Another "other": Exploring " the other " in the Field of Art from the Perspective of Emmanuel Lévinas’ View Point of Death

Abstract

<p>「他者」（the other）對於當代藝術而言擁有致命的吸引力。在強調公共性、社群連結與群眾參與的藝術趨勢之下，他者已然成為不可或缺的要角。然而在此過程中，他者的概念往往也變得稀薄，特別是在慶典化、活動化的藝術形式演變之下，弔詭地使他者成為更為穩固的對象以及消費客體。如此一來，等同於將他者均值化，並且將其逐出於創作者自己的生命之外。有鑑於此，本文首先概論性地分析當代藝術發展歷程中，關於他者崛起的脈絡，以及目前所面臨到的問題。與此同時，從伊曼紐爾．列維納斯（Emmanuel Lévinas）對於他者、死亡與倫理之間的觀點出發，援引哲學的提問，對質藝術的現象。最後回到創作者作為「存有者」的位置，嘗試提出「深度他者」的觀點。哲學對於藝術而言並非指引的作用，但是兩者之間實則隱含著內在的關聯性。列氏相當具有創建的他者觀點，有助於吾人打開藝術創作中的「相互主體性」，並且為當代藝術逐漸產生空洞危機的他者觀念，提供一個全新且具深度的見解。</p> <p> </p><p>The concept of “the other” has become a fatal attraction for contemporary art. Under the trend of emphasizing publicity, community, and participation in art, it has become an indispensable role. However, in this process, the concept of “the other” is often diluted, especially when art become festival and event, it paradoxically makes the other a more stable and consumed object, homogenizing and expelling the other from the artist’s own life. In view of this, the article firstly analyzes the context of the rise of “the other” in contemporary art and the problems it is currently facing. At the same time, the article explores the interactive relationship of the other, death, and ethics of Emmanuel Lévinas’s viewpoint, citing philosophical questions and confronting the phenomenon of art nowadays. Finally, the article returns to the state of the artist as “entity”, and tries to find out the “deep otherness” in it. Philosophy doesn’t guide art, but there is an implicit connection between the two. Lévinas’s original idea of “the other” may help us to clarify the “inter-subjectivity” of artist and provide a new and in-depth insight in contemporary art scene.</p> <p> </p>