Art, Mimesis and the Avant-Garde: Aspects of a Philosophy of Difference [Paperback]

Benjamin argues for a reappraisal of philosophy with reference to the centrality of ontology, offering original reinterpretations of contemporary painters including Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon and R.B. Kitaj.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.INTRODUCTION: INAUGURATING REPETITION 1 INTERPRETING REFLECTIONS: PAINTING MIRRORS 2 SPACING AND DISTANCING 3 BETRAYING FACES: LUCIAN FREUDS SELF[1]PORTRAITS 4 PRESENT REMEMBRANCE: ANSELM KIEFERS ICONOCLASTIC CONTROVERSY 5 KITAJ AND THE QUESTION OF JEWISH IDENTITY 6 MALEVICH AND THE AVANT-GARDE 7 EISENMAN AND THE HOUSING OF TRADITION 8 PLURALISM, THE COSMOPOLITAN AND THE AVANT-GARDE 9 THE DECLINE OF ART: BENJAMINS AURA 10 TRADITION AND EXPERIENCE: WALTER BENJAMINS ON SOME MOTIFS IN BAUDELAIRE 11 DESCARTES FABLE: THE DISCOURS DE LA METHODE 12 THE REDEMPTION OF VALUE: LAPORTE, WRITING AS ABKURZUNGAndrew Benjamin lectures in philosophy at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Translation and the Nature of Philosophy (1989lC