The Ambivalences of Intimacy and Aesthetic and Political Reconfigurations of the Common World

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Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to delve into the theme of intimacy and to analyse its relevance to a philosophical understanding of the city, particularly at an aesthetic and political level. The focus will be on the irresolvable tensions, and thus the constitutive ambivalences, that intimacy sets forth, both at the theoretical level and in artistic practice. To address art’s capacity to touch on difficult issues in a very direct and fruitful way, the chapter begins by considering the work of the Portuguese artist Carla Filipe and the way in which it combines intimacy and an aesthetic and political reconfiguration of the common world. The rest of the chapter is guided by Hannah Arendt’s thinking and her analysis of the “modern discovery of intimacy” and its consequences for the political and social spheres. By intersecting these analyses with the sociological and historical contributions of Richard Sennett, by returning to seminal topoi of Georg Simmel and Walter Benjamin, and by placing particular emphasis on the issue of withdrawal and how contemporary art problematises it, this chapter aims to rethink the city from the point of view of intimacy, combining the reflexive capacity of artistic practices with aesthetic and political reflection.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRethinking the City
Subtitle of host publicationReconfiguration and Fragmentation
EditorsMaria Filomena Molder, Nélio Conceição, Nuno Fonseca
Place of PublicationOxon/New York
PublisherRoutledge | Taylor & Francis Group
Chapter5
Pages60-76
Number of pages17
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-003-45292-8
ISBN (Print)978-1-032-59097-4, 978-1-032-59099-8
Publication statusPublished - 12 Dec 2024

Keywords

  • Intimacy
  • Politics
  • Common World
  • Hannah Arendt
  • Carla Filipe
  • Richard Sennett
  • Georg Simmel
  • Walter Benjamin

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