"At a certain point in time, the motif of the doll acquires a
sociocritical significance. For example: 'You have no idea how repulsive
these automatons and dolls can become, and how one breathes at last on
encountering a full-blooded being in this society.'
-- Walter Benjamin, Arcades Project, (with a quote from Paul Lindau, Der
Abend 1896)
"Empathy with the commodity is fundamentally empathy with exchange value
itself. The flaneur is the virtuoso of this empathy. He takes the concept
of marketability itself for a stroll. Just as his final ambit is the
department store, his last incarnation is the sandwich man."
-- Walter Benjamin, Arcades Project
Tom Walker
Sandwichman and Deconsultant
Bowen Island
(604) 947-2213
