Abstract
The "word-image" relationship is an important subject of modern Western aesthetics. It represents the division between the writing of art history and that of art criticism. The bone of contention between the two writing camps is whether the art work can be reducible to words. Art writings vibrate between this dualism, and some try to transcend the "word-image" division in theory. In his The Sight of Death: An Experiment in Art Writing, T. J. Clark, by adopting the diary style without a strong style of language, recorded his daily viewing of Poussin's paintings and his deep contemplations. He stresses the materiality of painting, which the viewers should pay attention to. The writing experiment makes possible a peaceable settlement of the "word-image" disputes, and the resonance between art and language. Basically, such an experiment criticizes the present situation of art writing, which is divorced from social realities, neglecting image quality and visual analysis, and flaunting new theory, and is reduced to the "alienation" caused by capitalist totality and cultural industry.
First Page
149
Last Page
155
Recommended Citation
Zhuge, Yi. 2017. "Transcending the "Word-Image" Debate: the Writing Experiment of T. J. Clark's The Sight of Death." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 37, (3): pp.149-155. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol37/iss3/21
