Atlas, or the Anxious Gay Science : How to Carry the World on One's Back?

Disparates: "reading what was never written" ; The inexhaustible, or knowledge through imagination ; Legacy of our time: the Mnemosyne Atlas ; Visceral, sidereal, or how to read the liver of a sheep ; Madness and truths of the incommensurable ; Tables for collecting the parcelling out of the world ; Heterotopias, or the cartographies of de-familiarization ; Leopard, starry sky, smallpox, spatter -- Atlas: "carrying the entire world of sufferings" ; A titan bent under the burden of the world ; Gods in exile and knowledge in suffering ; Survivals of tragedy, Aurora of the anxious gay science ' "El sueño de la razón produce monstruos" ; An anthropology from the point of view of the image -- Samples of chaos, or the poetics of phenomena ; Points of origin and links of affinity ; Atlas and The Wandering Jew, or the age of poverty -- Disasters: "the dislocation of the world: that is the subject of art" ; Tragedy of culture and modern "psychomachias" ; Explosions of positivism, or the "crisis of European sciences" ; Warburg in front of the war: Notizkästen 115-118 ; The seismograph explodes ; Panoramic tables to return from the disaster ; The atlas of images and the surveying gaze (Übersicht) ; The inexhaustible, or knowledge remontage. Contents 8 List of Figures 10 I. Disparates: “Reading What Was Never Written” 14 The Inexhaustible, or Knowledge through Imagination 16 Heritage of Our Time: The Mnemosyne Atlas 21 Visceral, Sidereal, or How to Read the Liver of a Sheep 26 Madness and Truths of the Incommensurable 35 Tables for Collecting the Parceling-Out of the World 47 Heterotopias, or the Cartographies of Defamiliarization 59 Leopard, Starry Sky, Smallpox, Spatter 69 II. Atlas: “Carrying the Whole World of Sufferings” 78 A Titan Bent under the Burden of the World 80 Gods in Exile and Knowledge in Suffering 92 Survivals of Tragedy, Aurora of the Anxious Gay Science 103 “El sueño de la razón produce monstruos” 109 An Anthropology from the Point of View of the Image 118 Samples of Chaos, or the Poetics of Phenomena 129 Points of Origin and Links of Affinity 138 Atlas and the Wandering Jew, or the Age of Poverty 152 III. Disasters: “The Dislocation of the World: That Is the Subject of Art” 164 Tragedy of Culture and Modern “Psychomachias” 166 Explosions of Positivism, or the “Crisis of European Sciences” 179 Warburg Facing the War: Notizkästen 115–18 195 The Seismograph Explodes 212 Panoramic Tables to Return from the Disaster 226 The Atlas of Images and the Surveying Gaze (Übersicht) 233 The Inexhaustible, or Knowledge through Re-montage 248 Bibliographical Note 270 Notes 272 Bibliography 300 Index 366 "Aby Warburg's 'Mnemosyne Atlas' (1925-1929) is a prescient work of mixed media assemblage, made up of hundreds of images culled from antiquity to the Renaissance and arranged into startling juxtapositions. Warburg's allusive atlas sought to illuminate the pains of his final years, after he had suffered a breakdown and been institutionalized. It continues to influence contemporary artists today, including Gerhard Richter and Mark Dion. In this illustrated exploration of Warburg and his great work, Georges Didi-Huberman leaps from 'Mnemosyne Atlas' into a set of musings on the relation between suffering and knowledge in Western thought, and on the creative results of associative thinking. Deploying writing that delights in dramatic jump cuts reminiscent of Warburg's idiosyncratic juxtapositions, and drawing on a set of sources that ranges from ancient Babylon to Walter Benjamin, 'Atlas, or the Anxious Gay Science' is rich in Didi-Huberman's trademark combination of elan and insight" --Publisher's description

Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne Atlas (1925–1929) is a prescient work of mixed media assemblage, made up of hundreds of images culled from antiquity to the Renaissance and arranged into startling juxtapositions. Warburg's allusive atlas sought to illuminate the pains of his final years, after he had suffered a breakdown and been institutionalized. It continues to influence contemporary artists today, including Gerhard Richter and Mark Dion.In this illustrated exploration of Warburg and his great work, Georges Didi-Huberman leaps from Mnemosyne Atlas into a set of musings on the relation between suffering and knowledge in Western thought, and on the creative results of associative thinking. Deploying writing that delights in dramatic jump cuts reminiscent of Warburg's idiosyncratic juxtapositions, and drawing on a set of sources that ranges from ancient Babylon to Walter Benjamin, Atlas, or the Anxious Gay Science is rich in Didi-Huberman's trademark combination of elan and insight.