Author: Llewellyn Brown File Type: pdf Forming a pair with the voice, the gaze is a central structuring element of Samuel Becketts creation. And yet it takes the form of a strangely impersonal visual dimension testifying to the absence of an original exchange of gazes capable of founding personal identity and opening up the world to desire. The collapse of conventional reality and the highlighting of seeing deviceseyes, mirrors, windowspoint to the absence of a unified representation. While masks and closed spaces show the visible to be opaque and devoid of any beyond, light and darkness, spectresmanifestations without originreveal a realm beyond the confines of identity, where nothing provides a mediation with the seen, or sets it within perspective. Finally, Becketts use of the audio-visual media deepens his exploration of the irreducibly real part of existence that escapes seeing. This study systematically examines these essential aspects of the visual in Becketts creation. The theoretical elaborations of Jacques Lacanin relation with corresponding developments in the history and philosophy of the visual artsoffer an indispensible framework to understand the imaginary not as representation, but as rooted in the fundamental opacity of existence.Review Brown reminds us of how the art dealer Duveen covered with thick varnish the paintings displayed in his shop, because his clients liked to see their image reflected in the works. Beckett does exactly the contrary he removes the varnish from all images of the human condition, yet makes us see ourselves reflected in his dark mirror. Brown has repeated the feat of writing with verve and intelligence about this process whereby Beckett rinses and cleanses our vision, showing cogently that Becketts nihilistic turpentine is the best remedy facing our moribund society of the spectacle. (Jean-Michel Rabate, University of Pennsylvania, American Academy of Arts and Sciences) Informed by a judicious and lucid engagement with the work of Jacques Lacan, Brown offers a compelling analysis of Becketts relentless investigation of the act of seeingand, above all, of not seeing. (Shane Weller, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Kent) Llewellyn Browns Beckett, Lacan and the Gaze is a comprehensive, not to say encyclopedic treatment of a motif that is central to both writers work. This is psychoanalytic criticism of the highest order. Browns admirably erudite work also performs the invaluable service of bringing into conversation French and English language critics of Becketts work that are all too often ignorant of one anothers traditions. (David Lloyd, Distinguished Professor of English, University of California, Riverside) About the Author Llewellyn Brown teaches French literature at the Lycee international de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. His latest books are Savoir de lamour (2012), Beckett, Lacan and the Voice (2016), and Marguerite Duras, ecrire et detruire (2018). He directs the Samuel Beckett series for publisher Lettres modernes-Minard (Paris).

Author: Alice Wexler File Type: pdf Promoting the expansion of art in society and education, this book highlights the significance of the arts as an instrument of social justice, inclusion, equity, and protection of the environment. Including twenty-seven diverse case studies of socially engaged art practice with groups like the Black Lives Matter movement, the LGBTQ community, and Rikers Island, this book guides art educators toward innovative, transdisciplinary, and diverse methodologies. A valuable resource on creating spaces for change, it addresses the relationships between artists and educators, museums and communities.