25. Jan 2016

Šum #4 | Pia Brezavšček | Telesni jezik Artauda in jezično telo Nižinskega

ABSTRACT: This article discusses the relation between Jacques Rivière and Vaclav Nijinsky on the one hand and Antonin Artaud on the other. The trinity dancer–theorist–poet raises the issues of the word and the body and of different expectations regarding art depending on the medium, while actually forming a consistent theoretical position. It is no coincidence that both Artaud and Nijinsky suffered from schizophrenia: while Nijinsky strived to pierce through the surface of his own body and vibrate, Artaud wanted to make words more carnal. In production of art, what we can deduct from schizophrenia, even though the consequences of the disease are potentially ruinous, is something that Deleuze calls the schizophrenic process. At this point, the surface of meaning, structurally occupied by the theorist/critic/editor, becomes necessary as the boundary that can be punctured, displaced or modified in any other way. The historical trinity is not a paradigmatic example of the relations between theory and practice, but is nevertheless used to expose the schizophrenic process. Even if the latter did pack some penetrative punch at the beginning of the 20th century, it is the surface (of the institution) itself that nowadays demands the rampant gentrification of depths. Madness is no longer a characteristic of the artist, it has become a feature of the art system.

Keywords: body, language, theory, schizophrenic process, surface of sense, art system.

UDK 7.01: 611.84/.88