Wizualne archeologie nowoczesności: Walter Benjamin i Sigfried Giedion

Abstract

In his Arcades Project Benjamin frequently quotes from Giedion’s Bauen in Frankreich, a book on the 19th century’s architecture of iron constructions. Benjamin’s interest in this publication arose from this topic as well as from the structure of visual montage. However, when taking inspiration from Giedion, Benjamin distanced himself from his view on the historical development, focusing on the spectral and anachronistic effects of the 19 th century’s constructions instead. The paper examines the exchange between the two authors, their corresponding ideas of historical research, and the role of visual material in their exploration of the past.