Aesthetics & Philosophy of Art, Art Styles & Periods

The Absence of Myth

Name: The Absence of Myth
Author: Michael Richardson
ISBN: 9780860914198

by Michael Richardson

Write a review

Overview

'Surrealism', wrote Georges Bataille in 1945, 'has from the start given consistency to a "morality of revolt" and its most important contribution - important perhaps even in the political realm - is to have remained, in matters of morality, a revolution.'. For Bataille, 'the absence of myth' had itself become the myth of the modern age. In a world that had 'lost the secret of its cohesion', Bataille saw surrealism as both a symptom and the beginning of an attempt to address this loss. His writings on this theme - which he had hoped to assemble into a book and which are published here for the first time - mostly date from the immediate postwar period, and are the result of profound reflection in the wake of World War Two. In one respect they represent preliminary notes for his later work, especially for The Accursed Share and Theory of Religion. But many of the issues raised were never taken up again; therefore they offer a fresh perspective on his thinking at a decisive time. Together, these texts also comprise perhaps the most incisive study yet made of surrealism, insisting on its importance as a cultural and social phenomenon with far-reaching consequences. They clarify Bataille's links with the surrealist movement, and throw revealing light on his complex and greatly misunderstood relationship with Andre Breton. Above all, The Absence of Myth shows Bataille to be a much more radical figure than his postmodernist devotees would have us believe: a man who continually tried to extend Marxist social theory; a pessimistic thinker, but one as far removed from nihilism as can be.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Library Journal

A veritable cult figure for postmodernism, Bataille (1897-1962) formulated what is now vanguard received wisdom, and he did so long before Derrida proposed diffrance in 1967, giving Bataille's pronouncements the additional authority of duration. Furthermore, while eschewing the Orphic, he typically encapsulates his ideas with a near-eminently quotable-paradox (e.g., ``The sacred demands the violation of what is normally the object of terrified respect''). These pieces, dating mostly from 1945 to 1951, when surrealism was attempting a second wave, are documents of Parisian intellectual life, discussing such issues as the distinctions between existentialism and surrealism and the Camus/Sartre quarrel following The Rebel (1951). Bataille sees successful surrealism as the destruction of self, the individualism that must be sacrificed before liberty can be achieved for the community. Richardson's accurate and readable translations are carefully annotated, making this a useful collection for English readers.-Marilyn Gaddis Rose, SUNY-Binghamton