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the Venus of Lespugue

Please note: archive page

As explained in the Postscript of the Essay on Art (in chapter 19.3.3, in the passage concerned by its note 9), my initial explanation of the nature and function of art, as schematized in the presentation below, turned out to be wrong. My idea is now fully presented in a new section of the site accessible by this link. These texts are only in French, but a summary in English is available here
This page, which summarized my idea, obsolete since I understood how to read in art the relationship felt between matter and spirit, as well as its evolution over the millennia, is only left as an archive.

Presentation Of The Site Quatuor : to understand the history of art
what's the use of a "poivrière"?
("poivrière" is the French name for "pepperpot")

a cupola covers

a pillar supports

a window lights

a salt shaker pours salt

we can name what they do, for what they do has a meaning
but, what's the use of a "poivrière"?
in architecture, a "poivrière" is a small corbelled turret with a conical roof. This formula was often used in the 15th century in France


a "poivrière" clings on to a wall; it hangs from the wall; it's supported by the wall. A "poivrière" completely depends on the wall	a "poivrière" stands all alone in space, aside the wall. It establishes itself as independent of the wall

so, it makes the dependent independence

there is no word in the oral language
so that we can tell simultaneously one thing and the opposite thing

words would be nonsense
if they had not a sense,
if they always read a thing as well as just the opposite,
if "white" would mean "black" as well as "white"

However it matters to tell "the dependent independence", for it's the essence of our being:
---> each one of us is a totally independent person
---> each one of us is only a little piece of the society and totally depends on the others

Because we cannot use the expression "the dependent independence"
And because we need it
Then we use the "poivrière" which can tell with shapes this vital paradox

art was precisely invented in order to tell with shapes the paradoxes of our existence that we cannot tell with the words of the oral language

The language of shapes easily deals with paradoxical situations where a thing is in the same time its own opposite.
So:

the two mauve sheets are perfectly united in the same colour

and, in the same time, they are absolutely divided by the other sheets So:

the black line is perfectly continuous in its alignment

but it is completely cut by its support So:

we can deal very easily, by means of colours and shapes,
with a complex situation
simultaneously united/divided and continuous/cut

what's the key to decipher the language of shapes?

the key is the notion of evolution of complexity

as far as art is concerned,
what we have to understand
is the progressive evolution of the complexity of the society,
because art keeps the footprints of this evolution

note that what art tells us about the evolution of complexity
applies to any physical phenomenon that becomes more complex: from a calm water,

how does the complexity of a whirlpool emerge?

or, from a simple cell that duplicates,

how does the complexity of an independent living organism emerge?

What a dream for a scientist to be transported in a drop of water,

observing and noting, from the very inside of the body of water,
how a whirlpool forms in it

we will be this happy scientist!

for not only a human being was always an individual fragment immersed in the ocean of his society that progressively became more and more complex over the successive civilisations,
but he was kind enough, every time and with accurate graphs, to note scrupulously how changed in him the perception of the relation between himself and his group

His experimental log book started well over 30 000 years
and we found it:

it's the history of art

The main part of this site is in French language, but several parts of the Art section are available in English, notably the analysis of the Venus of Lespugue which introduces the key notions and the use of the paradoxical effects in the analysis of a work of art.
Progressively more translations will follow. Probably, one of them will be the text "how the physical phenomena become more complex" explaining the physical root of the 16 paradoxes, their meaning, and the logical chain in which each of them gives birth to another one in an endless loop.
If you want to be informed of the availability of these translations, send me a mail at the address given by the "author" link.
You have to be patient for these translations will be slow. I am alone to complete this site, my first priority is to complete the French art section, and I don't master the English writing . . . in spite of my grammar checker. By the way, if you find that some expressions are not appropriate for the English language, don't hesitate to let me know. I would be pleased.

The entire Mathematical section is already in English language. It proposes a new conception of the notion of dimension, suggesting how 3 dimensions can themselves give birth to a fourth one, which one will make them irreversible, while simultaneously starting a new cycle, more complex, of 3 new dimensions. Even if it seems far away from the works of art, you have to know that this text is at the root of the whole thoughts proposed on this site.

Of course, the entire French site is available. You can access the French translation for this introduction, which resumes, in its end, the content of each of its 4 sections.

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