Walter Benjamin 1990

Curator: Peter Kennard's photomontage, "Walter Benjamin", features a stark black and white palette. Its dimensions measure 235 by 400 mm. Editor: It’s unsettling, the graphic weight and the contrasts. The looming face, the symbol...it feels oppressive, violent. Curator: Indeed. Kennard employs sharp juxtapositions. Note the fragmented portrait of Benjamin, a line of Mona Lisa reproductions leading to a shattered swastika. Editor: The Mona Lisas evoke a linear progression ending in destruction. The swastika, defaced, retains its symbolic power, a chilling emblem of historical trauma. The face suggests the weight of that history. Curator: The artist's focus on texture and form guides our reading. The juxtaposition creates a dynamic tension, a break in the expected, a disruption. Editor: It's a potent reminder; symbols, even damaged, hold their power. It urges us to grapple with the continuum of history.