Tag Archives: rhizome

Deleuze & Guattari: Rhizome

[SYMPOSIUM] BOOK CLUB
#16 Deleuze & Guattari: Rhizome

Friday, 10 March 2017, 18:00 – 20:30
88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH
Rail/tube: City Thameslink, Blackfriars, St. Paul’s
Chaired by Katie Tysoe and Sophia Kosmaoglou
Free, fully booked

In March we’re reading Rhizome, the introduction to A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia (1980) by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. Rhizome was first published in 1976 by Éditions de Minuit.

Sylvano Bussoti [1980] XIV piano piece for David Tudor 4. In A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. New York: Continuum, p.3.
Sylvano Bussoti [1980] XIV piano piece for David Tudor 4. In A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. New York: Continuum, p.3.

DOWNLOAD Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari (2004/1980). Rhizome. In A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, trans. Brian Massumi. New York: Continuum, pp. 3-28.

Richard Giblett [2008] Mycelium Rhizome. Graphite on paper, 120 x 240 cm.
Richard Giblett [2008] Mycelium Rhizome. Graphite on paper, 120 x 240 cm.
Haeckel, Ernst (1866). General Morphology of the Organisms. Berlin Reimer.
Haeckel, Ernst (1866). General Morphology of the Organisms. Berlin Reimer.

With rhizome, Deleuze and Guattari propose a theory of knowledge that privileges connectivity, heterogeneity and multiplicity. The rhizome is a centreless network, where every node connects with every other in a subterranean and horizontal fashion, allowing multiple, non-hierarchical entry points.

A rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things, interbeing, intermezzo (Deleuze and Guattari, 2004/1980, p. 25)

Deleuze and Guattari compare the rhizome with it’s opposite; the binary, vertical, linear and hierarchical model of knowledge represented by the tree (tree of life, tree of knowledge). The rhizome, on the other hand “ceaselessly establishes connections between semiotic chains, organizations of power, and circumstances relative to the arts, sciences, and social struggles” (Deleuze and Guattari, 2004/1980, p. 7).

Rhizome fulfills its introductory role by demonstrating that A Thousand Plateaus does not work like most other books. For example, it doesn’t have to be read from start to end, you can start in the middle.

Why do artists have a affinity with Deleuze and Guattari, and particularly with this book?

Rhizome Fever

Our only event this month Deleuze & Guattari: Rhizome has generated a lot of interest. The event is fully booked and the waiting-list is closed. You are always welcome to make a proposal and chair the reading group on a text of your choice. We will support you through the entire process. Please visit the event page for more information and come to one of our events, to meet people and get a sense of how it works. The structure is simple and flexible. Alternatively, you can start your own reading group!

The [BOOKCLUB] is back again on Friday, 21 April with a discussion of Specific Objects, a 1965 essay by Donald Judd. This discussion will be chaired by Richard Burger.

Sylvano Bussoti [1980] XIV piano piece for David Tudor 4. In A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. New York: Continuum, p.3.[SYMPOSIUM] BOOK CLUB
Deleuze & Guattari: Rhizome
Friday, 10 March 2017, 18:00 – 20:30
88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH
Chaired by Katie Tysoe and Sophia Kosmaoglou
Free, fully booked

Claes Oldenburg [1964] Soft Light Switches. Vinyl filled with Dacron and canvas, 119.4 x 119.4 x 9.1 cm.[SYMPOSIUM] BOOK CLUB
Judd: Specific Objects
Friday, 21 April 2017, 18:00 – 20:30
88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH
Chaired by Richard Burger
Free, please book your place

Ward Shelley [2008] Who Invented the Avant Garde, ver. 2. Oil and toner on mylar, 28.5 x 62.5 inches.[ART&CRITIQUE] COURSE
Critical Theory in Contemporary Art Practice
Thursdays, 20 April – 22 June 2017, 18:00 – 20:30
Chelsea College of Art UAL, 16 John Islip Street, London SW1P 4JU
Tutor Sophia Kosmaoglou
Please see the course page for fees & booking info

IMAGE CREDITS
Sylvano Bussoti [1980] XIV piano piece for David Tudor 4. In A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism & Schizophrenia. New York: Continuum, p.3.
Claes Oldenburg [1964] Soft Light Switches. Vinyl filled with Dacron and canvas, 119.4 x 119.4 x 9.1 cm.
Ward Shelley [2008] Who Invented the Avant Garde, ver. 2. Oil and toner on mylar, 28.5 x 62.5 inches.