Knowldege of soverienty

1. B y G e o r g e s B a t i l l e

2. • G e o r g e B a t a i l l e wa s a F r e n c h
s c h o l a r wo r k i n g v a r i o u s f i e l d s r a n g i n g
f r o m a n t h r o p o l o g y, p h i l o s o p h y,
e c o n o m y, t r a n s g r e s s i o n , e r o t i c i s m ,
s o v e r e i g n t y, l i t e r a t u r e , t h e h i s t o r y o f
a r t a n d m u c h m o r e .
• A t t r a c t e d t o S u r r e a l i s m
• H e s o m e t i m e s p u b l i s h e d u n d e r
p s e u d o n y m s
• O n e f o u n d e r o f t h e C o l l e g e o f
S o c i o l o g y d u r i n g t h e W W 2
G e o r g e s B a t a i l l e

3. S o v e r e i g n t y
T r a d i t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n :
‘ S U P R E M E P O W E R O R A U T H O R I T Y ’
B a t a i l l e ’ s r e s p o n s e t o s o v e r e i g n t y i s
d i v e r s e , r e l a t i n g t o t h e h i e r a r c h i c a l
s t a t u s a n d p h y s i c a l a n d e m o t i o n a l
s t a t u s .

5. W h a t ’s t h e t e x t a l l a b o u t ?
A n e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e t e r m s o v e r e i g n t y d e f i n e d b y
B a t a i l l e :
‘ t h e b a s i c e l e m e n t s : c o n s u m p t i o n b e y o n d u t i l i t y,
t h e d i v i n e , t h e m i r a c u l o u s , t h e s a c r e d
C o n s u m p t i o n b e y o n d u t i l i t y : t o h a v e a n d d o m o r e
t h a n y o u n e e d o r r e q u i r e ; e x c e s s i v e n e s s .
T h e d i v i n e : a n a s p e c t o f t h e m i r a c u l o u s ; ‘ t h e
o b j e c t o f l a u g h t e r i s d i v i n e ’
T h e m i r a c u l o u s : a s u g g e s t i o n o f t h e f r e e d o m o f
h a v i n g e x c e s s i v e n e s s o f m a t e r i a l s ‘ t h e
m i r a c u l o u s s e n s a t i o n o f h a v i n g t h e wo r l d a t h i s
d i s p o s a l ’ a n d e m o t i o n a l s t a t e s .

6. ‘He works in order to eat,
and he eats in order to
work.’

7. ‘We must satisfy our needs,
and we suffer if we fail.’

8. ‘The possibility of life
opens without limit.’

9. ‘If I am right, if my feeling
is justified, I will still have
to prove it!’

10. ‘Attributed to god and dignitaries’

11. ‘Beggar can sometimes be as
close as the great nobleman.’

12. ‘Man does not live on bread alone,
he lives on what is divine’

13. ‘Knowledge is never sovereign’

14. ‘The meaning of art, the
anticipation of a suspended wonder
struck moment, a miraculous
moment’

15. What’s this got to do with architecture?