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'An aphorism, properly stamped and molded, has not been "deciphered" when it has simply been read; rather one has then to begin its interpretation, for which is required an art of interpretation.' -- Nietzsche, 'On the Genealogy of Morals'

Bataille: Intensity « Previous | |Next »
December 10, 2003

This painting by Gerhard Richter strikes me as controlled emotional frenzy.
RichterG2.jpg
Gerhard Richter, Station, 1985, Oil on canvas.

Is this a representation of what Bataille means by intensity?

I reckon I stood on the threshold of that experiental state today, when I was walking though the city in the full sun. The temperature would have been around 40 degrees and a hot north wind was blowing hard from the desert. The buildings and pavement radiated heat. The sweat just dried instantly. I sort of stumbled through the city barely conscious of my individuality. My whole body was screaming. I moved very slowly saving as much energy as I could. My one thought. Survival.

Yet all the time I was raging inside. Screaming with hatred at the inhuman weather and at having to live and work in such conditions. I sensed something bad was happening. The summer seems to get worse each year. Things are changing. I had fear in my guts. I looked at all the cars and cursed. I felt like screaming at the excretions of the economy that now influences our weather.

We call it global warming. It means summer will be hotter and drier in Adelaide as the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases. We will be talking 45 degrees in Adelaide not 40 degrees. And the winds will be stronger.

By then the perma frost near the Arctic will have melted, as will the glaciers in New Zealand. Will we still be building more motorways and ever more coal-fired power-stations to run the air conditioners?

As I said I stood on the threshold of intensity and got a glimmer of what Bataille was talking about.

And I didn't really care that robots would be the new life form that replaces humans. I was just raging incoherently at the weather.

| Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at 12:06 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)
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» Gerhard Richter from Junk for Code
Richter has appeared before in junk for code. Then I was a bit dismissive talking about art "not saying anything [Read More]

 
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