新左讀書會：在靈光消逝的年代讀本雅明系列——《機械複製時代的藝術》New Left Book Club: Reading the Benjamin Series in an Age of Fading Aura - The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

 

本雅明的年代是歐洲資本主義爆炸性增長的年代，他身處的德國正作為後起者正緩緩地跟隨著資本主義的道路，這一歷史時空決定了本雅明在現代性中尋求文化出路的姿態——一名被瑰麗的封建文明碎片吸引的收藏家、一名致力為商品意象解謎的城市漫遊者、一名期待著新藝術在激進政治的地平線上出現的革命追隨者。本雅明的多面向、「矛盾而流動」的生命與創作，為身處「單向度」文化廢墟的我們帶來啟示與救贖的「彌賽亞時刻」。後現代的論述在革命失敗與抑鬱的年代大行其道，但近年來全球各地積壓的社會危機與反抗情緒，卻再度彰顯了解放人類潛能的歷史之門正重新打開，團結起來的人們正向虛無深淵說不——本雅明「星叢與繁星」的方法論為集體行動與個體意志的關係提供了「集體主義」以外的實踐道路。為進一步探求本雅明的思想，新左學社將舉辦一系列本雅明讀本的讀書會，首個文本為《機械複製時代的藝術》，這一作品為本雅明生前少數出版的文本之一，其探討二十世紀初政治、美學與藝術的關係，並帶出人類擺脫藝術中儀式與崇拜的根源，並在爭取自身解放的政治實踐中，利用技術重塑藝術價值的希望。讀書會詳情如下：

次數：共四次，隔週舉行

時段：十一月下旬至一月下旬，時間待商議

模式：線下

地點：待決定

報名鏈接：https://forms.gle/JkTPUeZz9skNuhFi6

Witnessing the slow start of Germany in the midst of the explosive growth of European capitalism defined Benjamin's gesture of seeking a cultural outlet in modernity - a collector drawn to the magnificent fragments of feudal civilisation, an urban wanderer dedicated to demystifying the iconography of commodities, a revolutionary follower anticipating the emergence of a new art on the horizon of radical politics.Benjamin's multi-faceted, 'contradictory and fluid' life and works offer us the possibility of revelation and redemption in a 'one-dimensional' cultural wasteland. While postmodernity was prevalent in the age of failed revolutions and depression, in recent years the backlog of social crises and rebellions around the world has renewed the imagination of human solidarity and emancipation. Benjamin's methodology of ' constellation and stars' suggests a practical alternative to collectivism in the relationship between collective action and individual will. To further explore Benjamin's thought, the New Left Society is organising a series of readings of Benjamin's books, the first of which is Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, one of the few texts published during Benjamin's lifetime, which explores the relationship between politics, aesthetics and art at the beginning of the twentieth century and brings out the hope that human beings can break free from the roots of ritual and worship in art and use technology to reshape the value of art in the political practice of fighting for their own liberation. 

Frequency: 4 sessions, biweekly
Period: Late November to late January, time to be negotiated
Mode: face to face
Venue: To be confirmed

registration link: https://forms.gle/JkTPUeZz9skNuhFi6