Fragments of the Artwork

by Genet, Jean

• ISBN13: 9780804742863
• ISBN10: 0804742863
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-04
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

Fragments of the Artworkbrings together Jean Genet's critical writings and open letters on art and aesthetic issues. This collection testifies to Genet's enormous influence on the modern theater, on the development of the novel, and on the representation of crime, sex, gender, and race. In lyrical essays and one candid interview, these works present an untutored, original, defiant Genet, displaying his provocative insights and acuities on a range of topics. Genet wrestles with the athletic genius of Rembrandt, adores the intricate criminal resurrections of Dostoevsky, challenges our easy readings of Brecht, and, in what is one of the most exalting art historical essays ever written, provides us with his detailed personal account of the work and presence of Alberto Giacometti. Altogether these essays comprise a series of engrossing meditations on the central motives of theatricality and art.

Author Biography

Jean Genet (1910-1986), poet, novelist, playwright, and political essayist, was one of the most significant French writers of the twentieth century. His work, much of it considered scandalous when it first appeared, is now placed among the classics of modern literature and has been translated and performed throughout the world.

Table of Contents

Translator's Acknowledgments	ix
'adame Miroir	1	(7)
Letter to Leonor Fini	8	(8)
Jean Cocteau	16	(3)
Fragments ...	19	(17)
Letter to Jean-Jacques Pauvert	36	(5)
The Studio of Alberto Giacometti	41	(28)
The Tightrope Walker	69	(15)
Rembrandt's Secret	84	(7)
What Remains of a Rembrandt Torn into Little Squares All the Same Size and Shot Down the Toilet	91	(12)
That Strange Word ...	103	(10)
Interview with Hubert Fichte	113	(39)
Chartres Cathedral, A ``Bird's-Eye'' View	152	(7)
``The Brothers Karamazov''	159	(4)
Appendix: Background Notes on ``Interview with Hubert Fichte,'' ``Charters Cathedral, A `Bird's-Eye' View,'' and ``The Brothers Karamazov''	163	(8)
Sources	171	(2)
Notes	173