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A withdrawn vision: art, realism and the scene of incest

Kilby, J

Authors



Abstract

Via a reading of incest survivor art, this essay explores the possibility of a political aesthetic based on the unrepresentability of trauma. Key to this essay is the idea that trauma cannot be redeemed by art and it is therefore necessary to develop a reading of art that does not seek to resolve the horror of incest. Drawing inspiration from Hal Foster's influential notion of traumatic realism, the aim of this essay is to develop a critical language that pushes the question of representing childhood trauma beyond the models of repression and realism but doing so without collapsing the argument into an anti-realist position. Of critical importance to this analysis is a post-repression model of trauma that puts into jeopardy the idea that history can achieve symbolic recognition. Underpinning this essay is a conceptual move from the “return of the repressed” to the “return of the real” and in so doing I aim to demonstrate the political importance of this shift in thinking about the reality and representation of trauma.

Citation

Kilby, J. (2004). A withdrawn vision: art, realism and the scene of incest. Journal for Cultural Research, 8(3), 317-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/1479758042000264966

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jul 1, 2004
Deposit Date Feb 3, 2009
Journal Journal for Cultural Research
Print ISSN 1479-7585
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 8
Issue 3
Pages 317-334
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/1479758042000264966
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1479758042000264966
Additional Information Additional Information : Journal for Cultural Research special issue: Visual Culture, Trauma & Ethics