Walter Benjamin und der neue Blick auf die Photographie - Rolf H. Krauss
Walter Benjamin und der neue Blick auf die Photographie - Rolf H. Krauss
Cantz 1998
Even 125 years after its invention, photography was still only a technical medium with some economic significance in the general consciousness, whereas it was only recognized as a cultural and artistic phenomenon in the mid-1960s. Why did the process of cognition begin at this particular point in time? What role did Benjamin's writings on photography in the thirties play in this? Rolf H. Krauss, who has been researching the history and theory of photography for more than three decades, discusses these controversial questions. A first section examines Benjamin's concept of photography on the basis of five central essays by the media theorist - including “A Brief History of Photography” and “The Work of Art in the Age of its Technical Reproducibility”. A second section identifies the criteria that led to a re-evaluation of photography - such as its discovery as an art form through Pop Art, Fluxus, Happening and Concept Art. Finally, a third chapter discusses the reception of Benjamin's writings and their influence on the new positioning of the medium. About the author: Rolf H. Krauss *1930 in Stuttgart. Studied political economy in Munich. Doctorate. Worked as an entrepreneur in the retail trade. Studied art history and German language and literature in Stuttgart. Chairman of the History Section of the German Society for Photography for many years.