Portrait

Jean-Luc Nancy, Sarah Clift, Simon Sparks

Description

Portraits, this book suggests, unlock the paradoxes of subjectivity. Nancy shows how the portrait, far from conveying a sitter's self-sameness, is suspended between proximity and distance, likeness and strangeness, representation and presentation, the faithful and the forceful. A portrait can identify an individual, but it can also express a more complex double movement of approach and withdrawal. Portrait comprises two extended essays in close conversation, written a decade apart, in which Nancy considers the range of aspirations articulated by the portrait. Accompanied by three dozen illustrations, it also includes a new preface written for the English-language edition and a substantial introduction by Jeffrey Librett, which situates the work within a range religious, aesthetic, and psychoanalytic accounts of the subject. Portrait is grounded in a bold and searching engagement with the traditions out of which our thinking about the subject has emerged. It is also a playful series of readings that draws on a wide range of portraits: from carvings on ancient drinking vessels to recent experimental or parodic pieces in which sitters are rendered in the 'media' of their own blood, germ culture, or DNA. Photos are ubiquitous today, but Nancy argues that this in no way makes thinking about the portrait an idle pursuit. On the contrary, the forms of appearing (and disappearing) that mark portraits-old and new-can serve to renew our exploration of the human figure today. At stake is what Nancy calls "the very possibility of our being present." This work received the French Voices Award for excellence in publication and translation. French Voices is a program created and funded by the French Embassy in the United States and FACE (French American Cultural Exchange).

Sujets

• Western philosophy
• Literary theory

Informations

• Publié par: Fordham University Press
• Date de parution: 12 juin 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780823279975
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 90 Mo

Extrait

P O R T R A I T

Sara Guyer and Brian McGrath, series editors ît Z emraçes modes o çrîtîçîsm unçontaîned y çonventîona notîons o hîstory, perîodîçîty, and çuture, and çommîtted to the work o readîng. Books în the serîes may seem untîmey, anaçhronîstîç, or out o touçh wîth çontemporary trends eçause they have arrîved too eary or too ate. ît Z çreates a spaçe or ooks that exçeed and çhaenge the tendençîes o our Ied and în doîng so reLeçt on the çonçerns o îterary studîes here and aroad. At east sînçe Frîedrîçh Sçhege, thînkîng that airms îterature’s own untîmeîness has een named romantîçîsm. Reçaîng thîs hîstory, ît Z exempîIes the survîva o romantîçîsm as a mode o çontemporary çrîtîçîsm, as we as orms o çontemporary çrîtîçîsm that demonstrate the unuIed possîîîtîes o romantîçîsm. Whether or not they oçus on the romantîç perîod, ooks în thîs serîes epîtomîze romantîçîsm as a way o thînkîng that çompes another reatîon to the present. ît Z îs the Irst ook serîes to take serîousy thîs çapaçîous sense o romantîçîsm. ïn 1977, Pau de Man and Geofrey Hartman, two sçhoars o romantîçîsm, team-taught a çourse çaed îterature Z that aîmed to make an înterventîon înto the undamentas o îterary study. Hartman and de Man învîted students to read a serîes o înçreasîngy dîiçut texts and through attentîon to anguage and rhetorîç çompeed them to ençounter “the ewîderîng varîety o ways suçh texts çoud e read.” The serîes’ çonçeptua resonançes wîth that çass regîster the împortançe o reçoeçtîon, reînventîon, and readîng to çontemporary çrîtîçîsm. ïts ooks expore the çreatîve potentîa o readîng’s untîmeîness and hîstory’s enîgmatîç orçe.

PORTRAIT

Jean-Luc Nancy Introduction by Jerey S. Librett Translated by Sarah Clit and Simon Sparks

Fordham Unîversîty Press New York 2018

Copyrîght © 2018 Fordham Unîversîty Press

A rîghts reserved. No part o thîs puîçatîon may e reproduçed, stored în a retrîeva system, or transmîtted în any orm or y any means—eeçtronîç, meçhanîça, photoçopy, reçordîng, or any other—exçept or rîe quotatîons în prînted revîews, wîthout the prîor permîssîon o the puîsher.

“The ook o the Portraît” was orîgînay puîshed în Frençh as Jean-uç Nançy,Le regard du portraît, çopyrîght © Édîtîons Gaîée, 2000. Sîmon Sparks’s transatîon was prevîousy puîshed în Engîsh as “The ook o the Portraît,” în Jean-uç Nançy, Mutîpe Arts: The Muses ïï, 220–47, çopyrîght © 2006 y the Board o Trustees o the eand Stanord Jr. Unîversîty. “The Other Portraît” was orîgînay puîshed în Frençh as Jean-uç Nançy,L’autre Portraît, çopyrîght © Édîtîons Gaîée, 2014, and appears here or the Irst tîme în Engîsh.

Thîs work reçeîved the Frençh Voîçes Award or exçeençe în puîçatîon and transatîon. Frençh Voîçes îs a program çreated and unded y the Frençh Emassy în the Unîted States and FACE (Frençh Amerîçan Cutura Exçhange). Frençh Voîçes ogo desîgned y Serge Boçh.

Fordham Unîversîty Press has no responsîîîty or the persîstençe or aççuraçy o URs or externa or thîrd-party ïnternet wesîtes reerred to în thîs puîçatîon and does not guarantee that any çontent on suçh wesîtes îs, or wî remaîn, aççurate or approprîate.

Fordham Unîversîty Press aso puîshes îts ooks în a varîety o eeçtronîç ormats. Some çontent that appears în prînt may not e avaîae în eeçtronîç ooks.

Vîsît us onîne at www.ordhampress.çom.

îrary o Congress Contro Numer: 2018933435

Prînted în the Unîted States o Amerîça

20 19 18 5 4 3 2 1

Fîrst edîtîon

Contents

Preaçe to the Engîsh-anguage Edîtîon

ïntroduçtîon: The Sujeçt o the Portraît Jerey S. îrett

The Look o the Portrait The Autonomous Portraît Resemançe Reça ook

The Other Portrait L’atro rîtratto Charaçter The Eye Vîsageîty Mîmesîs Wîthdrawn Presençe ïpseîty Theophany Reveatîon Dîvîne Aandonment Dîs-îguratîon Eçîpse ïnînîte Detaçhment Coda ï Coda ïï Coda ïïï Notes Lîst o Fîgures

vîî 1

13 21 29 36

47 51 54 56 59 63 67 72 76 81 84 89 93 99 101 104 109 125

Preace to the English -Language Edition

“The portraît oten seems to e the açtîon or expressîon o îts çause (whîçh îs the sujeçt, or the mode); ît îs a spaçe entîrey rooted în the sujeçt.” —Jean-ouîs Sçheer,Fîgures peîntes

The portraît îs suspended etween two extremes: On the one hand, ît tends toward îkeness, and on the other, toward strangeness. On the one hand, ît îdentîIes, and on the other, ît dîstançes. The Irst sîde îs that o proxîmîty, reç- ognîtîon, desçrîptîon, and îusîon; the seçond îs that o dîstançe, questîonîng, suggestîveness, and ençounter. One çoud say that presençe îs the shared order o those two extremes. Presençe îs îtse an amîvaent theme: Eîther we îmagîne ît as a u reaîty, îmmedîate, and çosed upon îtse, or ese ît îs thought to e the çomîng, the approaçh, or the openîng o an aterîty. ït îs eîther a questîon o what îs çaed a representatîon în the ordînary sense o the term (a çopy, aac-sîmîe), or ese ît îs a presentatîon, a gesture that învîtes or suggests. Eîther the îmage dîsposes or ît proposes. Thîs îs why the art o the portraît has aways een more or ess çeary dî- vîded etween two regîmes o judgment: eîther a judgment aout exaçtness, or one aout orçeuness. A portraît îs eîther aîthu, preçîse, servîçeae or îdentîyîng an “îndîvîdua,” or ese ît îs poweru, expressîng dynamîçs y means o whîçh “someody” advançes and wîthdraws. Thîs art has aways osçîated etween an admînîstratîve or poîçîng teçhnîque and a medîtatîon on the înInîty o a açe. The Irst o the oowîng essays îs devoted to the atter medîtatîon. ït seeks to çonsîder how the art o the great portraîtîsts makes somethîng appear în the ook o theîr “modes” that gets eçîpsed or that vanîshes înto the înInîte—punged înto the dîstançe, or ese înto the “speçtator’s” own ook. So there remaîns neîther mode nor speçtator: There îs rather the proposa or

viii

Preace to the English-Language Edition

the possîîîty o an ençounter and o what, wîthîn an ençounter, wî aways ose îts earîngs eyond ît. The seçond essay asks what happens to the portraît when representatîon (îmîtatîon, Iguratîon) îs no onger ound y the requîrements o exaçtness and reçognîtîon. ïndeed, the çontemporary portraît îs no onger çommîtted to the possîîîty o reçognîtîon even when ît has a person’s name în îts tîte (or even î ît îs desîgnated as a se-portraît). Even a smear çan e desîgnated as a “portraît.” Nonetheess, ît remaîns the çase that thîs sîmpe desîgnatîon învarîay opens up the ça or appea o a searçh, an expeçtatîon, or a tensîon: What ook arîses rom thîs îmage? Or ese, how does thîs shape ook? (And we know straîghtaway that “ookîng” not ony învoves the eyes ut an entîre arrangement o eatures, voumes, and suraçes.) The portraît îs çertaîny not aout to dîsappear. To the çontrary, ît îs appearîng în a truth that îs eçomîng a the more açute. ït questîons more. ït demands a renewed thînkîng, a revîtaîzed eeîng or what îs happenîng wîth the human Igure. ï the portraît attests to the açt that thîs Igure îs dîsappearîng rîght în ront o us în the word that we make or ît, at the same tîme ît aso remînds us that dîsappearançe eongs to appearançe, and dîstançe to the approaçh o presençe.

Jean-Luc Nancy

What îs the subject o the portraît? Nothîng other than the subject îtse, absoutey. Where does the subject have îts truth and vaîdîty? Nowhere ese but în the portraît. That îs why there îs ony a subject în paîntîng, just as there îs ony paîntîng o the subject. ïn paîntîng, the subject sînks to the bottom (ît “returns to îtse”); în the subject, paîntîng suraces (ît exceeds the ace). Thus emergîng rom out o a îne, neîther subject nor object but art, or the word.