Abstract:
My interest in the term flâneur began three years ago. I had just arrived in New Zealand, taking random photos at night around the Auckland urban area. It was introduced to me by my previous supervisor, I was immediately drawn to this nineteenth century romantic, but modern figure which carries such rich literature influence on arts, music and media study. The scope of my research has expanded towards my professional practice which is photography and motion graphic. In this essay, by primarily using Charles Baudelaire’s writing and his relationship with photography and different artists in the nineteenth century as the main plotline, I will discuss the etymology and evolution of romanticism, urbanization, the birth of photography and the appearance of the flâneur, and how romanticism affected our understanding of love. Doing so enables me to go on to discuss modernity with the work of Édouard Manet and Walter Benjamin’s writing and my thinking about the way of creation and art reproduction in the twenty first century. Followed by a brief introduction of the origins of early cinema, I will discuss the difference between film and digital cameras, and in the end, I will give a conclusion between romanticism and modernity. This essay is meant to support my own fascination with the late nineteenth century aesthetic visual culture and my admiration for a scientific way of thinking.