Lyotard - Presenting the Unpresentable - The Sublime

8/10/2019 Lyotard - Presenting the Unpresentable - The Sublime

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J.MW Tu. rhe Pnk Sk, afl 182 wtcO, 7V I s Th Brltsn Muem Lod

PRESENTING THE UNPRESENTABLE: TE SUBLIME

J-Fri Lyd

t S not just potography that has rendered theprofesso of paitng "mpossbe"; to clam that itwas wold be like sayng that tpane Mallarm'swork,or James Joyces were simply resposes to hedeveopment of jouralism. Paintings impossbilityarises from the industal ad posidstriatecno-scientificworlds geater eed for photography thafor paintig, st as that world needs jouralism moretha it does literature. The mometm of this worldbrought with it the decline of the socalled nobleprofessios which had belonged to the prvIos

world as well as the cotractio of tha earlier world.ainig won its nobe Imprimur, w kd as a

Fine At, ad was awarded almost py privilgesdurng the Quaroceto th turi tht followedit contribted its share towrd riig th mea-physical ad politcal progr of vil nd socalorder. ptical geomey th ordrig of colors andvalues according to a hirrchy of Nopltonic Inspi-ratio ad the pictorial l ht trd and crys-taized the heydays of rligio or hitorcal legendheped itill a ses of idity th new political

commtiethe City the tate the atioby

alotting them the fate of seeng all through eason adthus makng the world transparen (cea and ds-tict The narative rba, architectural relgUSand ethcal compoets of these commuties weregiven order on the picoal plane by the painters eyeaccordig to Leon Battisa lbertis colzOe egl-ma boadly e laws o perspective). n trn the eyeof the moarch registered a wellodered nivese allhe way to the vashng point. Exibied in thechuches ad he great als of seignorial or civicpalaces these represetatons allowed every mem-

ber of the commty he same pOSSblty as themoarc or he painter for an identity witin andmasery over tha unverse The moder cocept ofSatethe republic or the democracyis foreshad-owed by this commoner, who i perceptual union withthe oarch is a virtual price and wo wil latebecome the citie. The moder cocept of cltuestems from this pblic access 10 historcalpoiticalidentfyng sgns ad to their colective InterpretationMseums perpetate this taditon but more poited-ly, a gace into the hals of Congress n Wasngton

or Into the Chambre des dpts In Pas ass o

the fact tat this cassical spatial organizao s olimted to mseum paitngs, but strctres the repe-sentaton of the body pOltic itself The extent to whichthe plans of Greek ad Roma pblc places are paradgms f or the moden socIopolitcal area IS clear

hotogaphy acheves thS program of metapolti-cal visal and social orderig t acheves it n bothseses of the word. It reales it, and it cocludes ItThe knowhow and kowledge tha were gve sb-sance ad were transmtted i the scoo and thestudio are ow programed Iside the photographic

machie. a sigle click an ordinary citize whethraateur or torist ca organie his or her idetifyigspaces and make a picture that eriches the cultrameorybak. mproved cotporary insttsfree oe fro te probem of lengthy poses of focusing apertre selection ad develOng haks 0optcal chemcal mechanica and electronic refie-ments the photographic machine makes cetain ofte skillsexperienceand training that were requredof the appretce painter (such as eradicatig badhabits edcatig the eye, hand body and sol, i


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Ag Marin, UncI/ld '6, 198. geso clic a raphit 0 cv 72 x ",

orer to elevate them o a new order) available to theamter. All te amateur ha to o is coose a subjectan even tere the photograper is guie by cus-tom an connotations, though they can be ignoredan te nepecte an be oghtas it oten isRr eog os se amaeurphoogphy over he coure te 19th cenuybcame a means prospecting and iscovering,an even of ethnological inuiry. he old polticaltio of painting became fragmente; the panterwa a ethoogist olitle ethnologies,ad te com-munity ow had less of a ee to idenify wit itsprne, its core than it a o eplore its bounariesmateur potographers mae fiel trips tey ret wit ocuments

Pints a aeay se emseves the ask 01ocumenaion (one tinks here of Gustave Corbetof Eoar Maet), but they were quickly overtaenin this Their proceres Qu ot compete: slowproessioal learning processes costly materialslegthy production peros, ffilt objects to man-agin shot te cos of te whole endeavor washi, compare to the reatively mnima total cost of

makig a photograph. Later Marcel Duchamp conclue that it was no longer te ime to pant Witphotography, the iea of the Industrial readymaea arved hose paiters who pesisted ha toofron phoograpy's callenge, and so they e-gage e aecc te avagae wc d asake the question What i aintig? Paiting be-came a philosophcal activity prevosly efinedrules governig te formation o pictorial images werenot enncate an appled atomatcaly Raher,paitings rle became te reevaluation of thosepctorial ules as phlosophy reevaluates pilosophi-

cal synaxThus avantgarde painters cut themselves of fromthe public wo were already hanling wellreglatepoogapic qpn. nd d bee lfngthoug "ea pctres (an seeing he at themovies as well). That pubic remaned onvinced tatthe programs for artificial perspective a to bemaitaine a d not erstand that it can take ayear to make a bank square in other wors to creaenothig (assuming tat tats the only form of theunrepresentable)

Ts potography entere the fiel hat ha beenopened p by te classca estetics of magery, hesthetics of beaty. ike cassica paitig of theRenassance, potograpy called upon commaltase The nature of hi consenss owever poony modifi n poogp, s t s hewhole field of esthei objecs in the contemporaryWestern world mmanel Kat insisted that cosess as to what is beautful mst remai free; in otherwors, that it is ot regulate o by laws. Thewidesprea itroction of istial a postis-trial tecosciences, of whic he inveto o pho-

togrphy

oly one aspe eviety signifes pais-taig pogramming by mes optical chemicaan photoelectronic procees of the proucton ofbuul mages ese mages mmeiatey bea thestamp the aws o nowedge The Ineterminate,since it oes not alow or pecision wH ave o beeiminated, an wit it goes feeing Te person forwom these beauil pictures are itene is aconsmer of inse poucts otographys alli-bilty is tat of te pefecty progammed ts bty ISthat Voyager .


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Ls cf 31J is th gatv aspec the dwevovd in producg the mcne t podces thephtogp he amtr has to chose a subectbu the ook s cotroed by the nufcturer. Experece s th ms of afects-f poecons dmemoestha mst pesh ad be bn f aysubject tta e epesso of is essece Thebdy mateu potogrphy has lo nothng todo wth xperience and owes most everyg o theexpemets of ndustil eseac labotoes. As esut it s no ut beut but too beauif Somethg neret s "to: a fnty ot thendetmnacy f feling but the nfte by OCece, of echlogy, of capilsm t elie hbity o mahies to fco I by prcpe sbectt ooescece becuse the accmplsmets ofhe most esteemed captaiss demand the perpetefomulo o mercandse and he creai o ewmaes he dness of idstri beaty coasth nty of tecnoscetfc nd ecoom ess.

The destu f eperce h ths ipls is notsmpy due to he Intodcto of at whch I wcoceved into e eld of etetcs. Sece echoogy d cptl pie of ther mtte-ofactpproah ae aso modes o mag oncete efiy o Ideas. Kowing al beg capable of ahvng aUae he orizoad zos eend tnfity. h ready-mde the tcho-scencs presents tsef s potenal for ifnite podcto and sodoes e ptograph. ti sense amateu poogpy, atist gace o muc moe th he cosmmai o t macne's Image-mkg cpcitsalso beongs to the Ifinite dalctic of deas in eprcess of beg eaedte ste of consmgad thee eads a ew codiio e ed oxpeenc s o doubt he end of poetcs bt s sohe cocetzo o a beve infity whch otIualy oscts ad deconstucts e wod d oewhren the idVd t whve eve of the scaherarchy I bth voltay and vouay sbect

flows ht the dfiion o a w-rzd phoogaphic iage iialy ed to e rules of aifcperspecv I bec to revson. Phoogapy enes Ino at nite fed opeed p by ehnoscetfic reserch t ta fnctI iherted fomte detiyig as assgned t pantg n th uaoceo als to dse a dos e gera commys prevous defintio of s Idety. n tce stae o technoscece d accumuatedcaptl te deeloped wod commny detyequres o spital legnce no does t dmad agand, haed deoogy, but t cysalzes tedthogh e medato of e tot sum of goods adseces, whch e beg excaged a a pdgOrte t the edge o the 2st ceuy the serch foowledge, ecnology nd capta ede heey tutre o ou langages T d ucton of the tte as shted i eed 0 lge incarae e Idea of commuty ad teds std 10denfy with nfie pote l t geneae data

CI(e of Pielo da Frasca. Idl Townscep. 7 Q'a 2: ) 78"IS az Due UbO tay

Jaqu- u DVi, Oth f rmS Co. 19 k an poncd 0 p 2


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Phctr.grapher une.nown, Uf l Ued

1850 DaguerreotypA The

MI.. S 7lJlI I))dsrr. Art Nevv York

Gord Ofslcw-Frd W,hou Boun 19 ; on (VJ 28h x 36>'

knowow ad wealth. Witn ts red photographyis releved of te responsibility for ieological ienticaton whch it ierted from pctoral tradton andmakes room for researc and of corse for potographic art. We are past deplorig mechanical re

prodcblity In works of art; we now tat industryoesnt mea the en o the arts only their mtation

he question, What IS potography draws photograpic researches into a dalectc comparable to

that of the pctorial avant-garde.The pictorial avat-gare as we have seen re

sponded to paitng's "impossblty by engaging Inresearc cetered arond the question What IS

paiting? ne after another prevIos assmptionsabot the painters pactce were pt o trial aebate. Tonaity linear perspectve the reneng of

values te frame format the spports, surfacemedm Instrment place of exhbtion and many

oter prespposition ere estioned plasically bythe varis avat-gades. Modern paners discov

Gry Wlnognd, s 14 back and white potograp T8

Mum f Nw York

Dvi Sr A Hoebe x 1 CK an wiepotogrp

ered a they had to represet the existece of tatwhc was not demosable if the perspectival lawsof cosruzOne legima were ollowe Tey set abotto evolutonize the spposed visa gives in order to

revea tat te fel of VSon simltaneously cocealsan eeds the invsible that it relates theefore otonly to te eye but to te spirit as well.

Ths they introdce paiting Ito te fiel openeby te eshetics of te sbimewhich is ot gov

erne by a consensus of taste. Avant-garde paitngeldes the esthetcs of beauty I tat it oes not rawon a commna sense of shaed pleasure To tepblc tase its procts seem "monstros fom

less prey "negatve nonentites (I am Sng terms

by whic Kant charactere those objects tat giverise to a sense of the sblime) When oe represents

te oemosrable, represetaton itself is martyred. Among oter thngs thS means that ether

paintng nor the viewing pblic can aw on establshed symbols figures or plastc forms that would

permt the sense or te nderstadng of tere being

In these Idea works ay qestion of the kid of reasoad imaginaton that existed i RomaoCrstapaiting. n our technoscietific nstrial world thereare o consstent symbols for good just tre ifniteetc There ave been cera realsms usually

academcborgeIs at te end of the t 9t centurySOast and national-socalist Ung te 20hthatave trie to reintroduce symbolsm to ofer te

pbic accessibe works of art which ll alow It toidentfy wh spefic Ideas (race socialism natonetc) We know these attempts always cal for theelmnaton of the avat-gare For its part the avantgare, in its proigious effo of questioning prece

dents of pantng manages to eglect tterly itscultra responsibiity for nifyng taste and proviIng a sense of communa idetiy by means of visal

symbols Te avant-garde painter feels a overidg

responsibilty to the fulfilment of the imperative mple by he qestin Wha I patng? Essetally


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wat a ae n te wo e emonaon of eexience of he vsb n te vial. e ak ofclivatng" he pubic come lae.

hat wic is not emonsable i tat which temom eas a fo wc e caot cite repreeay example case i pOi, or vn ymbol . Thverse i not emonstrable eter hmaty theen of istoy the moment the species the goo hejt etcor acoring to Kan abolutes in gener-

albecase o repreent i to make relativ o placen conext within contion of represenain ere-oe one cannot represent te abolte but one caneonsate that the abolute exitsthrogh neg-atve epresenation whic ant calle te "ab-tract." Te oment of absac paintng ince10 ss fro rigors f iic, viruly -gaspale llsos o he ivisil wihi h visal

e sbime is he sense tat these wors raw uponnot e batifl.

e sime IS not simple gratification but the

graificaton of effor t i impoible to represent heaolute wc i ngratfyng; but one know thatone as to at the facty of feeling or of imagning icale pon to ake the perceptible represent teineffablean even if thi fai an even if thatcaefering, a pre gatifcation wil emerge fromh sio. I s ot rpsg to fn he tem sblimein llae Apollinaire's esay on Moern paint-ns in Barnett Newman's writing an painting titlesin ex publishe by any more recen avangar-i ring the 196s. e wor belong to theoantic vocablary

e pictorial avantgares aceve romanti-cisin ote wor, a Moernim (alreay pre-sage by Petroni n Agine) which signifieste weakening of the lns beween hat whic can beel nd tha wc can be ertoo Bt at thea ie hey wee byproucs of a roancnostalgia becaue hey looke to heir imeiateccstance to the actual conition of the art-aing process Marcel Prost wa till a oantic

oyce es so, an Getre tein even les HenyFseli an Capar Davi Frerch were omanticand o wa Egne elacroix: aul zanne le ote Delanay an Piet Monrian barely at all. eelast tree were areay ollowing the experimentalimperative (i what they accopie if not alway inw ey wote Teir sbime wa uametaynt notalgic an tene owar the nty of plasicexperient rather tan towar the representaion ofany lot abole. n ti their work belong to theconteporary instal, tecnSientific wor.

As for Achille Bonito Olivas "ransavantgarean ilar current notion in taly Germany an teUne tate (incling Chaes Jenc posto-ernism In arcitectrewhich the reaer will kinlynot confe with wat have eferre to in the pat aste "potmoer conitio" i i clear tat ne thepretext of conoiatin the avagae taton it sin eec squanering i at traition can only conveyiself trog the ialectic f refutation an quetion-ing Drawing im conclusion especially by processof aiion, mean the en of ha iaectic an theencorageent of te eclecticism of conmerism

I deric EdWn CUh. Laar o pape 8 1 Coper Hewi Ms w YOk

Mark Rothk. Numb B 1952 oil n cavas. BY x 68". M d M Bu l Treri16 Mdn Ct


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Bnce Md, Moro" Pa 978. an wax o ava x 8

ixig no o hyperealtc moif wil lycallyabtract o concepual oe on a ingle face isayng tat veyting i s qual bcaus vrytig iseay to conse. It mean etablshig ad ratifyingnew tat Thi tate is not Tast EcctCimande to te habts magaze eade o teneeds coe o adad ndusra agey 10the sensby of e pearke soppe. at dof potMOdrsm to the extent that it tsby

man of cic cuators, gally drcto and col-ctoinne pese o artit align pictoialinquiy to t curet sate of cultue and tipatists of thei espoSbility to th qstion of thenodemotrable. That qetio i to me th onlyon woty of ife' ig staks and of th wold ofthoght i th comig centy. Any deia of atqueso a eacead one tha cao e g-oed a tate to ea te tenon bewee eac o pag and te essece of paig wh it ta very tio which stimulatd one of th mot

heoic cntuis of Wstr panting. is mnaceimpli th couption o paintig oowhich tufa as rmained intact in pite of the wost tmpta-tion of t tat and of the makt.

The goving princpl of the postidutialtecocc wod is ot te eed o represenIe represenae, b ae e oppose prcpe.To t away o t prcipetha iiniy i inent in t vry dalectic o achi abd imprac-tcal and actionay. It i ot up to e artit toeitate a makebelieve "eality which he dive

towad knowldge tecoogy and walt wil contiually detoy in od to place it with a vsioconsidd mor viableand wc itelf will evetu-ally be eplaced T spiit of th time i uly notthat of th mly pleasant: its miio remais thatof the immanent ublime tat of alludig to thenodemotrabl It goes without sayng that uch ao cae agis but pait a no sjeco e esto How ca we avod ags? Teyae bec o e qeso "Wa s ag?" n

addition ty ar alo bject to te question owdo w commnicate our paitig to tos wo ar notpaintesbut thi doe not mea that te two olesae to be cofued. To confu thm would becompaabl to th piloope confsig responi-bility to thoght wi espoibiity to t pblice posbity of conicag he eag ofougs and atg beogs to e eecua. Inac, e quesion Wa hougt pac thphlosop i an avantgade posiion Tat i wy hdar spak of paints hi brother ad siSles in

pimentatio .

Te subt 01 rpaonIS 1 Ch bfd pn.losph ttuI be t iv t piec s critial klc. an lr-rQgaalyiF L

Ja d IS oeo hy h Uvt f P V( Vie) H h t bs h h a.

Tad fm h b L La

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Lyotard - Presenting the Unpresentable - The Sublime