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Shortly thcrcaltcr
it bccomcs Vhat
onc has no distancc
lrom, onc must
play with.
6
And
morc rcccntly, in
his Spheres trilogy
(+8, +, :oo)
undcr thc motto
what was dcspair
must bccomc mcdia
pcrlormancc
hc dcmonstratcd likc no othcr that
intimacy is thc grcatcst uncxpcctcd
product ol modcrnity. According to
Slotcrdijk, intimacy is an anthropo
logical constant that must bc takcn
scriously as such. n thc onc hand
hc subscribcs in this to 8audrillards
vicw that symbolic warlarc only lcads
to grcatcr cvil, on thc othcr hand hc is
now conccrncd instcad with a rcvalu
ation, in tcrms ol a pathos ol distancc,
ol thc ontological and political status
ol prcsymbolic lorms ol communi
cation. To this cnd hc initially rclics,
rathcr than on psychoanalysis, on its
prchistory: in particular, in addition to
thc magical NcoPlatonism ol Ficino
and 8runo, thc animal magnctism ol
cightccnthccntury Austrian psychiatrist
Franz Anton Mcsmcr and thc magnctic
slccp discovcrcd by his disciplc, thc
Frcnch Marquis dc Puysgur. Latcr
would comc, via clcuzc, Gabricl
Tardcs mimctic microsociology as wcll.
Animal magnctism to usc an
important conccpt by clcuzc and
Guattari lrom Mille Plateaux is a sort
. Pctcr Slotcrdijk,
Kritiek van de cynische
rede, translatcd by T.
avids (Amstcrdam: c
Arbcidcrspcrs, +:), :.
6. Pctcr Slotcrdijk, Der
Denker auf der Bhne.
Nietzsches Materialismus
(Franklurt am Main:
Suhrkamp \crlag, +86),
8o.
. Pctcr Slotcrdijk, Sphren
I: Blasen (Franklurt am
Main: Suhrkamp \crlag,
+8), 8.
From Teatrum Mundi to Experimentum Mundi o+
ol science mineure ol immcdiatc, acctivc e
communication via magnctic clds
and hypnotic suggcstion. Tc advcnt
ol Frcudian psychoanalysis rcplaccd its
attcndant problcmatization with that
ol indircct communication through
symbolic translcrcncc. Tc conccpt
ol translcrcncc puricd analysis lrom
thc inucncc ol thc morc physicalisti
cally oricntcd psychiatry and was bcttcr
suitcd to thc humanist idcology ol
thc autonomous subjcct.
8
!n his +8
novcl Te Magic
Tree: Te Birth of
Psychoanalysis in
1785, Slotcrdijk
dcscribcs how,
undcr thc prcssurc
ol ninctccnthccntury standards ol
civic and scicnticpositivist distancc,
thc cmancipatory aspccts ol thc sclcss
and immcrsivc cxpcrimcnts in group
hypnosis and collcctivc crotic cncrgics
thc subvcrsivc cccts ol thc swcct,
thc sticky
wcrc abandoncd. Tc
magnctists in thc
thcatrc invcsti
gatcd not thc scmantic aspccts, but thc
cncrgctic aspccts ol social cxistcncc.
As on thc stagc ol modcrn massmcdia
communication, lascination is thc
rulc and symbolic intcraction is thc
cxccption. Vhat mattcrs is not what
symbols mcan or cvcn whcthcr thcy
mcan anything at all, but only what
thcy do and how thcy aect us. To t
thc magnctists, thcrclorc, thc thcatrc
is morc an immunological play with
publicncss and impcnctrability. !t
is a platlorm lor prcsubjcctivc and
prcsymbolic lorms ol communication.
Vhcrcas to psychoanalysts only a lack
ol intimacy constitutcs an individual
public rolc, thc prcindividual, that is
to say thc collcctivc as wcll as intimatc
thcatrc ol thc magnctists itscll is
constitutivc. Tc intimacy bctwccn thc
magnctizcr and thc magnctizcd an
acctivc, litcral intcrcst in and with thc
othcr constitutcs not a rcprcscntation
ol sharcd rcality but rathcr that rcality
itscll.
8ascd on this magnctic psychology,
thc Frcnch sociologist Gabricl Tardc
(+8+o) also latcr argucd that no
distinction can bc madc bctwccn bcing
and scmblancc. Although 8audrillard
argucs that both thc public and thc
privatc havc cvaporatcd in thc unbridlcd
prolilcration ol obsccnc simulacra
signs without contcnt or copics without
an original to which wc arc irrcsistibly
subjcctcd, hc docs not say whcthcr
simulation rcplaccs a rcality that
gcnuincly uscd to cxist or whcthcr thcrc
was always nothing but simulation.
Tardc, on thc othcr hand, dclcnds thc
armativc vicw that it is prcciscly thc
innitc scrics ol rcciprocal simulations
without originals that constitutc rcality.
Social and political rcality is an illusion,
which is ccctuatcd by hypnotizing
and inlcctious strcams ol simulation
lacilitatcd by mass mcdia. Social actors
arc not actors, but slccpwalkcrs. Tcy
do not play a public rolc in thc classical
scnsc, but thcy arc not narcissists cithcr.
Tcir agcncy or subjcctivity is litcrally
distributcd among and constitutcd by
prc and transsubjcctivc, nctworklikc
and acctivcly cmbodicd cntanglcmcnts.
Tardc thus shilts our attcntion lrom a
pcrlormativc undcrstanding ol drama
to thc lormation proccsscs ol political
8. Comparc Lon Chcrtok
and !sabcllc Stcngcrs, A
Critique of Psychoanalytical
Reason. Hypnosis as a
Scientic Problem from
Lavoisier to Lacan, trans
latcd by M. N. vans
(Stanlord, CA: Stanlord
Univcrsity Prcss, +:).
. Slotcrdijk, Sphren I, op. II
cit. (notc ), :.
oa pcn aoos/No. +/Art as a Public Issue //
collcctivcs. vcn bclorc thcrc is such a
thing as symbols or pcrlormancc, thcrc
cxists somcthing likc a conguration
ol actors, in which it is not actors but
sharcd hypcs, issucs or cvcnts that
arc in thc limclight and dcnc social
rcality.
+o
To dcscribc thcsc congu
ration proccsscs
hc harks back, in
Monadology and
Sociology (+8), to
Lcibnizs typically
scvcntccnth
ccntury, 8aroquc
thcatrc ol naturc and art. For Lcibniz
both physical and psychological rcality
which includcs, lor thc sakc ol
convcnicncc, sociocultural rcality as
wcll consists ol an innitc numbcr ol
atoms or monads, cach ol which rcpro
duccs lor itscll thc samc common world
as a wholc according to its own, largcly
unconscious programmc. Although
Lcibniz rcpcatcdly insistcd that thcrc
can bc no such thing as dircct intcr
subjcctivc communication, thcrc is an
acctivc or unconscious communication
in thc lorm ol thc global thcatrc that
is prcscnt in its cntircty within cach
individual and that in lact constitutcs
his individuality.
++
As in a hypnotic
statc, an autonomous cxpcricncc ol
thc scll and thc world is lor thc most
part dctcrmincd
by thc collcctivc
unconscious and
thcrc is an activc
individual contri
bution only to an
cxtrcmcly limitcd
dcgrcc. !n an
analogy to this, lor
Tardc socicty cxists only in thc mirror
ol cach scparatc individual. Structurc
and idcntity, audicncc and actor arc onc:
cvcry individual is actually a dividual
product ol an immancnt, consti
tutivc thcatrc
+:
in which simulation
is thc collcctivc
but unconscious
production proccss
ol social rcality. Tc
spatial charactcr ol
modcrn rcprcscnt
ativc dcmocracy is nothing morc than a
scllgcncrating ction, which dcrivcs its
ccctivcncss solcly lrom its prcscncc in
timc. Socicty has ncvcr bccn anything
morc than a continuum ol rcsonanccs
and cchocs, a programmc ol acc
tions and simulacra that is continually
rcccctuatcd through thc analogous
scqucnccs ol scllactualization by its
participants.
Art as a Rclay within !ntimatc
Communication Nctworks
!l wc start out lrom thcsc parapsy
choanalytical and parasociological
intcrprctations ol thcatrc rcscucd
lrom oblivion, it is no surprisc that,
according to Slotcrdijk, thcrc is today
not a crisis ol publicncss, but, on thc
contrary, a crisis ol our stagc awarc
ncss.
+
!n Critique of Cynical Reason hc
alrcady dcncd nlightcnmcnt as a
lorm ol consciousncss hygicnc.
+
Spheres
ultimatcly aims to
dcvclop not only a
physical but also a
social and mcntal
ccology. !n a mass
mcdia socicty, thc
+o. For a comparablc shilt
lrom actor-oriented drama d
to issue-oriented drama, scc d
Noortjc Marrcs, Tcrc
!s rama !n Nctworks,
in: Jokc 8rouwcr and
Arjcn Muldcr, Interact
or Die! (Rottcrdam: !
\: \\ Publishing/NAi
Publishcrs, :oo), ++8.
++. !t is rcvcaling that
ick comparcs our
g
collcctivc privacy with
thc impossibility ol intcr
monadic communication to
show thc obsccnc zombi
cation ol our political
nonthcatrc, and thcrcby
ignorcs thc lundamcntal
communal philosophy
ol Lcibniz. http://www.
gazcttc.dc/Archiv/Gazcttc
August:oo+/Zizck+.html.
+:. Conccpt takcn lrom
Gilbcrt Simondons
Lindividuation psychique
et collective: A la lumire
des notions de Forme,
Information, Potentiel et
Mtastabilit (Paris: Aubicr,
:oo).
+. Pctcr Slotcrdijk, Zur
Welt kommen zur Sprache
kommen (Franklurt am
Main: Suhrkamp \crlag,
+88), +8.
+. Slotcrdijk, Kritiek van
de cynische rede, op. cit. (notc
), 8.
From Teatrum Mundi to Experimentum Mundi o,
public (atmo)sphcrc may bc thc most
cndangcrcd, but it is simultancously
thc ncw vcctor ol powcr. cology and
biopolitics thcrclorc convcrgc in thc
rccctivc intcrcoursc with thc intimatc,
in Psychopolitik, as it is callcd in
Slotcrdijks latcr book, Anger and Time.
Psychopolitics cxplicatcs (litcrally
lolds apart) thc acctivc rclationships
in which symbolic lorms ol sociality arc
implicatcd. !ts lcitmotil is air condi
tioning: maintaining thc prcsumably
rcquisitc conditions lor intimatc lorms
ol togcthcrncss. From thc psycho
political pcrspcctivc, thc public sphcrc is
not an indicrcnt, transparcnt platlorm
upon which or a backdrop against which
public lilc unlolds, but a symbiotic stagc
within which this
takcs placc. Tc old
ccology ol stagc and
pcrlormancc is out
ol joint.
+
A critical atmosphcric consciousncss,
in an cra in which cvcryonc claims thc
right to back up a privatc opinion about
thc wcathcr through thc mass mcdia,
is morc urgcntly nccdcd than cvcr. !n
thc total immancncc ol todays cultural
arcna, a journalist can bc as vulgar an
air pollutcr as a tcrrorist, symbols can
bc as toxic as poison gascs. ur habitat,
lrom tclcvision to Vcb :.o, is constantly
cndangcrcd by tsunamis ol cmotions,
cynicism, contcmpt, hystcria and
dclusions ol participation. A mcntally
and socially ccological consciousncss
laccs thc task ol making thc intimatc
public without lapsing into obsccnity.
Tis cxplication can takc placc
through an appropriatc symbolism,
but that is not rcquircd. Tc articial
Gesamtkunstwerk ol a spaccship is also
an cxplication ol a prcviously implicitly
assumcd habitat. For Slotcrdijk, this
is thc challcngc ol contcmporary art.
From biomorphic architccturc to
thc intcractivc thcatrc ol Christoph
Schlingcnsicl and lrom !lya Kabakovs
installations to thc rclativcly ncw
immcrsion art:
+6
thcy arc cach balancc
cxcrciscs bctwccn
obscrvation and
participation. As
in thc thcatrc, this
art bccausc thc
audicncc watchcs
itscll watching is
a natural and communal rccction.
Tc audicncc turns its own subjcc
tivity insidc out, it is immancnt to thc
thcatrc bccausc it opcratcs not only as
a spcctator but also usually uncon
sciously as an intcrpassivc cxtra and
only vcry occasionally intcractivcly as
an actor. Tc audicncc takcs part in thc
work ol art and produccs itscll as a work
ol art: eine Extraversion der Spieler zu
ihrer Bhne hin.
+
You could also call
this thc Natascha
Kampusch
stratcgy: il your
wholc lilc has bccn madc public, you
start a talk show. r likc Slotcrdijk,
who, altcr a wholc army ol journalists
and Habcrmasians had drawn him
into a public scandal, startcd a philo
sophical discussion
programmc on
thc zbv.
+8
A
critical ccology is
no longcr bascd
on thc critical
rcvolutionary
+. Pctcr Slotcrdijk,
Eurotaosme, translatcd by
V. Hanscn (Amstcrdam:
c Arbcidcrspcrs, ++),
+6.
+6. n ++ ctobcr :oo,
undcr thc cvocativc titlc
!mmcrsion Tc Art
ol thc Truc !llusion, a
symposium on this thcmc
was hcld at \ooruit in
Ghcnt, with such partici
pants as Christa Sommcrcr,
livcr Grau and Marnix
dc Nijs.
+. Pctcr Slotcrdijk,
Eurotaosmus (Franklurt am s
Main: Suhrkamp \crlag,
+8), :.
+8. For thc Human Zoo
Scandal ol +, scc Pctcr
Slotcrdijk, Regels voor het
mensenpark. Kroniek van
een debat (Amstcrdam: t
8oom, :ooo). Sincc :oo+
Slotcrdijk and Rudigcr
Salranski havc prcscntcd
Das philosophische Quartett
oncc a month on Gcrman
tclcvision.
o pcn aoos/No. +/Art as a Public Issue //
thcatrc ol modcrnity. !t is a thcatrical
constructivism that rcprcscnts nothing,
only actualizcs concrctc lorms ol
conviviality. Art is not militarizing,
but socializing: it is not madc lor an
audicncc, but crcatcs an audicncc. To
put it atmosphcrically, art brcathcs lilc
into thc public spacc by inspiring it with
Luft an unerwarterter Stelle ll
+
(air in an
uncxpcctcd placc)
or an Atem des
Freispruchs
:o
(brcath
ol rclicl). 8y
brcaking with thc
cocrcivc rcscntmcnt
and thc disinhibiting logic ol an obsccnc
common scnsc, or at thc vcry lcast by
divcrting or channclling it, it crcatcs
brcathing room and a brcathing pausc
ncccssary conditions lor any cohabi
tation, sincc somctimcs nothing stinks
likc homc. A ncw audicncc is crcatcd
whcn art lunctions as a rclay within
intimatc communication nctworks. Tis
makcs it possiblc to cxpcrimcnt with
ncw potcntial conncctions and ncw
social synthcscs. From that point on,
thc theatrum mundi to quotc Slotcrdijk i
onc last timc bccomcs thc cquivalcnt
thc experimentum mundi.
+. Pctcr Slotcrdijk, Sphren
III: Schume (Franklurt am
Main, Suhrkamp \crlag,
:oo), :.
:o. Slotcrdijk, Zur Welt
kommen zur Sprache
kommen, op. cit. (notc +),
+6.