Cabinet of precariousness: From the ephemeral image to the eternal image. Issue 1 (1st June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nogueira, Luís
• Is Part Of: Empedocles. Volume 13:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 69
• Page End: 86
• Publication Date: 2022-06-01
• Subjects: Communication -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; 302.201
• DOI: 10.1386/ejpc_00042_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-1952

Abstract

In this article, precariousness is understood as an intrinsic characteristic of a vast set of images ‐ being them pictorial, sculptural, photographic, cinematographic, digital or other. These images acquire their specific value, most of the time, precisely as a function of this attribute. Precariousness is, in this case, not an insufficiency or a weakness, but a power, understood in different areas, from aesthetics to ontology. This article is divided into two parts: the first one explores, in various ways, the ephemerality‐eternity polarity based on precariousness; the second one allows us to know the plural manifestations of the precariousness of the image in multiple forms of expression by identifying a range of arts and media nuclei. Invoking the contribution of different authors, from ancient to contemporary times, the article ends as it begins: it highlights the intrinsic precariousness of both forms of artistic creation and the modes of academic thinking.