Atlas of the Feminine Submission: the Body-Cariatid

Abstract

The paper deals with the female figure who carries a weight on her head, conceiving an image of the body beyond the aesthetic-formalist dimension. Searching for an episteme for what is here called the “cariatid-body”, this research performs an imagery-montage, following the Atlas Mnemosyne's transdisciplinary approach. With the help of Georges Didi-Huberman's studies on the significant experiences of emotion provoked by works of art, the text approaches to the concepts of Nachleben and Pathosformel and stands out the poetic and political-pedagogical dimensions in the history of images. Associated with perspectives from the Philosophy of Difference, the paper conceives the image as a presence that sets meanings and teaches ways of being, existing and living, allowing the survival of the past. The paper also highlights the constitution of transversal knowledge in the intersections between Philosophy, History and Visual Arts.