Benjamin, Barthes and the Singularity of Photography

Download or read book Benjamin, Barthes and the Singularity of Photography written by Kathrin Yacavone and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2012-02-02 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Benjamin, Barthes and the Singularity of Photography' presents two figures of the twentieth century in a comparative light. Pursuing aspects of Benjamin's and Barthes's engagement with photography, it provides interpretations of texts, argues that despite the different historical, philosophical and cultural contexts of their work, Benjamin and Barthes engage with similar issues and problems that photography poses, including the relationship between the photograph and its beholder as a confrontation between self and other, and the dynamic relation between time, subjectivity, memory and loss. Each writer emphasizes the singular event of the photograph's apprehension and its ethical and existential aspects rooted in the power and poignancy of photographic images. The book mapping the relationship between photographic history and theory, cultural criticism and autobiography.