JAMES, S.E., 2009.

SUBJECT, OBJECT, MIMESIS: THE AESTHETIC WORLD OF THE BECHERS' PHOTOGRAPHY

<jats:p>This paper will examine the critical relationship between subjectivity and objecthood established in Bernd and Hilla Bechers' photography. Building upon existing readings by Blake Stimson and Michael Fried, I argue that Adorno's aesthetic thought, and especially his category of mimesis, offers a way in which both to frame the politics of the subject and object experiences in the Bechers' photography, and to situate these culturally, contextualizing their work within a critical juncture in German history. The Bechers' rejection of the subject and the pursuit of an objective photography are explored in relation to the 'post-Auschwitz taboo on beauty' and the anti-ideology that dominated West Germany of the 1950s. The Bechers' attempt to redeem expression by presenting the frail objectivity and historicity of things is examined in relation to the negative dialectical framework and desubjectifying model of aesthetics formulated by Adorno.</jats:p>