I've kept the image small for the feint of heart. If you click on it you'll see a bigger version. More images can be found here.
The image was sent to Bataille in 1925 by Adrien Borel. 'The torture victim was Fu Chou Li, guilty of murdering Prince Ao Han Ouan. The emperor's leniency granted that he should not be burned as decreed, but cut to pieces, into a hundred pieces: cut up alive. Georges Dumas may have been and Adrien Borel certainly was present at this execution on 10 April 1905, and brought back photographs of it.' (From Surya's biography, p. 93)
I still can't find the bit I paraphrased in class though. I'll keep looking.
4 comments:
I think you can find it in the Michel Surya biography of Bataille, no?
Yes, but I don't have it at home.
I found the Taiwanese video artist I talked about in the seminar. Chen Chieh Jen used this photograph as inspiration for a video installation. Interestingly he has also made a film about displaced Taiwanese textile workers, so his work links very well with our course.
Here are a couple of links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqqca2EmXa8
http://www.asiasociety.org/pressroom/07_chen_chieh_jen
Great. We should revisit this when we get to 'The Working Day' Chapter in Capital as well.
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