The Secret Art of Antonin Artaud

by Jacques Derrida, Paule Thevenin, Paule Thvenin

Antonin Artaud (1896-1948)—stage and film actor, director, writer, drug addict, and visual artist—was a man of rage and genius. The Secret Art of Antonin Artaud is the first English translation of two famous texts on his drawings and portraits. In one, Jacques Derrida examines the works that he first saw on the walls of Paule Thevenin's apartment. His text, as frenzied as Artaud's, struggles with Artaud's peculiar language and is punctuated by footnotes and asides that reflect this strain ("How will they translate this?"). The more straightforward text of Paule Thevenin describes the history of Artaud's drawings and portraits.

Genres: Philosophy, Art, Nonfiction, France, Theory, Biography

175 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher best known for developing deconstruction, a method of critical analysis that questioned the stability of meaning in language, texts, and Western metaphysical thought. Born in Algeria, he studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he was influenced by philosophers such as Heidegger, Husserl, and Levinas. His groundbreaking works, including Of Grammatology (1967), Writing and Difference (1967), and Speech and Phenomena (1967), positioned him at the center of intellectual debates on language, meaning, and interpretation.
Derrida argued that Western philosophy was structured around binary oppositions—such as speech over writing, presence over absence, or reason over emotion—that falsely privileged one term over the other. He introduced the concept of différance, which suggests that meaning is constantly deferred and never fully present, destabilizing the idea of fixed truth. His work engaged with a wide range of disciplines, including literature, psychoanalysis, political theory, and law, challenging conventional ways of thinking and interpretation.
Throughout his career, Derrida continued to explore ethical and political questions, particularly in works such as Specters of Marx (1993) and The Politics of Friendship (1994), which addressed democracy, justice, and responsibility. He held academic positions at institutions such as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the University of California, Irvine, and remained an influential figure in both European and American intellectual circles. Despite criticism for his complex writing style and abstract concepts, Derrida’s ideas have left a lasting impact on contemporary philosophy, literary theory, and cultural criticism, reshaping the way meaning and language are understood in the modern world.

Reviews

[Jonfaith · Rating 3 out of 5]

In other conditions, with time enough and taking the necessary precautions I would be tempted to insist on the possible encounters which did not take place between Heidegger and Artaud.

Well, that sort of clinches it -- what could have been. This bastard text is a wonderful failure. The Secret Art of Antonin Artaud offers an example of art criticism without presenting the examined art. Apparently the Artaud estate refused permission to reproduce the drawings and sketches. What follows is a string quartet without instruments. Half of this enterprise is by Paule Thevenin who describes the history of Artaud's commitment to art, as opposed to his groundbreaking work in Theatre. This is accomplished in a linear and arid fashion. The concluding half of the text is Derrida's treatment of Artaud's use of the word subjectile, which appears three times in his correspondence. Subjectile according to myriad sources is both subject and object, both ground and support in aesthetics endeavor, it may also be the stuff dreams are made of or even what glows in strange briefcases. Derrida's pursuit is maddening. I remain unsure whether this is deliberate. Is this a highlighting of Artaud's mental state? Is Artaud's "recorded" expression really transgressive and revelatory? Few answers had arrived when I wearily put down this book.

I read most pages 3-4 times, I thought that Derrida's emphasis upon trajectory and "thrown-ness" would seek a privileged, if Heideggerian, definition. I had no such luck. I will express my gratitude for Ralph Vaughan Williams' 7th Symphony "Sinfonia antartica", which I listened to several times as I struggled with this cryptic text. My experiences with Derrida have proved uneven. When I have enjoyed him the most it usually concerns his treatment of familiar authors i.e. Shakespeare, Marx and Nietzsche. That obviously wasn't the situation here.

[Eric Phetteplace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice background piece on Artaud's drawings and then some extreme rambling by Derrida. I've slowly come around to the view that Derrida represents everything that's wrong with philosophy (a focus on language rather than reality, repeated reading of texts rather engaging pressing issues) but this piece was fairly enjoyable. I think it's just the topic; the violence and orignality of Artaud's language can't help by assert itself in any "interpretation" (which I put in quotes because undoubtedly this is not an interpretation, I don't know what it is...intellectual dithering is the closest I can come to). The book as a whole really makes me want to see some of these drawings, which sound awesome, and the best parts of the book were, predictably, the lengthy Artaud quotes.
One thing that did annoy me was the repeated "how will they translate this?" parentheticals by Derrida. It's not such an amazing revelation; wow, you're using puns specific to French that don't carry over into English (or German, as was the first translation). Who cares. I'm all for treating a translation as an entirely new work and I don't care if I miss a few of the original puns as long as there are new ones present. Think: a translation of Finnegans Wake. End rant.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photographs in this book are of a man with many secrets. The frustrating thing is that the essays talk in depth about Artaud's drawings and there are no examples. Imagination is not enough to carry one through in this case.

[Michael sinkofcabbages · Rating 5 out of 5]

One ive gone back to so many times.
A rosetta stone for more than just Artaud.

[mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

نمی‌دونم اینهمه کتاب خوندنم برا چیه وقتی هر لحظه تیزی چاقو رو به گردنم نزدیک‌تر می‌کنم. آرتوی عزیز، کاش در زمانه‌ی تو بودم و مثل ون‌گوگ دیوانگی‌م رو ستایشم می‌کردی.