Re: WB's Anthropological Materialism

["L Spencer" <L.SPENCER@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>can you elaborate a little on 'anthropological materialism'?
>
>Angela --- rcollins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 I think Adorno is thinking of Benjamin's ideas in the most important
essays written in connection with the Arcades project: Benjamin's
"Work of Art" essay, "The Storyteller", "Surrealism" and "On Some
Motifs in Baudelaire". In each of them Benjamin makes specific
reference to the body in his (anthropological) investigations of
cultural changes. Baudelaire's poetry is said to reflect the haptic
experiences of jostling crowds in the street, the storyteller's tales
are connected with spinning and weaving and the work of the potter
(taking time, leaving traces), film allows us to explore the changes
in the way we perceive time and space. In the Surrealism essay
Benjamin projects the need for a new image- and body-space. A book on
this last concept has been written by Sigrid Wiegel and is available
in English translation from Routledge.

Lloyd