Crescent Moon over the Rational: Philosophical Interpretations of Paul Klee

255 Pages·2009·3.633 MB·English

by  Stephen Watson

Crescent Moon over the Rational

Crescent Moon over the Rational
Philosophical Interpretations of Paul Klee
Stephen H. Watson
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
©2009 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission
of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stephen H., 1951-
Crescent moon over the rational : philosophical interpretations of Paul Klee /
Stephen H. Watson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8047-6125-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Klee, Paul, 1879-1940--Criticism and interpretation. 2. Klee, Paul,
1879-1940--Influence. 3. Aesthetics, Modern--20th century. 4. Art criticism
--History--20th century. 5. Philosophy, Modern--20th century. 6. Art and
philosophy. I. Title.
N6888.K55W38 2009
760.092--dc22 2009024651
Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 11/13.5 Adobe Garamond
Contents
List of Figures: Works of Paul Klee vii
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Texts xi
Introduction:
Interpreting Klee: Fusing the Architectonic and the Poetic 1
1 On the Withdrawal of the Beautiful:
Adorno’s and Merleau-Ponty’s Readings of Klee 11
2 Gadamer, Benjamin, Aesthetic Modernism,
and the Rehabilitation of Allegory: The Relevance of Klee 35
3 Of Sartre, Klee, Surrealism, and Philosophy:
Toward a “Nonprosaic” Conception of Consciousness 59
4 Heidegger, Klee’s Turn, and the Origin of the Work of Art 93
5 “Fiscourse / Digure”: Of Nomadism,
the Specter of Oedipus, and the Remnants of the Sublime 117
6 The Rapture of Sensuousness:
“Color Possesses Me . . . I Am a Painter” 151
Notes 183
Index 213

List of Figures:
Works of Paul Klee
1 Constructive-Impressive xxii
2 Park near Lu(cerne) 10
3 Signs Clustering 23
4 Ancient Harmony 34
5 Angelus Novus 45
6 Approximative Man 58
7 Make Visible 88
8 Death and Fire 92
9 Twittering Machine 116
10 “Hovering” (Before the Ascent) 147
11 Rapture 150

Acknowledgments
A number of the chapters in this book appear here in revised form
from their previous publication. Chapter 1 appeared in Chiasmi Interna-
tional Vol. 5 (2003). It originated as an invited paper at the American
Philosophical Association, which was the catalyst for the project. Chap-
ter 2 appeared in Research in Phenomenology, Vol. 34 (2004). Chapter 3 ap-
peared in Pol Vandevelde ed., Issues in Interpretation Theory (Milwaukee:
Marquette University Press, 2006). Chapter 4 appeared in the Review of
Metaphysics, Vol. 60, no. 2 (December 2006). I thank all the editors—not
only of these initial versions but also those in the final Stanford version,
including Norris Pope, Emily-Jane Cohen, Tom Finnegan, and Mariana
Raykov. I also thank Heidi Frautschi and the staff of the Klee Foundation
for their help.
ix