Against Architecture (1989) – Denis Hollier
Has anyone read this book on Georges Bataille? How can one be against architecture? How does the title relate to the thought of Bataille? Which church is burning in the picture? It looks like the Notre Dame. Did it ever burn?
I read the book. In fact I own the book, and have used some of it’s part for a post on MZ412’s ‘Burning The Temple Of God’. It’s one of the best interpretations of the work of Bataille I’ve read.
The book focuses on architectural metaphors in Bataille’s oeuvre. It takes an entry on arhcitecture by Bataille in the Encyclopedia Acephalica as it’s starting point. In the entry, architecture is decried as authoritarian in nature, stabilizing hierarchical relationships. Hollier contrasts authoritarian architecture with that of the labyrinth, which he interprets as a destabilizing architecture. Other builings which are explored are pyramids and slaughterhouses. The human body also takes an important place. As is well know, architecture is often used as a metaphor for human physiognomy. In the book, eroticism is presented as destabilizing the architecture of the body.
The burning church on the cover is the Reims cathedral, which was bombarded by the Germans in WW1. As is known from Michel Surya’s biography of Bataille, he fled the city with his mother and brother, leaving his blind and syphilis-crazed father behind in the city under attack. This had a formative influence on Bataille.
Valter
Thanks for your clarifications and the link to http://surrealdocuments.blogspot.com/2007/07/mz-412-burning-temple-of-god.html
Jan
Have you also read ‘the singular object of architecture’ by Baudrillard?
Hi James,
Welcome to the blog.
No, I haven’t read The singular object of architecture by Baudrillard, could you describe its relation and significance to “Against Architecture (1989)?.
Jan
Is this you James?
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