The book and the rhizome : the implications of and alternatives to linear logic, with special reference to artist books

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis entails an explorative and argumentativestudy that is concerned with the importanceand relevance of artist books, as substantiatedby art-historical research into the way inwhich people present, organize and interpretknowledge about their world as observed inthe history of the ever-evolving book; as well asrelated critical and theoretical discussions surroundinglanguage and art.The structure of the thesis is based on thetriadic treatment of book types as presented inphilosophers Deleuze and Guattari's theory ofthe Rhizome in A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalismand Schizophrenia (1987). Each book essentiallystands for a particular system or paradigmof thought that is described in terms of a biologicalstructure. These are the Root book, theFascicular book and the Rhizome. The root andfascicular structures are shown to be ubiquitouswithin dominant Western habits of thought,emphasised by the tendency to organize elementsaround a singular, central motif and, asa result, to create binaries. Although useful forcertain practices in life, these patterns of thoughthave potentially problematic socio-political implications,and they are especially limiting withregards to creative work. An argument is developedin defence of the third book type, the rhizome,as a means of thinking in a non-linear, acentredand more complex and connected wayabout art, oneself and one's world. At its core,this thesis works towards establishing a theoreticalframework for the practice of artist books,showing how, in numerous ways, artist booksencompass this rhizomatic way of thinking.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University