Annotated Bibliography Pt. Two

Bansky, (2010). Exit through the gift shop [DVD].

As I was reading the Benjamin article I was struck by the discussion of transfering old art into new platforms and how it somewhat loses its autotomy in the process.  This film by underground London street artist Bansky is a great representation of that principle in action.  Bansky, and other street artists like Shepard Fairey, expose part of their process which includes helping along a new artist that does nothing but reappropriate old portraits and make them his own. It is a facinating document mostly because you do know whether Banksy is telling the truth or elaborating on a lie.  The whole film becomes an almost post modern piece of literature that laughs at the established art world and how it interacts with outside society.  For me this is a good extension of the articles we are looking at this week.  This film really helped me to visualize many of the thoughts that are going on in these pieces.

Levy, B(2004). War, evil, and the end of history. (1 ed.). Hoboken: Melville House Publishing.

This was one of the first pieces of French philosophy that I read.  I am not only bringing in this book because it is a fracinating piece of contemporary philosophy but because Bernard-Henri Levy draws heavily on the Frankfurt school as he struggles with his thoughts on war, journalism, the white space of history, and repeating the same day over and over again.  His concept of Uchronia, which was coined in the 1900s, is adapted to talk about literature and the constant wars that upset the society in which we live.  It is a fantastic extension of the thoughts we are discussing in class and is a great entry point for contemporary philosophy.  If anyone would like to read some of this I can copy off the pertinent pages.