Art, Mimesis and the Avant-Garde
Aspects of a Philosophy of Difference
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:22nd Aug '91
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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- Paperback£43.99(9780415066273)
This book explores the relationship between art and philosophy. Andrew Benjamin argues for a reworking of the task of philosophy in terms of the centrality of ontology. It is in relation to this centrality, understood through the differences between modes of being, that art, mimesis and the avant-garde come to be presented. A fundamental part of this book is the original interpretations of important contemporary painters and their paintings: Lucian Freud's self-portraits, Francis Bacon's use of mirrors, R.B. Kitaj and Jewish identity, Anselm Kiefer and iconoclasm. Apart from painting, Benjamin considers architecture, literature and the philosophical writings of Walter Benjamin and Descartes in elaborating the various aspects of ontological difference. The theory of the avant-garde which is developed in the book, in which the avant-garde is a philosophical category rather than a historical marker, is a major contribution to art criticism. It brings the worlds of contemporary art criticism and contemporary philosophy closer together.
ISBN: 9780415060479
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 430g
228 pages