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Pataphysics: A Useless Guide
Of all the French cultural exports over the last 150 years or so, 'pataphysics--the science of imaginary solutions and the laws governing exceptions--has proven to be one of the most durable. Originating in the wild imagination of French poet and playwright Alfred Jarry and his schoolmates, resisting clear definition, purposefully useless, and almost impossible to understand, 'pataphysics nevertheless lies around the roots of Absurdism, Dada, futurism, surrealism, situationism, and other key cultural developments of the twentieth century. In this account of the evolution and influence of 'pataphysics, Andrew Hugill offers an informed exposition of a rich and difficult territory, staying aloft on a tightrope stretched between the twin dangers of oversimplifying a serious subject and taking a joke too seriously. Drawing on more than twenty-five years' research, Hugill maps the 'pataphysical presence (partly conscious and acknowledged but largely unconscious and unacknowledged) in literature, theater, music, the visual arts, and the culture at large, and even detects 'pataphysical influence in the social sciences and the sciences. He offers many substantial excerpts (in English translation) from primary sources, intercalated with a thorough explication of key themes and events of 'pataphysical history. In a Jarryesque touch, he provides these in reverse chronological order, beginning with a survey of 'pataphysics in the digital age and working backward to Jarry and beyond. He looks specifically at the work of Jean Baudrillard, Georges Perec, Italo Calvino, J. G. Ballard, Asger Jorn, Gilles Deleuze, Roger Shattuck, Jacques Pr?vert, Antonin Artaud, Ren? Clair, the Marx Brothers, Joan Mir?, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, Raymond Roussel, Jean-Pierre Brisset, and many others.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 3, 2024
Excellent. Really useful.
December 15, 2013
André Gervais suggested: the artist who said 'There is no solution because there is no problem' would not accept Pataphysics-- which is, as Jarry said, the 'science of imaginary solutions'-- at face value. However, the "science of imaginary solutions" is an incomplete definition. The full definition, of course, reads: "Pataphysics is the science of imaginary solutions, which symbolically attributes the properties of objects, described by their virtuality, to their lineaments." The word 'pataphysics' was invented by schoolboys in Rennes in the late 1880s and is most strongly identified with one of their own: the poet and playwright Alfred Jarry (1873-1907). It is generally agreed that it lies around the roots of many of the key artistic and cultural developments of the twentieth century, including absurdism, Dada, futurism, surrealism, situationism, and others. The fact that relatively few people are aware of its existence is part of the secret of its success. It has never fully become either a "movement" or a "philosophy," even though at times it seems to share some characteristics of both. It has managed to permeate both culture and society, but in ways which are somewhat shadowy. How could the ravings of an inebriated Absinthe-obsessed nineteenth-century French poet have penetrated the collective consciousness to such an extent? "'Pataphysics: A Useless Guide" is the first to explain exactly why pataphysics is such an earnest affair. It is certainly serious, but in its seriousness is its humor. As with everything else in pataphysics, it is full of contradictions.
For some, pataphysics is an ultimate spoof, a schoolboy prank, a raucous piece of nonsense; for others it is certainly an attitude of mind, a WAY OF LIFE, a discipline, a doctrine, a deeply ironic religion, even. It is profoundly useless or, as pataphysicians prefer to say, inutilious, but nevertheless manages to inform and infect the world. For "to understand pataphysics is to fail to understand pataphysics." But we can say that pataphysics is subjective, privileging the particular above the general, the imaginary above the real, the exceptional above the ordinary, the contradictory above the axiomatic. It's purpose is, of course, precisely to lead the mind to a state of heightened pataphysical awareness.
The twenty-first century has seen a rapidly growing awareness of the presence of pataphysics in the world. This has resulted to a great extent from the dis occultation of the Collège de 'Pataphysique, an event which at the time seemed to be of almost negligible significance, except to a few (mainly French) intellectuals, whose wider impact is only now beginning to be perceived. The Collège de 'Pataphysique itself was founded in the years immediately following World War II, as a somewhat humorous antidote to the prevailing philosophical orthodoxies in Paris: existentialism, late surrealism, Marxism- Leninism, and so on. The Collège was driven by the energies of certain movements in art and philosophy between the wars, such as Dada or surrealism, and founded on the ideas and writings, exploits and opinions, of Alfred Jarry. He in turn was influenced by a host of contemporaries and predecessors.
The Collège continues to flourish this day, under the leadership of its fourth Vice-Curator, His Magnificence Lutembi, who had effectively been chosen by his predecessor Opach in 1978, when he stipulated in a message to the Serenissimus Opitulator-General that his successor should be "neither a human being, nor French." Lutembi is in fact an African crocodile, and it is more correct to say Her Magnificence since it has recently been reported in a Collège journal that she in fact female. "The spiral is the primary symbol of pataphysics and has become a badge of the Collège, with a complicated hierarchy of colors and sizes designating rank within the organization." Unsurprisingly, the Collège has made a special study of the forms of spirals, has adopted its own 'Perpetual Pataphysical Calendar' which sets out an alternative system of time, and the Collège even has it's own pataphysical anthem, "Chanson du decervelage" (Debraining Song), from where else but Ubu Roi. The Collège could in fact appear to be a kind of secret society; the secrecy of this secret society was as much an imaginary solution as anything else in pataphysics. Transcendental Satraps of the Collège (a sort of pataphysical Saint) over the years have included: Max Ernst, Man Ray, Raymond Queneau, Jacques Prevert, Pascal Pia, Rene Clair, the Marx Brothers, and Joan Miro.
Given that the list of members contains some of the most ruggedly individualistic names in the arts, cinema, and literature, it is clear that the Collège offered to its adherents that other groups could not. There is much evidence that Paris in the postwar years was desperately seeking to rediscover its artistic, literary, and philosophical soul. The reinvention of a Dada spirit of nihilism, which had so well captured the sense of futility of World War I, seemed dangerously trivial at this time. Likewise, the seances and dream-inspired themes of surrealism ran the risk of self-indulgence or irrelevancy. The Collège de 'Pataphysique
offered a refreshingly transcendent alternative. It's posture as a nonpartisan home of quiet scholarship and reflection nuanced with pataphysical humor gave it a pleasing subversive flavor: heretical within a heretical position. The internal publications of the Collège were distributed in a range of formats and typographies of which each volume was shaped differently. For example, Petit Théâtre by Rene Daumal and Roger Gilbert-Lecomte, was to be opened only when wearing pigskin gloves; and the Monologue by Jean Ferry, typeset to be read while lying down. At times they feel like parish magazines in their intimacy and exhortations, at others they seem to transcend the parochial and acquire the status of the best philosophy. Taken as a whole, they represent an indispensable collection of literary and critical documents still active to this day.
Many of the leading European figures in pataphysics in the postwar years were visual artists: painters, sculptors, cartoonists, photographers, and cinematographers. Following the fascination of painters since Bonnard, Rouault, and Picasso with the monstrous figure of Ubu, many of them had been drawn to surrealism in the 1920s and 1930s. The antibourgeois, scandalous nature of Ubu became a rallying point for the surrealist revolution. However, the full horror of the prophetic nature of Jarry's vision of an ultimate dictator had become all too real during World War II. From 1945 onward, Ubu seemed to reaffirm the essential truth of an absurd irrationality at whose whim many European citizens lived or died. This was apparently something which artists such as Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray had directly experienced in their own lives. At this point, the surrealist revolution was unwinding and Andre Breton's increasingly "dictatorial" role as the 'Pope' of surrealism unfortunately seemed to have become Ubuesque for some. The efforts of surrealism to overturn bourgeois society had plainly disintegrated, and this, combined with the surrealists' interest in Stalin and/or their drift into mysticism, tended to drive many former adherents towards the Collège de Pataphysique. At the same time, a new generation of artists in Paris began to pick up on the pataphysical spirit...
Dada, surrealism, futurism, and the artistic avant-garde in general acknowledged the importance of Jarry's creation, doubtless encouraged by the efforts of the world to confirm the accuracy of his savage vision through its two great wars. On the other hand, a much less visible and generally us acknowledged pataphysics made its presence felt both in the artistic world and, to a certain extent, in the wider society. This pataphysics was the one identified in many of Jarry's other writings, which were little known beyond Parisian literary circles. There were pataphysicians who consciously adopted pataphysical ideas and applied them in their work to a greater or lesser extent. However, it should be noted that the word "pataphysics" itself was infrequently used even by these individuals. In some ways, these individuals were even more important than the avant-gardists, because they demonstrated the existence of pataphysics without the word itself. Both Paris and the idea of Paris were the hubs of pataphysics during this period. The imaginary Paris was particularly important for those artists, thinkers, and pataphysicians who were displaced by the war, an idea summed up in Marchel Duchamp's ready-made, Air de Paris.
Jarry's legacy was interpreted in various ways by different groups and individuals, each claiming him as a precursor. Had it not been for a handful of people who carefully tried to balance the rest of pataphysics with the enormous mass of Ubu, Jarry would have survived simply as the creator of that singular character and nothing more. There have been many accounts of the life of Jarry, beginning with those of his contemporaries, however embarking on the various facts and anecdotes that have made Jarry's life so famous, it is worth recollecting that the great majority of his time was spent reading, writing, and making art. This was a man who devoted his entire short existence to the creation of original work and the forging of a literary career, regardless of the personal consequences of health and wealth. Andrew Hugill's "'Pataphysics: A Useless Guide" certainly isn't a detailed account of the life of Alfred Jarry, as that is for the Jarry biography. The many colorful stories about Jarry tend to give the impression that he was some kind of experiment in living-as-art. It is certainly true that making life "beautiful like literature" was one of his goals, however. "Life and exploits [...] are more beautiful than Thought [...] Let us then Live, and we shall be the Masters," he declared in his essay "To Be and to Live" (1894).
Jarry's various 'incidents' have become legendary. Whether it was his open homosexuality, or his adopted mode of speech and behavior that resembled Ubu: referring to himself using the royal "we," moving like a marionette; his famously prodigious ability to consume alcohol (Absinthe most particularly); or turning up at the opera wearing a paper shirt with a black tie painted on it; eating a meal in reverse, beginning with the brandy and ending with the soup; wearing yellow high heels with filthy cycling shorts to Mallarme's funeral; challenging his friends to eat nothing but gherkins soaking in Absinthe until the first one changed color and was sick; engaging in target practice against a neighbor's house until the woman pleaded with him to stop in case he killed one of her children, then replying: "Should that happen, Ma-da-me, I would be happy to make some more with you"; or painting himself entirely green in honor of Absinthe. Despite these myths, most of them are practical jokes. The simultaneous existence of opposites that characterizes pataphysics itself is also present in the fluctuating stunts of these stories. They also give rise to the notion of pataphysics AS A WAY OF LIFE, rather than just a set of literary pursuits.
As Breton observed, "We can say that after Jarry, much more than after Wilde, the distinction between art and life, long considered necessary, found itself challenged and wound up being annihilated in principle". Two individuals who illustrated this principle of 'pataphysics as a way of life' and became models of the spirit were Arthur Craven and Jacques Vache. Not enough can be said about the importance of Vache to both Dada and Pataphysics. Vache, whom Breton described as "Dada before Dada, Dada in all it's purity, without compromise and without concessions to any snobbery". Cravan's mysterious disappearance in 1918 when sailing from Mexico to Argentina, and Vache's death in 1919 from an overdose of opium, did much to seal their reputations as livers of 'la vie imaginaire'. Both men seem to have treated their lives as an experiment in living, an experiment driven not so much by a traditional scientific spirit of inquiry, but more by an overwhelming subjectivity that produced an indifference both to themselves and to the material world. Escapism, whether from oneself or from the banalities of daily existence, does seem to be a feature of pataphysics. But we should be cautious here, for pataphysics cannot simply be some kind of escapist dream. The point is that Craven and Vache lived exceptional lives which had little in common with the experiences of a typical drunkard or suicide, or even the mode rock star who lives fast and dies young. A life is not more pataphysical because it contains drugs or fantasy or delusion. They key to the pataphysical life lies in the apostrophe that proceeds the world 'pataphysics. After all, "Jarry got into this thing called 'Pataphysics, which is sort of French joke science."
For some, pataphysics is an ultimate spoof, a schoolboy prank, a raucous piece of nonsense; for others it is certainly an attitude of mind, a WAY OF LIFE, a discipline, a doctrine, a deeply ironic religion, even. It is profoundly useless or, as pataphysicians prefer to say, inutilious, but nevertheless manages to inform and infect the world. For "to understand pataphysics is to fail to understand pataphysics." But we can say that pataphysics is subjective, privileging the particular above the general, the imaginary above the real, the exceptional above the ordinary, the contradictory above the axiomatic. It's purpose is, of course, precisely to lead the mind to a state of heightened pataphysical awareness.
The twenty-first century has seen a rapidly growing awareness of the presence of pataphysics in the world. This has resulted to a great extent from the dis occultation of the Collège de 'Pataphysique, an event which at the time seemed to be of almost negligible significance, except to a few (mainly French) intellectuals, whose wider impact is only now beginning to be perceived. The Collège de 'Pataphysique itself was founded in the years immediately following World War II, as a somewhat humorous antidote to the prevailing philosophical orthodoxies in Paris: existentialism, late surrealism, Marxism- Leninism, and so on. The Collège was driven by the energies of certain movements in art and philosophy between the wars, such as Dada or surrealism, and founded on the ideas and writings, exploits and opinions, of Alfred Jarry. He in turn was influenced by a host of contemporaries and predecessors.
The Collège continues to flourish this day, under the leadership of its fourth Vice-Curator, His Magnificence Lutembi, who had effectively been chosen by his predecessor Opach in 1978, when he stipulated in a message to the Serenissimus Opitulator-General that his successor should be "neither a human being, nor French." Lutembi is in fact an African crocodile, and it is more correct to say Her Magnificence since it has recently been reported in a Collège journal that she in fact female. "The spiral is the primary symbol of pataphysics and has become a badge of the Collège, with a complicated hierarchy of colors and sizes designating rank within the organization." Unsurprisingly, the Collège has made a special study of the forms of spirals, has adopted its own 'Perpetual Pataphysical Calendar' which sets out an alternative system of time, and the Collège even has it's own pataphysical anthem, "Chanson du decervelage" (Debraining Song), from where else but Ubu Roi. The Collège could in fact appear to be a kind of secret society; the secrecy of this secret society was as much an imaginary solution as anything else in pataphysics. Transcendental Satraps of the Collège (a sort of pataphysical Saint) over the years have included: Max Ernst, Man Ray, Raymond Queneau, Jacques Prevert, Pascal Pia, Rene Clair, the Marx Brothers, and Joan Miro.
Given that the list of members contains some of the most ruggedly individualistic names in the arts, cinema, and literature, it is clear that the Collège offered to its adherents that other groups could not. There is much evidence that Paris in the postwar years was desperately seeking to rediscover its artistic, literary, and philosophical soul. The reinvention of a Dada spirit of nihilism, which had so well captured the sense of futility of World War I, seemed dangerously trivial at this time. Likewise, the seances and dream-inspired themes of surrealism ran the risk of self-indulgence or irrelevancy. The Collège de 'Pataphysique
offered a refreshingly transcendent alternative. It's posture as a nonpartisan home of quiet scholarship and reflection nuanced with pataphysical humor gave it a pleasing subversive flavor: heretical within a heretical position. The internal publications of the Collège were distributed in a range of formats and typographies of which each volume was shaped differently. For example, Petit Théâtre by Rene Daumal and Roger Gilbert-Lecomte, was to be opened only when wearing pigskin gloves; and the Monologue by Jean Ferry, typeset to be read while lying down. At times they feel like parish magazines in their intimacy and exhortations, at others they seem to transcend the parochial and acquire the status of the best philosophy. Taken as a whole, they represent an indispensable collection of literary and critical documents still active to this day.
Many of the leading European figures in pataphysics in the postwar years were visual artists: painters, sculptors, cartoonists, photographers, and cinematographers. Following the fascination of painters since Bonnard, Rouault, and Picasso with the monstrous figure of Ubu, many of them had been drawn to surrealism in the 1920s and 1930s. The antibourgeois, scandalous nature of Ubu became a rallying point for the surrealist revolution. However, the full horror of the prophetic nature of Jarry's vision of an ultimate dictator had become all too real during World War II. From 1945 onward, Ubu seemed to reaffirm the essential truth of an absurd irrationality at whose whim many European citizens lived or died. This was apparently something which artists such as Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray had directly experienced in their own lives. At this point, the surrealist revolution was unwinding and Andre Breton's increasingly "dictatorial" role as the 'Pope' of surrealism unfortunately seemed to have become Ubuesque for some. The efforts of surrealism to overturn bourgeois society had plainly disintegrated, and this, combined with the surrealists' interest in Stalin and/or their drift into mysticism, tended to drive many former adherents towards the Collège de Pataphysique. At the same time, a new generation of artists in Paris began to pick up on the pataphysical spirit...
Dada, surrealism, futurism, and the artistic avant-garde in general acknowledged the importance of Jarry's creation, doubtless encouraged by the efforts of the world to confirm the accuracy of his savage vision through its two great wars. On the other hand, a much less visible and generally us acknowledged pataphysics made its presence felt both in the artistic world and, to a certain extent, in the wider society. This pataphysics was the one identified in many of Jarry's other writings, which were little known beyond Parisian literary circles. There were pataphysicians who consciously adopted pataphysical ideas and applied them in their work to a greater or lesser extent. However, it should be noted that the word "pataphysics" itself was infrequently used even by these individuals. In some ways, these individuals were even more important than the avant-gardists, because they demonstrated the existence of pataphysics without the word itself. Both Paris and the idea of Paris were the hubs of pataphysics during this period. The imaginary Paris was particularly important for those artists, thinkers, and pataphysicians who were displaced by the war, an idea summed up in Marchel Duchamp's ready-made, Air de Paris.
Jarry's legacy was interpreted in various ways by different groups and individuals, each claiming him as a precursor. Had it not been for a handful of people who carefully tried to balance the rest of pataphysics with the enormous mass of Ubu, Jarry would have survived simply as the creator of that singular character and nothing more. There have been many accounts of the life of Jarry, beginning with those of his contemporaries, however embarking on the various facts and anecdotes that have made Jarry's life so famous, it is worth recollecting that the great majority of his time was spent reading, writing, and making art. This was a man who devoted his entire short existence to the creation of original work and the forging of a literary career, regardless of the personal consequences of health and wealth. Andrew Hugill's "'Pataphysics: A Useless Guide" certainly isn't a detailed account of the life of Alfred Jarry, as that is for the Jarry biography. The many colorful stories about Jarry tend to give the impression that he was some kind of experiment in living-as-art. It is certainly true that making life "beautiful like literature" was one of his goals, however. "Life and exploits [...] are more beautiful than Thought [...] Let us then Live, and we shall be the Masters," he declared in his essay "To Be and to Live" (1894).
Jarry's various 'incidents' have become legendary. Whether it was his open homosexuality, or his adopted mode of speech and behavior that resembled Ubu: referring to himself using the royal "we," moving like a marionette; his famously prodigious ability to consume alcohol (Absinthe most particularly); or turning up at the opera wearing a paper shirt with a black tie painted on it; eating a meal in reverse, beginning with the brandy and ending with the soup; wearing yellow high heels with filthy cycling shorts to Mallarme's funeral; challenging his friends to eat nothing but gherkins soaking in Absinthe until the first one changed color and was sick; engaging in target practice against a neighbor's house until the woman pleaded with him to stop in case he killed one of her children, then replying: "Should that happen, Ma-da-me, I would be happy to make some more with you"; or painting himself entirely green in honor of Absinthe. Despite these myths, most of them are practical jokes. The simultaneous existence of opposites that characterizes pataphysics itself is also present in the fluctuating stunts of these stories. They also give rise to the notion of pataphysics AS A WAY OF LIFE, rather than just a set of literary pursuits.
As Breton observed, "We can say that after Jarry, much more than after Wilde, the distinction between art and life, long considered necessary, found itself challenged and wound up being annihilated in principle". Two individuals who illustrated this principle of 'pataphysics as a way of life' and became models of the spirit were Arthur Craven and Jacques Vache. Not enough can be said about the importance of Vache to both Dada and Pataphysics. Vache, whom Breton described as "Dada before Dada, Dada in all it's purity, without compromise and without concessions to any snobbery". Cravan's mysterious disappearance in 1918 when sailing from Mexico to Argentina, and Vache's death in 1919 from an overdose of opium, did much to seal their reputations as livers of 'la vie imaginaire'. Both men seem to have treated their lives as an experiment in living, an experiment driven not so much by a traditional scientific spirit of inquiry, but more by an overwhelming subjectivity that produced an indifference both to themselves and to the material world. Escapism, whether from oneself or from the banalities of daily existence, does seem to be a feature of pataphysics. But we should be cautious here, for pataphysics cannot simply be some kind of escapist dream. The point is that Craven and Vache lived exceptional lives which had little in common with the experiences of a typical drunkard or suicide, or even the mode rock star who lives fast and dies young. A life is not more pataphysical because it contains drugs or fantasy or delusion. They key to the pataphysical life lies in the apostrophe that proceeds the world 'pataphysics. After all, "Jarry got into this thing called 'Pataphysics, which is sort of French joke science."
March 14, 2019
I had heard the term "pataphysics" in various intriguing contexts, referencing the work of Italo Calvino, Stanislaw Lem, John Lennon, Jean Baudrillard, Luigi Serafini, Jorge Borges and Christian Bok. Since that list includes some of my favorite authors, I was curious to find out more of what it means. It is a word that was coined in the 19th century, but describes something fundamentally postmodern.
Like a lot of books about postmodernism, this book delights in not telling you straight-out what the word means, but talking around the idea in a playfully polysyllabic way until you get a vague sense of it. In one way pataphysics lies above metaphysics in the same way that metaphysics lies above physics. Where physics describes the rules of this world, and metaphysics describes the rules of possible worlds, pataphysics describes the (lack of) rules of impossible worlds. But the author and I take issue with that definition: it isn't really meta-metaphysics, going one level higher. If meta- is going up, then pata- seems like it is going down: away from the universal into the particular, away from a system of fundamental truth into the absurdity of fundamental error. It has something to do with humor, the science of the particular and exceptional rather than the general, imaginary encyclopedias, self-contradictory constraints, Dada and postmodernism. In it's focus on cataloging the unknowable, I was reminded of the SCP foundation, Time-Life Books Mysteries of the Unknown, or the library of Dream, where one section contains books its authors never wrote, or never finished, except in dreams.
Like a lot of books about postmodernism, this book delights in not telling you straight-out what the word means, but talking around the idea in a playfully polysyllabic way until you get a vague sense of it. In one way pataphysics lies above metaphysics in the same way that metaphysics lies above physics. Where physics describes the rules of this world, and metaphysics describes the rules of possible worlds, pataphysics describes the (lack of) rules of impossible worlds. But the author and I take issue with that definition: it isn't really meta-metaphysics, going one level higher. If meta- is going up, then pata- seems like it is going down: away from the universal into the particular, away from a system of fundamental truth into the absurdity of fundamental error. It has something to do with humor, the science of the particular and exceptional rather than the general, imaginary encyclopedias, self-contradictory constraints, Dada and postmodernism. In it's focus on cataloging the unknowable, I was reminded of the SCP foundation, Time-Life Books Mysteries of the Unknown, or the library of Dream, where one section contains books its authors never wrote, or never finished, except in dreams.
November 24, 2023
Andrew Hugills' "’Pataphysics: A Useless Guide" is a fascinating read, thanks to its clever reverse chronological order and constant forward references. The book's unique narrative style adds an intriguing layer to the reading experience, with an enigmatic figure like Alfred Jarry constantly referred to but revealed only in the final chapter.
In a delightful reversal of my usual reading routine, I'm writing this review just before diving into the much-anticipated section on Jarry, which is the final chapter. It's as if the book has turned my reading habits in reverse, creating a narrative structure that resembles a reversed pyramid or spiral – expanding on the wind-down, a concept that seems physically impossible yet captivatingly 'pataphysical. Who knows, maybe I won't even finish it this time, but that won't hinder my enjoyment, and future readers will embark on a similar enigmatic journey.
In a delightful reversal of my usual reading routine, I'm writing this review just before diving into the much-anticipated section on Jarry, which is the final chapter. It's as if the book has turned my reading habits in reverse, creating a narrative structure that resembles a reversed pyramid or spiral – expanding on the wind-down, a concept that seems physically impossible yet captivatingly 'pataphysical. Who knows, maybe I won't even finish it this time, but that won't hinder my enjoyment, and future readers will embark on a similar enigmatic journey.
May 22, 2014
"La pataphysique est la fin des fins."
"La pataphysique est la fin des faims."
"La pataphysique est la faim des fins."
"La pataphysique est le fin du fin."
"The apostrophe resembles a hiccup before the loud belch that is the word."
"The 'Pharus Foetidus Viscera,' or 'Olfactory Lighthouse,' by Maxine Edison, is a cylindrical pedestal topped by a bell jar and surrounded by metal octopus arms. Inside the jar, a unicorn horn slowly rotates, causing it to secrete a green goop that resembles shampoo gel. This lighthouse emits not photons but a random scattering of molecular oscillations as a curious set of bouquets lift and amuse the olfactory organ to the illusory delights of pomegranate, honeydew melon, eucalyptus, citrus, as well as Christmas tree, papaya, the essence of wood, and sugar cookie. The Auricular-lyrae, or Earolin, by Hans Spinnerman, is a cylindrical glass chamber housing a floating apparition of a giant ear which plays the violin. The Insecto Reanamus, also by Hans Spinnerman, is a device which extracts the dreams of bees and displays them in glass jars."
"Obviously 'Pataphysics does not even need to exist in order to exist."
"La pataphysique est la fin des faims."
"La pataphysique est la faim des fins."
"La pataphysique est le fin du fin."
"The apostrophe resembles a hiccup before the loud belch that is the word."
"The 'Pharus Foetidus Viscera,' or 'Olfactory Lighthouse,' by Maxine Edison, is a cylindrical pedestal topped by a bell jar and surrounded by metal octopus arms. Inside the jar, a unicorn horn slowly rotates, causing it to secrete a green goop that resembles shampoo gel. This lighthouse emits not photons but a random scattering of molecular oscillations as a curious set of bouquets lift and amuse the olfactory organ to the illusory delights of pomegranate, honeydew melon, eucalyptus, citrus, as well as Christmas tree, papaya, the essence of wood, and sugar cookie. The Auricular-lyrae, or Earolin, by Hans Spinnerman, is a cylindrical glass chamber housing a floating apparition of a giant ear which plays the violin. The Insecto Reanamus, also by Hans Spinnerman, is a device which extracts the dreams of bees and displays them in glass jars."
"Obviously 'Pataphysics does not even need to exist in order to exist."
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September 17, 2022Pataphysics: a vibe, not a wave. All well and good for what it is, but annoyingly French—which is to say, pompously insubstantial—in so many ways. Mostly a badge or banner, afaict so far: a vector for authentic generation, sure, but how many of said generators actually needed it? Philosophically incoherent with the always already baked-in alibi that it’s all a joke anyhow. You either like it or you don’t, and I mostly don’t.
July 14, 2019
Interesting foray into the world of (')Pataphysics, told in reverse chronological order (2000-1872, Alfred Jarry's birth).
Lots of examples, as pataphysics is probably best illustrated by, and that what we refer to as "absurd" or "surreal" art is, according to Hugill, more appropriately 'Pataphysical (Duchamp).
The apostrophe means someone consciously practicing pataphysics, sans apostrophe is someone who is doing it unbeknownst to them, as pataphysics is said to have existed since time immemorial, examples of pataphysicians (unconsciously) given were Jorge Luis Borges. Consciously, a lot of surrealists delved into it, maybe the biggest name being Raymond Queneau. Jean Baudrillard was an avowed 'Pataphysician as well.
As for what (')Pataphysics is, it seems essentially to me to be a very serious joke, with no way to separate out what is serious and what is a joke. The book ascribes (I want to say Duchamp, not sure) as someone saying their work is "meta-ironic" and that seems about right.
Lots of examples, as pataphysics is probably best illustrated by, and that what we refer to as "absurd" or "surreal" art is, according to Hugill, more appropriately 'Pataphysical (Duchamp).
The apostrophe means someone consciously practicing pataphysics, sans apostrophe is someone who is doing it unbeknownst to them, as pataphysics is said to have existed since time immemorial, examples of pataphysicians (unconsciously) given were Jorge Luis Borges. Consciously, a lot of surrealists delved into it, maybe the biggest name being Raymond Queneau. Jean Baudrillard was an avowed 'Pataphysician as well.
As for what (')Pataphysics is, it seems essentially to me to be a very serious joke, with no way to separate out what is serious and what is a joke. The book ascribes (I want to say Duchamp, not sure) as someone saying their work is "meta-ironic" and that seems about right.
October 14, 2015
As daunting (daunting? impossible?) a task it is to pen a guide to 'pataphysics, Andrew Hugill comes about as close as one can. That being said, he hits some snags from the beginning, the biggest being that the creation of a conventional guide to 'pataphysics is in itself utterly unpataphysical. If you expect this book to leave you with a greater understanding of the subject, I am sorry to tell you it will not. If, however, you would like a concise, lucid overview of the fascinating history of 'pataphysic and a great jumping off point for further reading, I recommend it whole-heartedly.
February 21, 2019
A great primer. Has a very interesting section on how dada and surrealist artists (particularly Marcel Duchamp) used pataphysics, which became a direct influence on conceptual art generally.
This book would not be recommended for readers that seek empiricism, or are intolerant of "crazy ideas". If you've read anything by Douglas Hofstadter, or even some of Daniel Dennett, you could get into this.
If things don't make sense, maybe they do in other dimensions.
This book would not be recommended for readers that seek empiricism, or are intolerant of "crazy ideas". If you've read anything by Douglas Hofstadter, or even some of Daniel Dennett, you could get into this.
If things don't make sense, maybe they do in other dimensions.
December 16, 2012
An excellent, brisk and entertaining survey of the 'Pataphysical landscape; although, given the role of plagiarism by anticipation in 'Pataphysics, I was disappointed that the backward spiral stopped with Jarry. A final chapter looking at some of those anticipatory plagiarists, would have been a nice ending to the book...
June 4, 2018
After reading this, I still don’t really know what pataphysics is, and I think that’s the point. I enjoyed the reverse timeline structure. When I finished the book, I immediately reread the start, and it made more sense. I can see rereading the book in the future.
October 3, 2023
None of this makes any sense to me, which I think is the point?
June 5, 2021
This sort of archaeology of 'pataphysics traces the cultural and artistic influences of Alfred Jarry (1873-1907). It is an excellent source book for the development of a movement that by definition defies definition. As the science of imaginary solutions and exceptions, 'patatphysics has had a great influence on the avant-garde from its inception to this day. This book is an excellent place to begin to survey the universe of Jarry, Père Ubu, and Doctor Faustroll.
September 9, 2023
The subtitle is partially right. An interesting read, but it might have been more useful to me before I knew most of what is in it.
January 6, 2025
Good scholarship, good delivery, but suspiciously loyal at times
May 28, 2014
A good all-in-one-volume study on Pataphysics, with an incredible amount of information regarding its authors, artists, etc. My problem with the book is that it is at times very academic, yet there are wonderful stories within the pages. It is also nice to see Boris Vian get some credit in the English language regarding his work and talent as a personality in the world of Pataphysics. My only other complaint, is a personal one, that I wished that the author Andrew Hugill would acknowledge my press TamTam Books as well as Exact Change, who has published Alfred Jarry as well as I, publishing Vian. But I think it is due that the author is British, and the U.K. publications and its press are extremely important - but still, a nod towards our direction in the U.S. would have been nice. But let by-gones be by-gones, and anyone interested in this subject matter (which means everyone) should have this book in their personal library. Resourceful and essential.
August 4, 2020
In truth, this book deserves zero stars. It claims to be useless, but is sadly very helpful in understanding The Science. Ha ha.
Where mathematics, philosophy, theology, and metaphysics all combine (and fail to combine), we have pataphysics. Ants, kings, the whole of human learning, green candles... they are all equivalent in value when viewed through the lens of 'pataphysics. Its discoverer, Alfred Jarry, is explored and examined in this in depth analysis of what The Science entails, and how its influence has rooted its tendrils into futurism, dadaism, surrealism, technology, humor and the avant-garde. The works of Le Collège de 'Pataphysique and the OuLiPo are rigorously delved into, and invite the reader to sample new and bizarre literature that 'pataphysics has helped take shape. Told in reverse chronological order, the spirit of la Grande Gidouille is on full display from start to finish.
Where mathematics, philosophy, theology, and metaphysics all combine (and fail to combine), we have pataphysics. Ants, kings, the whole of human learning, green candles... they are all equivalent in value when viewed through the lens of 'pataphysics. Its discoverer, Alfred Jarry, is explored and examined in this in depth analysis of what The Science entails, and how its influence has rooted its tendrils into futurism, dadaism, surrealism, technology, humor and the avant-garde. The works of Le Collège de 'Pataphysique and the OuLiPo are rigorously delved into, and invite the reader to sample new and bizarre literature that 'pataphysics has helped take shape. Told in reverse chronological order, the spirit of la Grande Gidouille is on full display from start to finish.
November 11, 2013
Well done, AHAH! Especially the 1st chapter that deals with the present was very useful to me: how 'Pataphysics almost came to an end in the seventies and how it rose again with the rise of the internet... Not everyone's cup of tea, but if you are a Pataphysician, which you are, either aware or unaware: unmissable.
ir. HH Spoorenberg OB OK OCS
ir. HH Spoorenberg OB OK OCS
September 8, 2013
I feel smarter just knowing that this is a thing that exists.
August 10, 2019
I loved this book and highly recommend it.
March 7, 2016
Ha Ha
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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