Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Leeds : A - Art
Spielraum et Greifbarkeit: un acheminement vers une architecture utopique
Critics identify cinema as Benjamin’s main concern in the "Work of Art" essay. I emphasize architecture, thereby engaging critically with it and its reception. Three strands of architectural thinking are identified: one characterises architecture as a "prison-world ", needy of cinema's spectacular and emancipatory effects; one problematically valorises "technologically reproducible" architecture; the other gestures towards another type of architecture "utopian for the moment". I propose that this third line of architectural thinking best encapsulates Benjamin's notion of "Spielraum" in ways which are still humanly significant, ecologically pertinent, and politically necessary (unlike cinema).
