The Real of Reality: Daniela Angelucci

In Lacan’s theory of the three registers of human life (Real, Imaginary, Symbolic), Real is quite different from reality. If the reality is the world seen through our faculties of Imaginary (selfawareness) and Symbolic (language), what is behind reality is properly the Real, something elusive and resisting to meaningful formulations. I will argue that such dimension can be thought very close to the Deleuze’s idea of pure immanence. In »What is philosophy?« Deleuze and Guattari write that immanence can be faced not only from philosophy, but from science and art as well. The specific content of philosophy are concepts, the ones of science functions, and the ones of art the composition of sensible aggregates. Art does not cross the plane of virtuality and becoming as philosophy does, it does not establish a plane of reference in which placing the variable entities of the universe as science does, but rather territorializes and deterritorializes, that is it allows a “leap” guiding the artist from chaos into the organization of aesthetic composition, a composition which anyway remains always open. My suggestion is that art is the most frequented and feasible route to approach immanence (or Real), to brush against ideas and sensations which are usually dispersed without however succumbing them. In particular, among the different artistic practices, cinema – thanks to the impersonality of its technical genesis – can be a privileged way to grasp Real in its immanence.

Daniela Angelucci is associate professor of aesthetics at University of Roma Tre. She studies aesthetics and philosophy of art, particularly philosophy of film. She earned her PhD at University of Palermo in 2002. Since 2003 she collaborates assiduously to the works edited by Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana (Treccani). Her early work is on phenomenological aesthetics and philosophy of literature. She is managing editor of the review »Lebenswelt. Aesthetics and philosophy of experience«, and staff member of »Fata Morgana. Quadrimestrale di cinema e visioni«. She is member of the editorial board of the series Estetica e critica (Quodlibet).

Video Documentary:

ZKM | Institute for Visual Media

Camera: Peter Müller
Editing: Peter Müller
Live Editing: Sarah Binder