Touching and Imagining: An Introduction to Tactile Art

205 Pages·2014·126.656 MB·English

by  Jan Svankmajer, Stanley Dalby, Cathryn Vasseleu

JAN ŠVANKMAJER was born on 4 September, 1934 in Prague. His studies in
the Stage Design Department at the College of Applied Arts in Prague and in the
Department of Puppetry at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts (directing and
stage design) largely predetermined his creative development. He did not study film
and its technology – perhaps this also contributed to Švankmajer’s not being weighed
down by the notion of ‘cinematic art’ with its excessive dedication to the technical
medium and resulting depressive receptiveness. In the Laterna Magica Theatre he
experimented with some film procedures, including special effects, for the first time.
He made his first film in 1964 at the Krátký Film Studio in Prague. The creative
diversity of Jan Švankmajer, however, exceeds the limits of film. The artist is active
in autonomous visual expression, which he has practised since the end of the 1950s.
His literary expression consists mainly of scenarios and tactile poems, while his
theoretical activity has focused on research into the nature of tactile phenomena and
the imagination. A considerable part of the imaginative strength of Jan Švankmajer
consists of blasphemous black humour and a playful viewpoint which, together with
an extraordinary sensibility and a penetrating critical intellect, form the determining
facets of his creative personality. His work, whether film, visual or literary, is connected
with the collective activities of the Group of Czech and Slovak Surrealists.
STANLEY DALBY (translator) emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Australia in
1949. Over 32 years as a writer/director, he made films for various government
ministries, as well as documentaries in India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Pacific
Islands. He now lives in Sydney and translates drama and fiction from Czech to English.
CATHRYN VASSELEU (editor) teaches animation at the University of Technology,
Sydney. She is the author of Textures of Light: Vision and Touch in Irigaray, Levinas and
Merleau-Ponty (1998) and writer/director of experimental animated films including De
Anima (1991).
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1. The Mouth of Truth, Italy
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Touching Imaging title page_Layout 1 05/03/2014 15:28 Page 1
Touching and Imagining
An Introduction to Tactile Art
Jan Švankmajer
English translation by Stanley Dalby
Edited by Cathryn Vasseleu
Produced in conjunction with
ATHANOR – Film Production Company, Llc.
Jaromír Kallista & Jan Švankmajer
www.athanor.cz

Published in 2014 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
www.ibtauris.com
Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
Copyright © 2014 Jan Švankmajer
Copyright editor’s preface © 2014 Cathryn Vasseleu
Copyright translation © 2014 Stanley Dalby
The right of Jan Švankmajer to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
the publisher.
International Library of Modern and Contemporary Art: 1
ISBN: 978 1 78076 146 6 (HB)
978 1 78076 147 3 (PB)
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Printed and Bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd., Padstow, Cornwall
from camera-ready copy edited and supplied by the author
To Edith Clifford Williams
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations viii
Acknowledgements xiii
Translator’s Note xiv
Editor’s Preface xv
Introduction to the English Language Edition xix
Tactilism xxi
Touch xxiii
1. Introduction 1
2. Between Utilitarianism and Imagination 3
3. Restorer 12
4. Sources of Tactile Imagination 26
5. Short Anthology of Tactile Art 82
6. Inside 109
Afterword: Tactilism Reviewed 167
Notes 172
Bibliography 177
Index 179
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. The Mouth of Truth. Italy. Archive of Jan Švankmajer. ii
2. Jan Švankmajer: Samizdat edition (five copies with tactile cover) Hmat
a Imaginace, 1983. xvii
3. Jan Švankmajer: New Eroticism (tactile props from the film Conspirators
of Pleasure), 1996. xxi
4. Jan Švankmajer: New Eroticism (tactile props from the film Conspirators
of Pleasure), 1996. xxii
5. Jan Švankmajer: Utilitarian Bondage (tactile chair), 1977. xxiv
6. Touching is one of our basic needs. If we couldn’t use our sense of touch
we would suffer mental deprivation. Under each square centimetre of
the tip of our forefinger are 200 nerve endings; they register cold, heat
or pain, according to the nerve structure. Archive of Jan Švankmajer. 3
7. Meissner’s tactile loop magnified by factor of 150. The oval cluster of
cells of this loop is one millimetre below the fingertip. The group in
the middle represents tactile cells connected to nerve connections. The
spiral nerve transmits a signal to the brain where it is identified. Tactile
sensations are associated with visual ones that manifest themselves
strongly, for instance, in the erotic field. Archive of Jan Švankmajer. 3
8. Lygia Clark: The I and the You: Cloth–Body–Cloth series, 1960 No.
22353. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of ‘The World of Lygia Clark’
Cultural Association. 5
9. Jan Švankmajer: A and B: Tablets of elementary structures for studying
‘colour touch’ (synaesthetic tablets). 6
10. Jan Švankmajer: C. – Mother. 6
11. Jan Švankmajer: D. – Animal: Two Rorschach tactile tablets. 6
12. Jan Švankmajer: E. – Way: Tablet of tactile orientation and tactile
memory. 6
13. Jan Švankmajer: Restorer (tactile object), 1974. 12
14. Restorer at Work (newspaper photograph). Archive of Jan Švankmajer. 13
15. Jan Švankmajer: Uncovered Object, 1974. 15
16. Martin Stejskal: Visualized Impression (before the imaginative phase),
1974. Courtesy of Martin Stejskal. 17
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list of illustrations ix
17. Ten Photographs for Analogical Phase of the Experiment. Archive of Jan
Švankmajer. 23
18. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Ohm Mantra, 1993. 27
19. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Wooden Spoon, 1978. 29
20. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Cooking Spoons, 1978. 29
21. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Boards, 1978. 29
22. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Boards, 1978 (view from the reverse side). 29
23. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Tub, 1990. 30
24. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Lids, 1978. 30
25. Jan Švankmajer: New Eroticism, 1990. 30
26. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Rolling Pin, 1990. 31
27. Jan Švankmajer: New Eroticism, 1990. 31
28. Jan Švankmajer: Masturbation (tactile object), 1975. 32
29. Jan Švankmajer: Uncovered Object, 1975. 33
30. Jan Švankmajer: The ‘Roman’ Ipsation Machine (collage), 1972. 35
31. Francis Picabia, Parade Amoureuse, 1917. © Francis Picabia/ADAGP.
Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 35
32. J. K. Archive of Jiří Koubek. 36
33. F. D. Archive of František Dryje. 36
34. G. D. Archive of Gilles Dunant. 37
35. M. D. Archive of Michel Dubret. 37
36. V. Archive of Vince. 38
37. Eva Švankmajerová: Bat (oil), 1970. 48
38. Salvador Dalí, Hand with Fish (drawing), n.d. © Salvador Dalí, Fundació
Gala-Salvador Dalí/VEGAP. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 50
39. Jan Švankmajer: Father and Son (stereophotography for two hands), 1994. 51
40. Illusion (engraving, eighteenth century). Public domain. 53
41. François Boucher: Le Prélude (engraving, eighteenth century). Public
domain. 53
42. Jan Švankmajer: Touch Your Dreams, 1976. 59
43. Jan Švankmajer: Dream about Mountain Climbers (uncovered tactile
object), 1976. 60
44. Jan Švankmajer: Dream about Unwashed Dishes (uncovered tactile
object), 1976. 64
45. Jan Švankmajer: Dream Object of Emila Medková, 1986. 66
46. Jan Švankmajer: Lipstick, 2009. 69
47. Jan Švankmajer: Imagery-Evoking Spaces – Connections (model), 1978. 72
48. Jan Švankmajer: Firmly Hold the Mouse, 2009. 72
49. Jan Švankmajer: Not Dead – Not Alive, 1993. 74
50. Jan Švankmajer: An Unforgettable Meeting (tactile object for two hands),
1976. 75
51. Jan Švankmajer: An Unforgettable Meeting, 1976. 75
52. President Husák and Women (newspaper photograph, Rudé Právo, 1976). 75
Archive of Jan Švankmajer.
53. Jan Švankmajer: Tactile Portrait of Mikuláš Medek (casket for monograph), 77
1979.
54. Valie Export: Tap and Touch Cinema, Oberhausen, 1968. © Valie Export/ 83
VBK. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011.
55. Ritual Scarification, Congo. Archive of Jan Švankmajer. 84
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x Touching and Imagining
56. Jan Van Eyck: Homage to the Lamb (detail), 1432. Public Domain. 86
57. Jan Van Eyck: Portrait of Arnolfinio Couple (detail), 1434. Public Domain. 86
58. Pedro de Mena: Crying Virgin Mary, second half of seventeenth century.
Public Domain. 86
59. Pedro de Mena: Crying Madonna, Church of The Holy Martyrs, Malaga.
Public Domain. 86
60. Man Ray: L’énigme d’Isidore Ducasse, 1920. © Man Ray Trust/ADAGP.
Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 88
61. Pablo Picasso: Guitar, 1912. © Pablo Picasso/Succession Picasso.
Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 88
62. Umberto Boccioni: Fusion of Head and Window, 1912. Public Domain. 88
63. Gunther Uecker: Object Made from Nails, 1962. © Gunther Uecker/
Bild-Kunst. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 89
64. Jean Dubuffet: Plastic Art Made from Bath Sponge, 1950. © Jean
Dubuffet/ADAGP. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 89
65. Claes Oldenburg: Soft Washstand, 1966. Vinyl filled with kapok, on metal
stand painted with acrylic 55 x 36 x 28 in. Private collection © 1966 Claes
Oldenburg. 89
66. Piero Gilardi: Pumpkin, 1966. Courtesy of Piero Gilardi. 89
67. Jiří Kolář: A Blind Poem (typed without ribbon), 1962. Courtesy of Jiří
Kolář. 90
68. Jannis Kounellis: Piece Made from Cotton, 1967. © Tate London, 2011. 90
69. Clifford Williams: Plâtre à Toucher chez De Zayas 1916. Courtesy of
Francis M. Naumann (copy of photograph in the Archives of Marius de
Zayas in Seville). 92
70. Ay-O: Tactile Briefcase, 1963. Courtesy of Ay-O. 97
71. J. H. Kocman: Touch Study of My Surroundings, 1971. Courtesy of J. H.
Kocman, 2011. 99
72. Oscar Dominguez: Decalcomania, 1937. © Oscar Dominguez/ADAGP.
Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 101
73. Max Ernst: Frottage, 1925. © Max Ernst/ADAGP. Licensed by Viscopy,
2011. 101
74. Salvador Dalí: The Persistence of Memory, 1931. © Salvador Dalí,
Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí/VEGAP. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 102
75. Gala Eluard: Object with a Symbolic Function, 1931. Copyright holder
unlocatable. 102
76. Meret Oppenheim: Fur Dinner Suite, 1936. © Meret Oppenheim/Pro
Litteris. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 102
77. Micheline Bounoure: Object, 1959. Courtesy of Gilles Bounoure. 102
78. Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí: Un Chien Andalou, 1929. Public
Domain. 103
79. Oscar Dominiguez: Arrival from the Old Times, 1936. © Oscar
Dominguez/ADAGP. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 103
80. Salvador Dalí: Tactile Cinema, c. 1930–31. © Salvador Dalí, Fundació
Gala-Salvador Dalí/VEGAP. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 103
81. Frédérick Kiesler: Twin Touch Test, 1943 (VVV Almanac, No. 2–3).
© 2011 Austrian Frédérick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation,
Vienna. 104
82. Marcel Duchamp. Cover of VVV Almanac (detail). © Marcel Duchamp/
ADAGP. Licensed by Viscopy, 2011. 104
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