Art, Origins, Otherness: Between Philosophy and Art

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Art, Origins, Otherness Between Philosophy and Art William Desmond State University of New York Press Published by State University of New York Press, Albany© 2003 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207 Production by Michael Haggett Marketing by Jennifer Giovani Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Desmond, William, 1951– Art, origins, and otherness : between philosophy and art / William Desmond. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-5745-1 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5746-X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Aesthetics. 2. Art—Philosophy. 3. Other (Philosophy) I. Title. BH39.D4535 2003 111'.85—dc21 2003057266 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Pàsa ajnavgkh tovnde to;n kovsmon eijkovna tino;~ ei\nai —Plato, Timaeus, 29B Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends. The lunatic, the lover, and the poet Are of imagination all compact. One sees more devils than vast hell can hold; That is the madman. The lover, all as fanatic, Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt. The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. —William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, V, i, 4–17 To Urbain Dhondt ...