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WALTER BENJAMIN’S NOTION OF DEATH AND PHOTOGRAPHY |
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François Soulages |
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The text is conceived as a tribute to Walter Benjamin as one of the founders of theory of photography, whose thought was moving on the borders of science and essayistic writing. The author shows that Benjamin, who noticed the connection of photography with death in his Brief History of Photography, is one of the first to bring forward fixation that can be considered the fundamental for the art of photography. In this way, he created a theoretical base of new mimetic aesthetics for this kind of art. Benjamin’s over-interpretation of the art of photography, however, in the sense of anticipation ability, also shows its affinity to the magic evoking an effect of fascination in the recipient. Thus Benjamin entered the ground of anthropology in his reflection, and also of psychoanalysis, since as one of the first at all he considered the function of unconsciousness in photography, the function that turned out to be crucial in creation of theories of photography. |
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Keywords: Benjamin; photography; death |
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