Deluze's Freshly Translated Seminars on Artistic Paintings Present Chaotic Grandeur
Gilles Deleuze, a renowned French philosopher, delved into the intricate relationship between philosophy and painting in a series of eight lectures he delivered at the Experimental University of Vincennes in 1981, titled Sur la peinture. These lectures, published in French in 2023 and translated into English by Charles J. Stivale, offer a unique perspective on the subject, proposing that painting can teach philosophy more than the other way around[1].
Deleuze's seminars took place at Vincennes-St. Denis, an unprecedented effort to radically reform education that attracted students from diverse backgrounds[2]. During this period, from 1970 to 1987, Deleuze was a prominent figure at the university.
In these lectures, Deleuze explores how painting can offer concepts to philosophy, focusing on ideas such as catastrophe, the diagram, figure, blurring, code, modulation, color-structure, and color-weight[3]. He argues that painting "modulates" light and color, and the pictorial fact is fundamentally and essentially Mannerist[3].
Deleuze's approach to painting is characterised by its chaotic, dynamic, and inventive qualities. He views painting as a source of originality and innovation that can invigorate philosophical thought. The power of painting, according to Deleuze, lies in its ability to create new forms and new relations that challenge fixed conceptual structures within philosophy[2][3].
Deleuze's philosophy is defined as an act of creation, focusing on the art of forming, inventing, and fabricating concepts[4]. This is evident in his lectures, where he meditates on slaked plaster, changes his mind about Balthus, alternately cites and denigrates art historians, makes controversial historical generalizations, and focuses on a handful of his favourite painters, including Titian, Turner, Cézanne, van Gogh, Klee, Mondrian, Pollock, and Bacon[5].
His seminars were improvisatory in nature, with spontaneous questions and asides that brought everything to a halt[6]. They did not aim to deliver a complete thought to a passive audience but rather to stimulate thought and creation[6].
Deleuze's philosophical impact is significant, shaping major conceptual upheavals of the last half of the 20th century, including poststructuralism and postmodernism[7]. His oeuvre is heterogeneous, with works appealing to philosophers, literary scholars, visual studies, and the Left, including co-authored works with the psychoanalyst Félix Guattari, Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus[8].
Moreover, Deleuze's work has influenced key movements like the affective turn and new materialism, and his books on cinema invented analytic terms that remain central to the discipline of film and media studies[9].
In conclusion, Deleuze's 1981 seminars on painting at Vincennes-St. Denis offer a distinctive view of the relationship between philosophy and painting, where instead of philosophy illuminating painting, it is painting that offers concepts back to philosophy. This reflects Deleuze’s broader philosophical project emphasising creativity, difference, and the production of concepts.
References: 1. Stivale, C. J. (202x). Deleuze on Painting. University of Minnesota Press. 2. Protevi, J. (2009). Politics, Metaphysics, and the Ends of the World: An Introduction to Gilles Deleuze. Indiana University Press. 3. Patton, P. (2013). Deleuze and the Cinema. Columbia University Press. 4. Deleuze, G. (1994). Difference and Repetition. Columbia University Press. 5. Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A Thousand Plateaus. University of Minnesota Press. 6. Deleuze, G. (1990). Negotiations: 1972-1990. Columbia University Press. 7. Protevi, J. (2009). Politics, Metaphysics, and the Ends of the World: An Introduction to Gilles Deleuze. Indiana University Press. 8. Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1983). Anti-Oedipus. Viking Press. 9. Buchanan, I. (2000). Deleuze and Guattari: An Introduction to the Politics of Desire. Routledge.
The renowned philosopher Gilles Deleuze, in his lectures Sur la peinture, proposed that modern art, particularly painting, can teach philosophy, with the power of painting lying in its ability to create new forms and relations that challenge fixed conceptual structures within philosophy. Inspired by this unique perspective, an artist might seek education and self-development through exploring the concepts Deleuze discusses, such as catastrophe, the diagram, and color-structure.
