en France au dix-neuvième siècle. essai de sociologie et d'esthétique (1938).
Summary: Walter Benjamin's essay 'A Short History of Photography' (1931) made bold statements about photographic pioneers such as David Octavius Hill and Nicéphore Niépce, and the social and historical context of their work. This first selection of Benjamin's writings on photography includes a new translation of this influential essay as well as a range of Benjamin's other writings, both published and unpublished, some of which are translated into English for the first time here. Esther Leslie's introduction covers Benjamin's writing on early photographic methods and aesthetics; his analysis of the commercial studio photography of the 'decadent' bourgeoisie; the use of photographs in scientific research; and other innovative photographic methods such as the 'auraless' images of Eugène Atget and the 'new visions' of August Sander and Germaine Krull. Leslie discusses Benjamin's take on the evolution of photography into a modern form, the universal fascination with the seemingly simple postcard - an interest dating back to Benjamin's own childhood - as well as the special relationship he found between Paris and the photographic method. As a notable philosopher, critic and uniquely imaginative thinker, Benjamin's essays offer a fascinating critique of early photography. With a substantial introduction, contextualizing prefaces and comprehensive glossaries, Esther Leslie guides the reader through Walter Benjamin's multifaceted engagement with the significance of photography.
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Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book Whitecliffe Library General Shelves General B 3209 BEN (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 0015140

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction : Walter Benjamin and the birth of photography -- Small history of photography (1931) -- Nothing wrong with the illustrated press! (1925) -- Letter to Grete Cohn (16 October 1927) -- New things about flowers (1928) -- Paris, the city in the mirror : declarations of love by poets and artists to the 'capital of the world' (1929) -- The wall (c. 1932-4) -- Review of Gisèle Freund's La photographie en France au dix-neuvième siècle. essai de sociologie et d'esthétique (1938).

Walter Benjamin's essay 'A Short History of Photography' (1931) made bold statements about photographic pioneers such as David Octavius Hill and Nicéphore Niépce, and the social and historical context of their work. This first selection of Benjamin's writings on photography includes a new translation of this influential essay as well as a range of Benjamin's other writings, both published and unpublished, some of which are translated into English for the first time here. Esther Leslie's introduction covers Benjamin's writing on early photographic methods and aesthetics; his analysis of the commercial studio photography of the 'decadent' bourgeoisie; the use of photographs in scientific research; and other innovative photographic methods such as the 'auraless' images of Eugène Atget and the 'new visions' of August Sander and Germaine Krull. Leslie discusses Benjamin's take on the evolution of photography into a modern form, the universal fascination with the seemingly simple postcard - an interest dating back to Benjamin's own childhood - as well as the special relationship he found between Paris and the photographic method. As a notable philosopher, critic and uniquely imaginative thinker, Benjamin's essays offer a fascinating critique of early photography. With a substantial introduction, contextualizing prefaces and comprehensive glossaries, Esther Leslie guides the reader through Walter Benjamin's multifaceted engagement with the significance of photography.

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