The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin

The Jewish Museum presents The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin, an exhibition of contemporary photography, video, sculpture, and painting seen through the lens of influential German-Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin’s unfinished magnum opus The Arcades Project. See artworks by Walead Beshty, Andrea Bowers, Chris Burden, Lee Friedlander, Andreas Gursky, Mike Kelley, Collier Schorr, Cindy Sherman, and more, annotated with appropriated texts by poet Kenneth Goldsmith. 

Related public programs

Dialogue and Discourse: Boris Groys and Michael Taussig
The Gertrude and David Fogelson Lecture
Thursday, April 13, 6:30pm
A conversation on the relationship between contemporary art, critical theory, philosophy, anthropology, and the work of Walter Benjamin with Boris Groys, Global Distinguished Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, New York University, and Michal Taussig, Class of 1933, Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, moderated by exhibition curator Jens Hoffmann, Director of Special Exhibitions and Public Programs.
Free with Pay-What-You-Wish admission; RSVP recommended

Bang on a Can: Performance by Vicky Chow
Thursday, April 27, 7:30pm
The pianist and Bang on a Can All Stars member Vicky Chow performs Tristan Perich’s Surface Image for solo piano, a monumental performance-installation with 40-channel 1-bit electronics, echoing the shimmering quality of the 19th-century arcades of Paris and inspired by Walter Benjamin’s renowned essay “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.”
Tickets

Walking tour: New York Flânerie
Sunday, April 30, 3pm
In the spirit of Walter Benjamin’s concept of the flâneur, the idle city stroller and boulevardier, join Jens Hoffmann and author Kenneth Goldsmith, who contributed annotations to the exhibition and publication, on a walking tour exploring some of their favorite Manhattan landmarks.
Tickets

In Response: The Arcades
Sunday, May 7, 6:30pm
Columbia University Visual Arts MFA candidates and recent alumni present new video, performance, and installation-based artworks in response to the exhibition The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin.
Free with RSVP

Performance: Paris Capital of the 19th Century / New York Capital of the 20th Century
Sunday, June 4, 11:30am–5:45pm
Join musician John Zorn and poet Kenneth Goldsmith for a day-long series of collaborations inspired by Walter Benjamin’s masterpiece, The Arcades Project. Every half hour throughout the day, the artists present a series of readings followed by live music in the galleries exploring the themes of prewar Europe and postwar New York.
Free with Museum admission; RSVP recommended

Gallery talks
Thematic explorations of select works of art in the exhibition galleries.
Free with Museum admission; RSVP recommended

The Activist Shopper
Fridays, April 7 and 28, June 2, 2pm

Collecting Fragments
Fridays, April 21 and July 7, 2pm

The Flâneur Past and Present
Fridays, May 5, June 16, and July 21, 2pm

The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin is made possible by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, the Goldie and David Blanksteen Foundation in memory of David Blanksteen, and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

Additional support is provided by the Melva Bucksbaum Fund for Contemporary Art, the Barbara Horowitz Contemporary Art Fund, the Jewish Museum Centennial Exhibition Fund, the Alfred J. Grunebaum Memorial Fund, the Horace W. Goldsmith Exhibitions Endowment Fund, and the Leon Levy Foundation.

The Jewish Museum is under the auspices of The Jewish Theological Seminary.