Those who insist
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/1678-9857.ra.228131Keywords:
Dead to the work, Vinciane Despret, ReviewAbstract
The Belgian philosopher Vinciane Despret (1959) adds a new book to her intellectual production, focusing on the relationships between the living and the dead. She previously explored this theme in To the Health of the Dead: Stories of Those Who Remain (2021), published by Cactus, and now presents Dead to the Work (2024) through the same publisher. The title itself suggests the core of the book. By altering the colloquial phrase "hands to work," Despret condenses and anticipates the material she offers the reader: artistic productions demanded after a death, whether recent or distant. Dead to the Work is a book composed of five stories, all linked by the productivity of the dead. Despret describes and historicizes the "insistence" of the "common dead" and the works attributed to them. The events narrated here feature victims of femicide, traffic accidents, war, the judicial system, and terrorism. Even though these dead are no longer among the living—a statement that is only partially true—their insistence gives birth to gardens, visual artworks, architectural projects, and musical pieces.
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References
COLLIN, Jean-Damien. 2018. “Los nuevos patrocinadores: la creación como cuestión democrática”. Nectar, 1 (6): 118-115. https://www.cairn.info/revue-nectart-2018-1-page-108.htm?contenu=article
DESPRET, Vinciane. [2023] 2024. Muertos a la obra. Buenos Aires, Editorial Cactus.
ESPRET, Vinciane. 2015] 2021. A la salud de los muertos. Relatos de quienes quedan. Buenos Aires, Editorial Cactus.
LOS NUEVOS PATROCINADORES: http://www.nouveauxcommanditaires.eu/fr/
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