In trying to whittle down the vast edifice of theoretical writing, Jacques Rancire has long since been one French thinker whose oeuvre I have not explored. However, I recently came across his interaction with the French dance/art journal Mouvement in the framework of his new book, "The Emancipated Spectator," which appeared in ditions La Fabrique in October. Since I'm particularly keen to keep a finger on the pulse of theoretical interest in "theatrical" structures, I thought it might be worth considering breaking my lack of contact with Rancire's work.

The following description and my inexact, utilitarian translation comes from the publisher's website. Due to the density of the writing, I suspect that the author is Rancire himself rather than an editor, although there is no indication to this fact.

The publisher's website also indicates that Rancire will be giving an interview on January 15, 2009 at 23:30 on Radio France Culture's program, "Du jour au lendemain," which is available both as a live stream and as archived sound files. The archive is astonishingly extensive and decidedly worth a visit.

Le spectateur mancip

Jacques Rancire

Celui qui voit ne sait pas voir: telle est la prsupposition qui traverse notre histoire, de la caverne platonicienne la dnonciation de la socit du spectacle. Elle est commune au philosophe qui veut que chacun se tienne sa place et aux rvolutionnaires qui veulent arracher les domins aux illusions qui les y maintiennent. Pour gurir l?aveuglement de celui qui voit, deux grandes stratgies tiennent encore le haut du pav. L?une veut montrer aux aveugles ce qu?ils ne voient pas: cela va de la pdagogie explicatrice des cartels de muses aux installations spectaculaires destins faire dcouvrir aux tourdis qu?ils sont envahis par les images du pouvoir mdiatique et de la socit de consommation. L?autre veut couper sa racine le mal de la vision en transformant le spectacle en performance et le spectateur en homme agissant. Les textes runis dans ce recueil opposent ces deux stratgies une hypothse aussi simple que drangeante: que le fait de voir ne comporte aucune infirmit; que la transformation en spectateurs de ceux qui taient vous aux contraintes et aux hirarchies de l?action a pu contribuer au bouleversement des positions sociales; et que la grande dnonciation de l?homme alin par l?excs des images a d?abord t la rponse de l?ordre dominant ce dsordre. L?mancipation du spectateur, c?est alors l?affirmation de sa capacit de voir ce qu?il voit et de savoir quoi en penser et quoi en faire. Les interventions runies dans ce recueil examinent, la lumire de cette hypothse, quelques formes et problmatiques significatives de l?art contemporain et s?efforcent de rpondre quelques questions: qu?entendre exactement par art politique ou politique de l?art? O en sommes-nous avec la tradition de l?art critique ou avec le dsir de mettre l?art dans la vie? Comment la critique militante de la consommation des marchandises et des images est-elle devenue l?affirmation mlancolique de leur toute-puissance ou la dnonciation ractionnaire de l? homme dmocratique?

My rough translation:

The Emancipated Spectator

Jacques Rancire

"He who sees does does not know how to see": such is the presupposition that traverses our history, from the platonic cave to the society of the spectacle. It is common to the philosopher who wishes each to hold to their place and to revolutionaries who wish to tear the dominated from the illusions that maintain them as such. In order to heal the blindness of he who sees, two major strategies still hold up at culture's highest levels. One wants to show to the blind that which they do not see: from the explanatory pedagogy of museum cartels to spectacular installations intended to permit the unaware to discover that they have been invaded by the images of the media and consumer society's power. The other wishes to cut vision's trouble at its root by transforming spectacle into performance and the spectator into acting man. The texts brought together in this collection oppose these two strategies with a hypothesis as simple as it is destabilizing: that the fact of seeing does not necessitate any infirmity; that the transformation into spectators of those sworn to the constraints and hierarchies of action was capable of contributing to the overthrow of social positions; and that the grand denunciation of man alienated by the excess of images had originally been the response of the dominant order to this disorder. The emancipation of the spectator is then the affirmation of his capacity to see what he sees and to know what to think and do about it. The interventions assembled in this collection examine, in light of this hypothesis, several forms and problematics significant for contemporary art and endeavor to respond to several questions: what to understand exactly by political art or politics of art? Where are we with the tradition of critical art or with the desire to put art into life? How has the militant critique of the consummation of goods and images become the melancholic affirmation of their total power or the reactionary denunciation of the "democratic man"?