Page 39 - Studio International - November December 1975

versus presentation. And in each work many factors are concreteness. This 'escape' is not a displacement (which
operating which produce either an overdetermination of would therefore create a misunderstanding, or a
the usage (ie repression) of the procedures, or an theoretical gap, elsewhere) or a suppression, but an
overdetermination of the presentedness of the adequate solution of questions correctly posed in terms of
procedures. materialist practice and theoretical embodiment. That
Jacques Derrida has clearly clarified what in fact is at doesn't mean the artist consciously verbalized the
stake in a work, in the procedure of constituting a work. degrees and factors which had significance in the
His definition of differance (with an 'a') is useful creation of the object that finds its way out, escaping the
precisely because it clarifies an aspect of work which recuperative pseudo-freedom of the epithet 'process.'
previously was latent but not brought to speech, not Stella's good intentions count for little, and vice versa for
adequately theorized and which therefore always fell Klee's often naturalistic representational, evolutionist
back into the ideology of illusionism and unseen subject notions, radically countermanded by those works which
(the artist). 'We shall designate by the term differance form a conjuncture of structural disassociation, pared
the movement by which language or any code, any down 'simplicity' in terms of imagery and internal
system of reference in general, becomes historically relations, formalized colour schemes and other factors, to
constituted as a fabric of differences .... Differance is realize (produce) works which function in a non-
what makes the movement of signification possible naturalized, textual presentedness. Non-naturalization
only if each element that is said to be "present", means specifically that the works don't fit into the
appearing on the stage of presence, is related to category of naturalness, whether this naturalness refers
something other than itself but retains the mark of a past to the image-content (ie naturalness of the
element and already lets itself be hollowed out by the representation) or to what is natural for painting, what
mark of its relation to a future element. This trace relates is allowable, what does not necessitate a reading but
no less to what is called the future than to what is called rather falls blindly into parameters of meaning
the past, and it constitutes what is called the present by consciously or unconsciously predefined.
this very relation to what it is not, to what it absolutely is
not ; that is, not even to a past or a future considered as a Reading Duration
modified present ... We ordinarily say that a sign is put in A materialist reading at one with the inscription of the
place of the thing itself, the present thing —"thing" work (which is the work) is enabled or forced : Klee's
holding here for the sense as well as the referent. Signs usage, in these cases, of the virtually unloaded or nearly
represent the present in its absence; they take the place of empty signifier (Foucault cites them as 'completely
the present. When we cannot take hold of or show the empty signifiers') is possibly the dominant factor in the
thing, let us say the present, the being present, when the adequate presentation of materialist art practice in works
present does not present itself, then we signify, we go such as Alter Kiang, Doppelzelt (1923) etc.10
through the detour of signs.' (J. Derrida, 'Differance', in Signifiers approaching emptiness means merely ( !) that
Speech and Phenomena, Northwestern University Press, the image taken does not have a ready associative
1973).16b analogue, it is not a given symbol, metaphor or
The aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism could in fact allegory; that which is signified by the signifier, that
produce an imagist object which never separated itself which is conjured up by the image given, is something
from individualist psychological origins, whereas the formed by past connections but at a very low key, not a
'same' aesthetic base could function in certain works as determining or overdetermining presence, merely a not
production itself presented, distanced. Such highly charged moment of meaning. Thus, although this
presentation of production functions in certain drawings example is terrifyingly oversimplified, the edge of a leaf
of targets by Johns (for example), distancing the object seen fora moment only, or only seen (in a film, for
as object, as created text, towards which the various instance) slightly, related to other equally insignificant
marks added to each other, negating, erasing, produce signifiers (within a context which allows them to operate
further elaborations towards an as yet unfulfilled total as insignificant) does not necessarily lead to associations
surface.9 (Total is used in the sense of at some point stronger than 'leaf', or 'another leaf quite'similar' or
coming to a stop). The essential locus is again the 'room, leaf, not extremely emotional, no extreme
question of psychological orientation, that is, existential angst, doubt, etc. A leaf. Not : a mere leaf,
identification, whether into the 'fantastic' or the 'real' fluttering image or lonely fragility. Etc.' And that low
or the 'surreal', in opposition to stated notions of level signifier in momentary interplay with other low
distancing. But it must be clarified that the distancing is level signifiers, foregrounds, brings forth a materialist
not from some wholly elaborated fantastic, real or surreal, (possibly) play of differences which don't have an
from which a distance is created. Rather, the text itself is overriding hierarchy of meaning, which don't determine
elaborated and constituted in such a way that the whole the ideological reading, which don't direct into heavy
work process of reading the marks necessitates a reading associative symbolic realms. The actual relations between
of differences and a dialecticization of the material images, the handling, the appearance, the 'how it is', etc,
procedures which produce the marking one is takes precedence over any of the 'associative' or 'internal'
confronted with. The subject of the work is not the meanings. Thus is presented the arbitrariness of meaning
invisible artist symbolically inferred through the work's imbibed in, for example, such an image-moment of a leaf.
presence, but rather the whole foregrounded fabric of the The unnaturalness, ungivenness, of any possible meaning
complex system of markings itself. is posited. Such practice thereby counters precisely the
What Stella may have verbalized correctly (see footnote ideological usages which are dominant; the usages which
8) did not prevent his work from becoming exactly the give meaning to images, things, signs, etc, meanings
abstract expressionist problem, the whole conglomeration which are then posited as natural, as residing within. The
of feelings, associations, seductions, representations, whole idealist system is opposed by a materialist practice
which an imagist work demands no matter how 'process' of the production of meaning, of the arbitrariness of the
oriented the production process itself was. Similarly the signifier. (Meaning is made). And for this concept, this
process of making a Welles or Fassbinder film is not in an thought, the semiotic notions of signifier/signified are of
adequate way the product. This is the root of the whole tremendous import.
problem I am trying to get at. Some of Stella's early In film, duration as material piece of time is the basic
works could escape this abstract expressionist route, unit. 'Does a painting come into existence all at once ?
just as many of Johns' and Giacometti's works fail to No, it's built up piece by piece, not different from a house.
avoid or solve that problem though some instances of When a point becomes movement and line, it takes up
their works do. Process as general definition is in fact time. Similarly, when a line pulls itself out into a plane.
vacuous. This vacuous definition is nevertheless filled, And the same when a flat plane becomes a three-
ideologically rigidified, in such a way that few works dimensional enclosure. And the viewer, does he (she)
escape through the gap left, and those works are a respond to the work as a whole ? Often yes, unfortunately.'
conjuncture (happenstance or not) of a whole range of (Paul Klee, Schöpferische Konfession). I am not positing
incidents and factors, co/incide/nces which enable this direct cause and effect, or even direct analogue,
escape from the co/opting 'process' definition and between painting and film. Similarly, the effect, more
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