Monday 8 June 2015

Picture Post No. 1 : 'Chien derrière camion'


'Because things don’t appear to be the known thing; they aren’t that what they seemed to be neither will they become what they might appear to become.'


Posted by Tessa den Uyl


Route N10 Skoura-Ouarzazate, December 2014
“The privileged position of one who is behind
A change of perspective can mean that the way that you look at something can change radically. It can upturn how you actually perceive a reality that -  all of the sudden - appears illogical. Meanings can become twisted yet open up sparkles of hope demanding renewed attention. (Exchanging the direct interpretation given to words, that in their proper nature are ambivalent.)

What this photo gives to me, is not a renewed tradition (where dromedaries have made place here for a truck), but rather, what it communicates about the loss of contemplative thinking.
 

Finding a dog travelling like this, in front of your car, explodes in a moment of bewilderment: the dog resets the ethical aspects innate to wonder. Does the dog hand back to us an ethics of principle that moves beyond tradition? Then, we might say that:
“The ethical home fulfils itself in the space of its non-identification


4 comments:

Thomas O. Scarborough said...

Very good, that last line -- although I needed to read it three times before I got it! And the photo illustrates it beautifully.

docmartincohen said...

Yes, it is a 'one guinea' sign-off. I'm more of a tuppence ah'penny writer myself. The image, I find, has a ind of timeless appeal - it could be defintiely a painting from imagination.

Youngjin Kang said...

This reminds me of my 12th grade social studies teacher in high school. At the beginning of the semester, he made his students climb up a small hill behind the school building and said, "The reason I brought you here is to show you how a different perspective can change the way you see the world. Looking at your school from this angle, you now probably see things you haven't seen before". Then he explained us how important it is to look at things in different ways. One of the most inspiring teachers I've ever met...

docmartincohen said...

Lucky you to have a philosopher for a teacher!

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