Episode 11: Art is a Haunting Spirit

M. R. James' "The Mezzotint" is one of the most fascinating, and most chilling, examples of the classic ghost story. In this episode, Phil and JF discover what this tale of haunted images and buried secrets tells us about the reality of ideas, the singularity of events, the virtual power of the symbol, and the enduring magic of the art object in the age of mechanical reproduction. To accompany this episode, Phil recorded a full reading of the story. Listen to it here. REFERENCES M.R. James, "The Mezzotint" Robert Aickman, English author of "strange stories" Edgar Allan Poe, "The Oval Portrait" Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" Marshall McLuhan, The Book of Probes Clement Greenberg, American art critic J.F. Martel, Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice Marcel Duchamps, Fountain Henri Bergson, Laughter John Cage, American composer David Lynch (director), Twin Peaks: The Return Gilles Deleuze, Difference and Repetition Vilhelm Hammershøi, Danish painter Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle Martin Heidegger, What is Called Thinking? Stanley Kubrick, [The Shining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining(film))_ Ferruccio Busoni, Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music David Lynch on why you shouldn't watch films on your phone Nelson Goodman, American philosopher Pablo Picasso, Guernica Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master Martin Heidegger, Basic Writings Phil Ford, "No One Understands You"