ART AND TRAUMA

The authors of this paper attempt to show that 'the art of trauma', be cause of its indirect, unaestheticised and dialogic nature, may be the only possible medium for effective representations of trauma. The rea l witnessing presence created in the art of trauma can act as an antid ote to the annihilation of the internal 'other' that occurs in the tra umatic experience and to the resulting absence, which both constitutes the core of trauma and precludes its representation Important element s of the art of trauma are illustrated using the work of Paul Celan, A nselm Kiefer, Claude Lanzmann, Art Spiegelman, and Anne-Marie Levine a nd texts by Aharon Appelfeld. Examining more closely what Holocaust su rvivors say in their testimonies, the authors contend that survival it self should be considered as a type of art of trauma when it is made p ossible by a creative comprehension of reality analogous to that which characterises more conventional forms of the art of trauma. The autho rs proceed to explore both the possible limits to the extent that trau ma may be represented and the continuous struggle involved in attempti ng to 'know' trauma. They also discuss how art dealing with trauma may circumscribe a double locus: one of witnessing as well as one of empt iness or execution.