들뢰즈 혹은 암호 해독가 : 바로크와『성 테레사의 희열』

Deleuze, or the Cryptographer : the Baroque and The Ecstasy of St. Teresa.

The baroque is one of the richest and most complex concepts of art and philosophy, exquisitely bridging the gap between the art and thought of the 17th century and that of the modern era. In the variegated history of baroque discourse, Deleuze develop a unique concept of the baroque, that is, the baroque of immanence, in stark contrast to the Christian baroque, or the baroque of transcendence. In his The Fold: Leibniz and the Baroque, however, Deleuze often promotes his original notion of the baroque without sufficient comparison to the theological baroque, resulting in a difficulty discerning where the Deleuzian baroque should be located in the history of the discourse. In this paper, I will define the Deluzian baroque as the baroque of immanence and comparatively analyze its originality and significance in light of Christian baroque scholarship. I shall argue that, although the two concepts of the baroque tackle the problem of infinity, they employ very different definitions of infinity and its modes of encounter. The Christian baroque defines infinity as the divinity of Christ, and seeks to inspire works of art and thought based on the images and the narratives of the Passion. To the contrary, Deleuze attempts to philosophize and poeticize the infinity of life without supposing a transcendent existence beyond the world of the here and now. Unlike the Christian baroque artists and thinkers who are absorbed in aestheticizing and philosophizing the tears (teardrops) of the guilty subject who encounters the divinity of the sacred and the tears (ruptures) between "the celestial and the mundane" and "the soul and the body," Deleuze, like a master cryptographer, attempts to decipher and furthermore poetize the mystery of infinity in our life by creating the thought of the folds as a magical vinculum connecting body and soul. It is crucial to note here that the Deleuzian folds do not simply refer to solid material but to an event of infinite inflection and differentiation. The main feature of the Deleuzian baroque is clearly manifested in his discussion of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini, the height of baroque art. Deleuze focuses on the vertiginous flow of intensity magnificently traversing the infinite folds vibrating between St. Teresa's body and clothing, instead of the expression of jouissance on her face, which embodies the narrative of the Passion and martyrdom. Ultimately, the Deleuzian baroque becomes a principle which beautifully expresses the vital resonances and rhythms of infinity breathing in our life. That, as we shall see, is the core of the baroque of immanence.