Heidegger Among the Sculptors: Body, Space, and the Art of Dwelling

144 Pages·2010·1.04 MB·English

by  Andrew Mitchell

Heidegger Among the Sculptors

Heidegger Among the Sculptors
BODY, SPACE, AND THE ART OF DWELLING
Andrew J. Mitchell
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS . STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
©2010 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
This book has been published with the assistance of the College of Arts and Sciences
and James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies, Emory University.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of
Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mitchell, Andrew J., 1970-
Heidegger among the sculptors : body, space, and the art of dwelling / Andrew J.
Mitchell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8047-7022-4 (cloth : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-8047-7023-1 (pbk. : alk.
paper)
1. Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976. 2. Sculpture, Modern--Philosophy. 3. Human body
(Philosophy) 4. Space. I. Title. B3279.H49M499 2010
193--dc22
2010008177
Designed by Bruce Lundquist
Typeset at Stanford University Press in 9/15 Palatino with Walbaum display
A monograph for Amy

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
Introduction: A Material Space of Radiance 1
1
Ernst Barlach: Materiality and Production 20
2
Bernhard Heiliger: The Erosion of Being 36
3
Excursus on the Goddess Athena 58
4
Eduardo Chillida: The Art of Dwelling 66
Conclusion: The Taste of Us 92
Notes 103
Bibliography 117

Illustrations
All sculptural works shown were either on display at the Darmstadt Ernst
Barlach exhibition, to which Heidegger contributed a catalog essay, or at the
Bernhard Heiliger Erker-Galerie opening, where Heidegger delivered the
opening address, or, in the case of works by Chillida, they were discussed
with Heidegger in conversation with Heinrich Wiegand Petzet (though in
some cases it has not been possible to determine exactly which version of a
work they considered). Works not appearing in any of these three contexts are
marked with an asterisk (*).
FIGURE I.1 Ernst Barlach’s Atelier in Heidberg, 1931 15
FIGURE I.2 Bernhard Heiliger’s Atelier in Berlin, 1947 16
FIGURE I.3 Eduardo Chillida at his workshop in Hernani, 1951 17
FIGURE 1.1 Ernst Barlach, Das vergnügte Einbein
(The Jolly Peg-Leg), 1934 21
FIGURE 1.2 Ernst Barlach, Der Asket [Der Beter]
(The Ascetic [Praying Man]), 1925 25
FIGURE 1.3 Ernst Barlach, Panischer Erschrecken
(Panicked Terror), 1912 29
FIGURE 1.4 Ernst Barlach, Pietà, 1932 33
FIGURE 2.1* Bernhard Heiliger, Die Flamme (The Flame), 1962 37
FIGURE 2.2* Bernhard Heiliger, Zwei Figuren in Beziehung II
(Two Figures in Relation II), 1954 41