the paradox of appearing

Paradoxes of Appearing;

Essays on Art, Architecture & Philosophy,

ed. Michael Asgaard Anderson & Henrik Oxvig

(Baden; Lars Muller, 2009)

I came across this book in the MCA reading room after seeing the Olafur Eliasson show. Couldn’t manage to track it down anywhere so I’ve ordered it in but here are a few notes I jotted down, I will try elaborate more when I get hold of the text.

Sensation characterises the space we occupy- it is experienced fleetingly and is unable to be described as it was an object, which we (as subjects) relate to. This ‘mood’ or ‘atmosphere’ of sensation unifies what in philosophy has traditionally been separated into objects and subjects.

The Cartesian construction of perception aimed to give the subject an objective understanding of what they see while Merleau Ponty suggested this process also objectifies the subject as mind & body and hence ignores the capability to perceive through sensing. So Ponty focuses on the situation of perceiving or rather the impact our bodily position within the world has on our reception of the visual.

‘Being’ – Descartes (mind/body dualism) ‘Circumstance’ – Ponty (direct experience)?

The separation of perception as either representation of an objective world (Cartesian) or as dependant on something subjective (Ponty) causes the significance of sensation to be eluded. Rather there is a need to work with syntax itself, work directly with the meeting of these dualisms ie. The field where object and subject are tied together and separated.

Deleuze & Guattari in What is Philosophy? (1991) explore this point of coincidence suggesting that art is not an object perceived by a subject but captures the meeting between sensing and sensed; ‘sensing’ being the experience of, ‘sensed’ the framing of. Hence a work is not process or (re)presentation, perception or reception, it is the meeting of these dualisms.

need to consider

paradox of appearance

appearing as a process

becoming

visibility & (invisibility)

sensing & sensed