Walter Benjamin’s arcades project & contemporary art

We went to the Jewish Museum to see the marvelous exhibit of contemporary art & poetry made in response to — and/or influenced by — Walter Benjamin’s remarkable Arcades Project. The show was partly curated by Kenneth Goldsmith, who arranged collaged texts and quotations to accompany each element of the show, and no doubt was responsible for identifying some or many of the artists whose work is represented in the various “convolutes” (chapter-ish sections) of the anti-taxinomic categories Benjamin assembled. Here are the opening words of the catalogue:

The writings of Walter Benjamin, the influential German Jewish philosopher and cultural critic, are the basis for a contemporary art exhibition at the Jewish Museum from March 17 through August 6, 2017. The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin examines themes in the author’s magnum opus The Arcades Project via contemporary artworks in media ranging from photography and video to sculpture and painting, with annotations by the American poet Kenneth Goldsmith.

And here are various photographs I took with my iPhone, including several of Erica Baum’s contributions to the show. Click on any image for a larger view.