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Step 6 of 6~8 min read
Reflection: Presence and the Past
Reflect on what aura and the angel of history mean for how you encounter art and memory.
Prompts to consider
- Benjamin says the most perfect reproduction lacks one element: presence in time and space. Think of a time you encountered an original artwork, historical site, or object. What was different about that encounter from seeing a reproduction? Was there something irreducible about it, or is Benjamin wrong?
- The Angel of History sees 'one single catastrophe' where we see a chain of events called progress. Think of a historical 'progress narrative' you have absorbed, technological, social, political. What wreckage might the angel see piling at its feet that the narrative skips over?
- Benjamin's ==Jetztzeit== is a moment when a forgotten past becomes urgently relevant to the present. Has there been a moment in your life when a historical event or figure suddenly felt as though it was speaking directly to your present situation? What made that connection feel alive rather than merely academic?
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