Student Blog — Eric on Blanchot

 

Eric Schmaltz

Professor Linda Steer

LART3V96

November 17, 2009

On Blanchot and Orpheus’s Gaze

 

This section of Blanchot’s work discusses, among other things, the relationship between Orpheus, the work he is represented in, and the existence of his image. For Blanchot, it seems, the story of Orpheus rests itself in the loss of Eurydice but this loss is necessary for Orpheus’s existence.  The content of this work is what allows him to exist, “He has life and truth only after the poem and because of it… the song makes him a shade and renders him free, alive and sovereign” (173). If Orpheus had not turned back to look at Eurydice, and send her back to Hades, his story would have never existed. The argument is further complicated when Blanchot writes “He loses Eurydice because he desires her beyond the limits of the song” (173) yet this desire to have Eurydice outside of the story is what created Orpheus. It is the desire to surpass the limitations of the work that affirms his existence. His existence is wrought “in the certainty of failure” (174).

We have been presented an interesting paradox. The failure to fulfill his desire is what liberates his persona. If he had not fulfilled the demand of the work, to cast his gaze back to Eurydice and lose her, the sacrifice would not have been fulfilled and thus he would be forever trapped in obscurity. The paradox then lies in the question of whether or not he is actually free. If one is unable to fulfill his desire, is one actually free? One way to reconcile this paradox is to consider the loss of Eurydice as the creation of a void for Orpheus. This void is charged with negative potential and once the space is void, there is the potential that Orpheus may affirm his existence. The creation of the void, the loss, is by consequence the creation of Orpheus’s presence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student Blog — Eric on Baudrillard

 

November 10, 2009

On Baudrillard

Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation contains a number of deeply profound and complex ideas. The most important comes early on in the work, and can be boiled down into a few but heavily connotative words, these words are: the real does not exist, the world in which we live is merely a series of symbols. Furthermore we, as a society, are continuously creating copies of ideas that only exist as copies. I think he is suggesting that the world is filled only with copies and copies of copies. This denounces many common perceptions of the world in which we live; within this idea frame the illusion no longer exists, morals or ethical standards which we accept to be natural no longer exist. I would like to suggest that this model reduces life to experience, but I think here even experience is only a simulation.

This model of understanding the world as a series of signs reminds me of the idea of understanding the world with language, and this is the only way to understand it. Language is a series of symbols– signs that point to objects in the world. Without language we would not be able to identify or distinguish these ‘objects’ and we would be unable to live within the world we are born into, language is the world we are born into. This idea lends itself to Baudrillard’s article because not only does it preempt it but, with this vein we may be able to suggest that language is the simulation Baudrillard is speaking of. Laws, morals, ethics, and so on are all forms of language and communicated through language, they are also the ways by which we learn to navigate the world.

Student Blog — Eric on Sebald

 

Eric Schmaltz

Professor Linda Steer

LART3V96

November 3, 2009

On ‘The Rings of Saturn’

To be truthful, after reading the excerpts from W.G. Sebald’s “The Rings of Saturn” I couldn’t figure out how to apply our concepts of imitation to it. Sebald’s writing is seemingly a sophisticated stream of conscious account of whatever crosses the mind. Out of frustration I went looking for a secondary source to help ground my reading of the work and give me some means of an approach. Online, I found a book review by Roberta Silman in the NY Times.^[1] She coins the work as a cross between “fiction, travel, biography, myth, and memoir” moving through space and time as though it is written in the “Eternal Present” as if it were a dream. This reading is reminiscent of Borges’ story “The Library of Babel” for its quality of encompassing time, space and history but also of “The Blood of a Poet” for its dream-like quality. Both of these stories suggest a removal from a reality. Arguably this same removal is what is happening in “The Rings of Saturn.” The narrator communicates to us from the ‘eternal present’ but he is communicating it in a way from which we are removed, we do not physically exist within the narrator’s ‘eternal present,’ we are only receiving an account of it.

This problem is pushed further by the inclusion of photographs in the text. It seems as though the pictures are trying to bridge the gap, for the reader, between realities– it brings us to the false notion of ‘if we can see it then it must exist.’ Yet I feel as though it does the opposite, the inclusion of photographs and diagrams makes the work feel more foreign to me. The first image of the window appears intimidating and foreboding, there is something unnerving about the low angle it is shot from; its as though liberation looms yet here it is unachieved. Other pictures such as the images of the bodies being examined and the wide landscape shots, I would suggest have something uncanny about them. This, instead of bringing us closer into the text, pushes us further from the reality of the text. Reconsidering the way the text is written, as a cross between “fiction, travel, biography, myth, and memoir” it actually sounds like a description one might apply to life; it sounds like anyone’s reality. The way this reality is experienced and communicated will differ. With these thoughts in mind, I consider the text to be an imitation of a reality, even though it is not necessarily a reality I am part of, or can fully understand. Instead I think of it as a removal from reality. The text represents a specific a reality, showing us that reality is not necessarily fact based or absolute but rather a perception.

 

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[1] http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/07/26/reviews/980726.26silmant.html

Student Blog — Lindsay on Wilde

 

Reading Response: Nov. 3, 2009

Lindsay Osmun

At the end of his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde asserts that “All art is quite useless”[i].  Yet, it is obvious that his main character Dorian Gray finds many uses for art.  His only contact and connection with his family is through their portraits that he uses to create their history and to explain his own behaviour[ii].  Gray also states that he feels more kinship with fictional ancestors found in books than with real people and that these characters have had a greater influence on his life than his actual friends and family[iii]. This point is demonstrated most clearly in Gray’s use of the French book in chapter eleven to create his own lifestyle.  But, the most obvious example of Gray’s use of art is his exploitation of his own portrait so that he may remain young.  Gray’s reliance on art to create his identity seems to contradict Wilde’s final statement in his preface.  This seems to create a paradox within the novel, but I think it can be argued that what is created is not a paradox, but a warning.  Wilde argues in his preface that the reader should not attempt to find meaning in art. He states: “All art is at once surface and symbol.  Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors”[iv].  Art reveals both the true self that can become frightening to the viewer, for example Gray’s self portrait, or nothing at all which can mislead the viewer, for example the portraits of Gray’s family.  In either case, any knowledge or meaning that the viewer gains from art is dangerous to their person and through his downfall Gray becomes an example of this danger.  It is because Gray creates his identity through art that he is eventually ruined.  This is because art means nothing, so his identity created through art also means nothing.  Thus, the “moral” of Wilde’s novel seems not to be that art is useless, but that it is false and superficial and that by creating meaning in art you are setting yourself up for, if not destruction, then at least embarrassment.  Admire beauty for what is it is, simply beauty, and you shall be “cultivated” and “elect”[v].

 

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[i] Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, (London: Laurel Press, 1987), 15.

[ii] Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, (London: Laurel Press, 1987), 98.

[iii] Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, (London: Laurel Press, 1987), 98.

[iv] Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, (London: Laurel Press, 1987), 15.

[v] Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, (London: Laurel Press, 1987), 15.

 

Bibliography

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. London: Laurel Press, 1987.

Student Blog — Marco on Wilde

Dorian Gray

At the end of chapter 19 in Wilde’s novel, Dorian Gray expresses his frustrations with the yellow book to Lord Henry: “it does harm” (pg 258). Henry disagrees that a book could ever do such things to a man, because “art has no influence upon action” (pg 258).  Obviously we know this is not true, because of the yellow book, and the portrait, which seems to represent a double imitation in the novel. The portrait imitates Dorian in appearance and conscience, while Dorian imitates the portrait in his actions (due to the strong influence the portrait has over Dorian), even though he is the one who influenced the appearance of the portrait in the first place – a true ‘chicken or the egg’ situation.

“It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors” (pg 4) is a statement included in the preface .The statement certainly applies to the portrait of Dorian Gray, which mirrors Dorian as I’ve discussed. The preface seems to be made up of statements about art in general, so if at all, how is this relevant when thinking about other works of art? Once art has already been produced, it can’t change and mirror the spectator in appearance. When we view a piece of art, we visually analyze the piece and we also think about the meaning; each person gives the piece a different meaning, depending on the situation or experience we are reminded of. Perhaps by art mirroring the spectator Wilde is discussing the meaning that we place on a piece of art, and that everybody takes something different from a painting, or sculpture. We see ourselves differently within each painting. This seems like the only way that art can be a ‘mirror’ to everybody while being unique to spectator.

-Marco Bortolin

Post-Class Notes & Announcements

Here are the slides I showed in class tonight:  some notes on Baudrillard

(Remember, though, that  The Matrix is more like Plato’s cave than Baudrillard’s hyperreality, for it presupposes  an authentic “real.”)

We didn’t get a chance to talk about how Baudrillard refers to our friend Borges, but perhaps we can do that at the beginning of class next week.  What do you think Baudrillard means when he says that “the map precedes the territory” when he refers to Borges’ story “On Exactitude in Science”?

If you think of any other examples of simulacra or of hyperreality over the next week, please bring them to class on Tuesday.

For those of you who missed class, I handed out copies of next week’s readings, taken from The Space of Literature by Maurice Blanchot.  I will place copies in a folder attached to my office door.  They will be available for pickup any time after 3pm tomorrow, although building access may be limited on he weekend.  Please contact me with any questions.

Reading November 10

November 10 — A Copy without a Referent: Baudrillard

• Jean Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra,” in Simulacra and Simulation, translated by Sheila Faria Glaser, pp. 1-42.  Reserve.

Take your time with this text.  It is not long, but it is complex.  Read it at least twice and take good notes. Find the main idea of each paragraph.  Bring a list of examples of simulacra to class for discussion.

Readings — November 3

November 3 — Photography and the Myth of the Real

Think about photography.  What do we believe about photographs?  How are they used in our culture?  Make a list of all the different places you might see photographs and bring it to class.

Read this book:

• WG Sebald, The Rings of Saturn, New Directions, 1998, chapters 1-3, pp. 3-71.  Photocopies are on reserve in the library.

There are three separate photocopies on reserve in the library.

When reading, pay particular attention to the photographs in the text.  How are they used?  What is the relationship of image to text?  What do the photographs contribute to the story?

Lindsay on Blood of a Poet

Reading Response: Oct. 27, 2009

Lindsay Osmun

In this response I would like to expand upon my earlier analysis that Cocteau’s film Blood of a Poet is a critique on the Pygmalion myth.  In this film, Cocteau seems to be applying Plato’s warning that the passion that art invokes can be dangerous as Cocteau shows the fatal consequences that can occur when one is completely controlled by one’s art.  In Ovid’s Pygmalion, the sculptor is so overcome by his creation that he begins to believe that she is real and treats her as such by making her his “bedfellow”[i].  The poet also writes that the sculptor develops “a passionate love for this image of a human form”[ii].  In Cocteau’s film the sculptor also falls in love with his creation as is evidenced when he begins to kiss the mouth on his hand[iii], but instead of being able to control his creation as Pygmalion can it is the sculptor who is controlled.  His creation’s influence eventually leads to the sculptor’s suicide[iv].  It was suggested in last week’s seminar that Cocteau was presenting a feminist interpretation of the myth and I think that this interpretation is valid.  Cocteau’s film not only shows the consequences of becoming too passionate about one’s art, but he shows what happens when the art, specifically his female sculpture, talks back.  Whereas in Ovid’s myth the female statue remains mute and submissive to the wills of Pygmalion, Cocteau’s statue must be destroyed before it will become submissive to the sculptor[v].  By allowing his female sculpture to have not only a voice but a will of her own, Cocteau is arguing for feminist ideology and challenging Ovid’s misogynistic representation of women.  Whether one buys into the feminist reading of this film, or prefers another interpretation, it is still obvious when examing the changes that Cocteau has made to the traditional Pygmalion myth that he is offering a critique of Ovid’s representation of art and the artist.

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[i] Ovid, Trans. Mary M. Innes, “Pygmalion and Galatea,” Metamorphoses, (London: Penguin Books, 1955), 232.

[ii] Ovid, Trans. Mary M. Innes, “Pygmalion and Galatea,” Metamorphoses, (London: Penguin Books, 1955), 231.

[iii] Cocteau, Jean. The Blood of a Poet.

[iv] Cocteau, Jean. The Blood of a Poet.

[v] Cocteau, Jean. The Blood of a Poet.

Bibliography

Cocteau, Jean. The Blood of a Poet.

Ovid. “Pygmalion and Galatea.” Metamorphoses. Trans. Mary M. Innes. London:

Penguin Books, 1955. 231-232.

Student Blog — Eric on Pygmalion

On Pygmalion by Ovid

Though several readings can be applied to Ovid’s story of “Pygmalion” one of the main concerns that is addressed is the privileging of art over life. The tale is about  Pygmalion, a man who is disgusted by women who “spend/ Their days in wickedness, and horrified/ At all the countless vices natures” (1-3), and thus he chooses to be celibate. Pygmalion is also a sculptor and from ivory he carves the image of a woman, and falls in love with it. Venus brings it to life for him and he and the live statue have a child.

A motif that has emerged from several of the works in this course seems to be being unsatisfied with the real, material world. This is communicated in Alberti’s article on painting as well as in the story of Zeuxis. It forces us to ask what is unsatisfying about reality and why art is more satisfying? It may suggest that there is something innate in our humanity to be unsatisfied with our surroundings so we desire to exert control over life in any way we can. The story might also be indicating something about the ego of the artist, after all it is Pygmalion’s own work that he falls in love with. In this way the story might be a critique of the artist in relation to his creation, he is in love with his creation and thus in love with himself.

The main problem that lies in this text, for me, is the treatment of the woman as artifice. Pygmalion has created a woman with his image of the perfect woman in mind. The text has some misogynistic undertones running through it, quite possibly communicating to us the dominance of the patriarchy in Ovid’s society. I think there’s something more in the work, however, and I can’t quite place my finger on it.

– Eric Schmaltz