Rik Peeters

“The artist, according to Freud, is a neurotic who treats himself, I guess because no one else can.”
― Witold Gombrowicz, Diary

“No one really knew what was being played because the perfection of the pianist did not allow one to concentrate on Brahms, and the perfection of Brahms drew attention away from the pianist. But he got there. Applause. The applause of the knowledgable. The applause of amateurs. The applause of the ignorant. The applause of the herd. Applause incited by applause. Applause feeding on itself, pilling onto itself, exciting, creating applause. And no one could NOT clap because everyone was clapping.”
― Witold Gombrowicz, Diary

“Dat idee van de Dag des Oordeels, wanneer alle opgestapelde schulden volledig afgelost zullen zijn en een ontwrichte wereld eindelijk in het lood is gebracht, is later in geseculariseerde vorm overgenomen door het moderne linkse project. De instantie van het oordeel is dan echter niet meer God, maar het volk. Linkse politieke bewegingen zijn te vergelijken met 'woedebanken'. Ze verzamelen woedeinvesteringen en beloven grootschalige wraak, het herstel van een allesomvattende gerechtigheid.”
― Slavoj Žižek, Violence: Six Sideways Reflections

“When talking to a Communist, don't you have the impression that you are speaking to a "beleiver"? For a Communist, too, everything is taken care of, at least in the current phase of the dialectical process. He is in possission of the truth he knows. And, what is more, he believes, and what is still more, he wants to believe. Even if you could prove otherwise to him, he will not be convinced, because he has given himself up to the Party. The Party knows better, the Party knows for him.”
― Witold Gombrowicz, Diary