The Aesthetics of Disappearance

by Paul Virilio, Philip Beitchman (Translator)

Virilio himself referred to his 1980 work The Aesthetics of Disappearance as a "juncture" in his thinking, one at which he brought his focus onto the logistics of perception -- a logistics he would soon come to refer to as the "vision machine." If Speed and Politics established Virilio as the inaugural -- and still consummate -- theorist of "dromology" (the theory of speed and the society it defines), The Aesthetics of Disappearance introduced his understanding of "picnolepsy" -- the epileptic state of consciousness produced by speed, or rather, the consciousness invented by the subject through its very absence: the gaps, glitches, and speed bumps lacing through and defining it. Speed and Politics defined the society of speed; The Aesthetics of Disappearance defines what it feels like to live in the society of speed."I always write with images," Virilio has claimed, and this statement is nowhere better illustrated than with The Aesthetics of Disappearance. Moving from the movie theater to the freeway, and from Craig Breedlove's attainment of terrifying speed in a rocket-power car to the immobility of Howard Hughes in his dark room atop the Desert Inn, Virilio himself jump cuts from such disparate reference points as Fred Astaire, Franz Liszt, and Adolf Loos to Dostoyevsky, Paul Morand, and Aldous Huxley. In its extension of the "aesthetics of disappearance" to war, film, and politics, this book paved the way to Virilio's follow-up: the celebrated study, War and Cinema.This edition features a new introduction by Jonathan Crary, one of the leading theorists of modern visual culture.Foreign Agents series. Distributed for Semiotext(e)

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theory, Art, Technology, Sociology, Politics

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Paul Virilio is a cultural theorist and urbanist. He is best known for his writings about technology as it has developed in relation to speed and power, with diverse references to architecture, the arts, the city and the military.

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been several years since I read this book and it made such a strong impact on me that I can remember where I was and what the temperature was like when I read it (and the book is about these sorts of placements in time). I remember being on the train reading it when someone told me that Michael Jackson had died.

The best way I can reflect on the way Virilio dissects time is to take the example of dropping a coffee cup (this is a broad paraphrase): when we drop a cup, we may take this as an accident or exception, but what we should really find exceptional is this illusion of continuity that we generally take for granted. It's odd actually that we're ever able to string all these moments together and *not* drop the cup.

Virilio's analysis of Howard Hughes, of the perception of time that can take shape in aviation and constant film-viewing, is one of the most sympathetic portraits of obsession I have ever read. It calls our definitions of madness into question by illuminating the complexity of the structures that we have to keep in place to agree that we're sane.

Beautifully written. Early in the text - Some issues with gender in Virilio's explanation of picnolepsy need to be read through to the end of the chapter and taken in context.

[Sandra]

A perfect example of how to abuse scientific terminology to the point of absurdity in a really dull and meandering manner. I think we should just collectively end cultural theory. It had a good run.

[Javier Rouco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bof

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I’m sure that the form of this book is somehow supposed to reflect his theories of speed and disappearance, it makes for an inconsistent and highly unfocused book, hopping around examples and ideas while never embellishing on any of them. If the whole book was supposed to evoke some kind of emotional response, it only left me with dissatisfaction. I’m under the impression his earlier stuff is more cohesive and takes time to properly address the interesting concepts he has introduced.

[Bernardo Moreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belíssimo livro.
Apesar do estilo ensaístico ser um pouco nauseante no início, logo me acostumei com as associações a-centradas de Virilio. A beleza de seu texto está propriamente nas articulações de temas, episódios, exemplos e anedotas as quais ele mobiliza.
Este livro é sobre a velocidade. Mas também sobre a técnica, a óptica, o cinema, a aceleração, a aniquilação do tempo e do espaço; um panorama da experiência visual da modernidade tardia.

[Gulliver's Bad Trip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virilio has that rare kind of erudition, like Borges on his essays, amongst other few, which allows him to make ancient/medieval remarks and soon relate it to modern/contemporaneous allusions. This book like maybe his other former ones may seem outdated due the Cold War context and conclusion but most of it is still quite understandable if you actually read him and his fellow philosopher Baudrillard. A great read after his Speed and Politcs.

[Ida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eins der Bücher, die nicht nur schwer zu bewerten sind, sondern auch beinahe unmöglich, andren ein Bild davon zu schildern, denn vor allem ist es eins von der Sorte, von der jeder je nach Lebenserfahrungen und -perspektiven ein eigenes Bild macht und sich damit anders auseinander setzt.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to Lost Dimension, The Aesthetics of Disappearance explores how modernity’s emphasis on speed negatively impacts human relationships with the surrounding world. While good, the book does blur together with some of Virilio’s other work.

[nonegloga]

L’uomo auto-accecandosi costruisce il suo doppio, il suo spettro intelligente e affida la tesaurizzazione del suo sapere ad un riflesso. Siamo nella sfera dell’illusione cinematica, del miraggio dell’informazione che si precipita nello schermo di un computer – dove esiste certo l’informazione ma non la sensazione –, siamo di fronte all’apatheia, quell’impassibilità scientifica in nome della quale quanto più l’uomo è informato tanto più si estende intorno a lui il deserto del mondo, tanto più la ripetizione dell’informazione (già fruita) disturba gli stimoli dell’osservazione, precedendoli automaticamente non solo nella memoria (luce interna) ma anche nello sguardo, al punto che ormai la velocità della luce limita persino la lettura dell’informazione, mentre l’elemento fondamentale nell’elettronica-informatica non è più la conservazione ma la visualizzazione.

[ayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

randomly stumbled across a pdf for this and i was really intrigued by the concept. i've never read any paul virilio nor have i really read much books on cultural theory yet i found this captivating at times. virilio's prose can be hard to follow and the writing here definitely requires a couple re-reads but the concepts here are really thought provoking.

visual politics across different contexts; absence as a whole separate world operating with a "different logic." i feel the concept of absence to be a consoling feeling.

"with speed, the world keeps on coming at us."

[Catarina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it’s a matter of taste, sensibility, or simply differences in discipline and training, but I found the book too scattered, full of digressions and generalizations. Not a single point was interesting to me, and some were frankly irritating, such as the description of abortion as “le meurtre accompli comme sous-produit de l’amour.” Thoughts about speed and machines and etc also didn't age well. Definitely not for me.

[Mario Ramirez-Arrazola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than speed and politics I think. Virilios’s writing is still a bit hard to follow here but his ideas are so good and prophetic that he makes up for it. His writing antics are very obvious after reading only two of his works. I like these shorter works a lot but yea definitely not as in depth as some would hope I guess

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like most Virilio books this starts off convoluted and then makes more sense once you get over half way. I’ll be honest this time I had to take a break because the organization was sparse. Glad I finished it because it tied back together well at the end. He’s critiquing the whole idea of focus and his style is more than just laziness or lack of refinement. It’s more about speed than disappearance, I don’t like that title. The visual perceptual parallel with the concept of entropic speed as we go further into the instability of late stage capitalism is brilliant. It sets him apart from Baudrillard who is awkwardly similar in many other ways.

[Chrystyphyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not understand most of this one

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encontré este libro en la biblioteca de casualidad y sólo por el título lo presté. No leí su sinopsis pero sí el primer párrafo. Ya sé qué no vuelvo hacer con ciertos títulos y ciertas temáticas.
Este libro es como la reunión de un montón de cosas que de algún modo están relacionadas con la desaparición, es decir, esa ausencia o vacío que hay entre un instante de la vida y otro.
Puede empezar con la epilepsia y terminar hablando de la velocidad de los automóviles, pasar por la ciencia ficción y rematar con el amor.
Muchas cosas no las comprendí, más bien me entretuvieron y estuve vagando entre párrafos. Uno no sabía muy bien a dónde iba pero avanzaba.

[Dr. Derek Woodgate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big Virilio fan, so enjoying the book so far. I seem to have come across references to George Melies more frequently in the past six months than in the previous decade. Thank you Hugo. The annihilation of time and speed is an interesting concept ripe for debate in the context of speed and society and our reconfiguration of speed beyond the acceptable metrics. Virilio's attempt to use the world of aesthetics as a playground for analyzing the revolutionizing speed of life looks to make for a fun ride.

[Anna]

Would also like to get the new edition of this.

[Cameron Kunzelman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly focused enough. Meandering Virilio is the worst kind of Virilio.