Pierre Klossowski

Pierre Klossowski (August 9, 1905—August 12, 2001) was a French writer, translator and artist.

Life

Born in Paris, Pierre Klossowski was the older brother of the artist Balthazar Klossowski, better known as Balthus. When he was 18, Klossowski was André Gide's secretary and worked on the drafts of "Les faux-monnayeurs" for him.

Writing

Klossowski wrote full length volumes on the Marquis de Sade and Friedrich Nietzsche, a number of essays on literary and philosophical figures, and five novels. He translated several important texts (by Virgil, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Hölderlin, Franz Kafka, Nietzsche, and Walter Benjamin) into French, worked on films and was also an artist, illustrating many of the scenes from his novels. Klossowski participated in most issues of George Bataille's review, "Acéphale", in the late 1930s.

His 1969 book, "Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle", greatly influenced French philosophers such as Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, and Jean-François Lyotard.

Film

Klossowski also appeared in Robert Bresson's "Au hasard Balthazar" as the avaricious miller who desires Marie, a character played by Anne Wiazemsky.

Drawing

From 20th September to 19th October 2006 there was a display of Klossowski's drawings along with the art of Hans Bellmer at the Whitechapel Art Gallery.

Bibliography

Translations

*Friedrich Sieburg, "Défense du nationalisme allemand", Grasset (1933)
*Friedrich Sieburg, "Robespierre", E. Flammarion (1936)
*Ludwig Wittgenstein, "Tractatus logico-philosophicus suivi de Investigations philosophiques" (1961)
*Martin Heidegger, "Nietzsche" (1971)
*Friedrich Nietzsche, "Le Gai Savoir"
*Walter Benjamin "L'œuvre d'art à l'époque de sa reproduction mécanisée" [in consultation with the author for the first publication of the essay in 1936]

econdary texts

*Arnaud, A., "Pierre Klossowski" (Paris: Seuil, 1990) ISBN 9782020114950 In French.
*Decottignies, J., "Klossowski notre prochain" (Paris: H. Veyrier, 1985) ISBN 9782851993779 In French.
*Decottignies, J., "Pierre Klossowski. Biographie d’un monomane" (Villeneuve d'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 1997) ISBN 9782859395230 In French.
*Hill, Leslie, "Bataille, Klossowski, Blanchot: Writing at the Limit" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)
*James, Ian, "Pierre Klossowski: The Persistence of a Name" (Oxford: Legenda, 2000)
*Lugan-Dardigna, A.-M., "Klossowski. L’homme aux simulacres" (Paris: Navarin, 1986) ISBN 2-86827-044-1 In French.
*Madou, J.-P., "Démons et simulacres dans l’œuvre de Pierre Klossowski" (Paris: Méridiens Klincksiek, 1987) ISBN 9782865631827 In French.
*Marroni, A., "Klossowski e la comunicazione artistica" (Palermo: Aesthetica preprint, 39, 1993)
*Marroni, A., "Pierre Klossowski. Sessualità, vizio e complotto nella filosofia" (Milan: Costa & Nolan, 1999) ISBN 9788876483837
*Spira, Anthony, & Sarah Wilson, "Pierre Klossowski" (Ostfilden: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 2006) ISBN 3775717927. Exhibition Catalogue. Whitechapel Gallery London 20 September - 19 November 2006, Ludwig Museum Cologne 21 December 2006 - 18 March 2007, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris 2 April - 4 June 2007.
*Ubilluz, Juan Carlos, "Sacred Eroticism: Georges Bataille and Pierre Klossowski in the Latin American Erotic Novel" (Bucknell University Press, 2006) ISBN 0838756255

External links

* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010814/ai_n14403840 Klossowski obituary] from "The Independent", August 14th 2001, by Ian James
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_3_40/ai_81258051/pg_1 Klossowski obituary] from "Art Forum", November 2001, by Benjamin Ivry
* [http://dalkeyarchive.com/context/1732/reading-pierre-klossowski Reading Pierre Klossowski] from "Context", by John Taylor
* [http://www.h-france.net/vol3reviews/bowles2.html Book review and biography] , by Brett Bowles
* [http://www.zabriskiegallery.com/Klossowski/Klossowski.html Pierre Klossowski biography] by Elena Filipovic, focussing on his drawing
* [http://the-artists.org/ArtistView.cfm?id=2C671831-9D6F-7E94-0B5475FA5EE6F840 Pierre Klossowski page on the-artists.org]