Abstract
The eye occupies a central place in the teaching of Jacques Lacan. In particular, it finds its almost final formulation in Seminar X (1962-63) and Seminar XI (1964). In these Seminars the field of vision is no longer the place of illusion and mirage of the subjective identity, but it becomes the same field crossed by Freud’s Unheimlich , namely that of the sudden apparition of what is invisible. ‘Look’ is the name that Lacan gives to this appearance. The effects of what Lacan calls the ‘look function’ are: a radical alteration of the coordinates of the visual field and an effect of anguish. In such a perspective, the visual field becomes the proper place to radicalize the idea of the ‘subversion of the subject’: the subject doesn’t look, he/she is looked, the gaze looks at the subject, grabs him/her, and, in doing so, it determines the subject. Thus, Lacan reduces the subject to a claim, a need, that crosses and distorts the visual field. This distortion forces the subject to meet his/her condition of object. From this point of view, visual arts are a privileged territory to establish a certain relationship with the constant distortion of the eye (since aesthetics is, after all, ethics), therefore with that objectual condition that each subject embodies.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Lebenswelt: Aesthetics and Philosophy of Experience
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
