! 1!

Excerpt(from(“Fictions(and(Attachments:(A(Comparative(Metaphysics(of(Art(and(Commerce”((Patrice!Maniglier!

(Translated+by+Stephen+Muecke)+

+

!

A!new!diplomat!has!been!appointed!in!the!city.!But!why!would!we!need!a!new!

diplomat?!Because!we!are!at!war.!This!war!is!very!simple:!it!seems!that!our!

values!can!no!longer!live!together!on!one!and!the!same!Earth.!They!are!all!being!

swept!up!in!a!terrible!escalation!of!unreality,!to!the!point!where!it!seems!we!

must!live!among!ghosts.!

!

One!of!the!wars!is!that!of!Art!versus!Commerce,!Culture!versus!Money.!As!in!any!

war,!there!are!traitors,!for!whom!one!shows!no!mercy.!For!example,!someone!

who!sets!out!to!create!works!of!art!with!the!sole!aim!of!selling!them,!is!betraying!

him!or!herself,!as!well!as!the!practice,!to!the!point!where!one!will!end!up!saying!

that!this!is!no!longer!an!artist,!but!a!dealer.!This!is!the!longGstanding!figure!of!the!

sell6out,!or!the!prostituted!artist,!if!you!recall!that!in!the!19th!century,!the!

prostitute!was!the!alterGego!of!the!artist,!precisely!because!she!would!sell!that!

which!should!only!be!free.!But!commerce!also!has!its!traitors.!How!many!

financiers!must!have!complained!that!certain!people!among!them!might!have!

confused!business,!not!only!with!morality,!but!also!with!aesthetics!!Isn’t!being!a!

poet!a!business!person’s!worst!possible!sin?!Can!one!follow!aesthetic!principles!

when!trying!to!sell!something?!

!

Note!that!very!often!this!war!is!expressed!in!such!a!way!that!the!other!domain!is!

denied!not!only!all!interest,!and!all!value,!but!even!any!reality.!According!to!the!

practical!reality!of!traders,!aren’t!artists!dreamers?!Are!they!not!ignorant!of!the!

“true!realities”?!On!the!other!hand,!don’t!we!sometimes!feel!a!certain!tenderness!

for!them?!From!another!angle,!doesn’t!the!virtual!timelessness!and!heritage!

value!of!works!of!art!make!commodities!basically!nonGexistent?!Wouldn’t!they!

make!the!quick!and!dirty!strivings!of!peddlers!of!consumer!goods!seem!

pointless?!While!works!of!art,!if!successful,!end!up!in!museums!where!they!will!

be!“conserved”,!commercial!realities!organise!their!own!obsolescence!in!such!a!

way!that!their+future+can+precisely+be+financed+into!other!products.!Therefore!it!

seems!that!the!controversy!is!one!about!reality.!But!there!is!a!name!for!

controversies!that!discuss!the!very!reality!of!things,!where!it!is!a!matter!of!

distinguishing!what!is!truly!real,!and!that!name!is!metaphysics,!and!even,!more!

accurately,!“ontology”—the!discourse!(logos)!that!is!concerned!with!being!

(ontos).!Commerce!and!art!seem!to!relate!the!one!to!the!other!in!such!a!way!that!

each!appears,!from!the!point!of!view!of!the!other,!to!loose!all!ontological+weight,!

to!become!one!of!those!halfGbeings!that!Plato!spoke!about!when!he!was!talking!

about!images,!a!phantom,!a!chimera,!a!lesserGbeing,!a!beingGless![un!moinsG

étant]…1!we!go!from!realty!to!appearance,!appearance!to!reality,!like!those!

electric!billboards!where!one!side!lights!up!while!the!other!turns!off,!and!viceG

versa,!each!turning!the!other!into!a!mirage.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!Sophist,!236G7!

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!

In!fact,!this!alternation!is!not!only!external.!Because!everything!can!somersault!

inside!each!world,!very!rapidly.!Take!the!businessman!who!admits!that!his!whole!

fortune!has!no!meaning!unless!it!ends!up!serving!the!spiritual!uplifting!of!

mankind!(so!Carnegie!makes!a!bequest!to!the!library!in!Rheims,!and!also!Henry!

Clay!Frick!collecting!works!of!the!past!in!order!one!day!to!exhibit!them!to!the!

whole!world,!or!Rockefeller,!etc,!and!no!doubt!the!great!contemporary!collectors!

such!as!Bernard!Pinault!or!Bernard!Arnault!would!have!similar!justifications),!as!

if!wealth!were!not!enough!to!bear!witness!to!the!fact!that!here!is!an!individual!

with!the!capacity!to!be!where!men!are!ready!to!donate!money.!And!on!the!

obverse,!the!artist!ends!up!admitting!that!yes,!of!course,!he!is!just!a!homo+

oeconomicus!like!everyone!else;!whether!it!is!like!the!Russian!constructivists!

who!aim!to!confuse!art!with!life!by!confusing!themselves!with!the!design!

industry!in!the!most!general!sense!(a!tragic!utopian!trope)2,!or!like!Duchamp,!or!

even!more!obviously!Andy!Warhol,!who!declared!that!he!had!started!his!career!

as!a!commercial!artist,!and!hoped!to!finish!it!as!a!business!artist!(trope!of!poetic!

cynicism)3.!A!dialogue!among!the!deaf,!which,!in!fact,!even!resembles!what!could!

be!called!an!interior+monologue+of+the+deaf,!in!which!one!accuses!oneself,!

alternatively,!of!only!being!dust,!and,!like!St!Augustine!in!mourning,!of!having!

shed!one’s!tears!in!the!sand:!the!dust!of!worldly!goods!that!flows!between!our!

fingers!like!the!sand!of!our!lives,!dust!of!ideal!values!that!ceaselessly!dissolves!in!

the!sun!of!suspicion,!either!as!hypocrisy!or!as!naivety.!A!double!subtraction,!

then,!in!terms!of!which!“culture”,!as!much!as!“economy”,!loose!their!consistency,!

as!if!we!had!no!choice!except!between!two!voids.!

!

!

!

This!movement!characterises!the!type!of!movement!that!renders!all!our!

existence!unreal,!and!which!Bruno!Latour!thinks!he!is!able!to!interrupt!thanks!to!

the!devices!put!in!place!in!his!Enquiry+into+Modes+of+Existence.4!The!question!I!

would!like!to!put!to!him!is!very!simple:!Do!we!really!gave!to!choose?!“Being”,!this!

undefinable!element!which!contemporary!philosophy!has!been!reworking!as!its!

key!element!ever!since!Heidegger—is!being!not!rich!enough!to!carry!different!

forms!of!reality?!Do!we!necessarily!have!to!presuppose!that!there!exists!a!

unique,!eminent,!form!of!reality,!such!that!anything!that!doesn’t!match!up!to!it!

would!be!a!little!less!real,!even!not!real!at!all,!or!other!than!real?!Our!bet!is!that!

the!choice!isn’t!necessary.!We!maintain!there!are!several!forms!of!reality,!each!of!

which!has!its!own!establishment!protocols.!So,!in!order!to!decide!we!are!in!the!

presence!of!a!work!of!art!(which!is!not!always!clearGcut—and!Danto!has!shown!

us!that!this!is!at!the!heart!of!contemporary!art),!there!are!precise!procedures,!

which!are!those!of!the!“art!world”;!and,!in!the!same!way,!for!a!commodity!to!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2!See!the!2009!Tate!Modern!exhibition,!Rotchenko+and+Popova:+Defining+

Constructivism.+3!See!Andy!Warhol,!The+Philosophy+of+Andy+Warhol+(New!York:!Harcourt,!1975),!

39.!Also:!Thierry!de!Duve,!Cousus+de+fil+d’or,!Villeurbanne,!Art!édition,!1990.!4!Bruno!Latour,!An+Inquiry+into+Modes+of+Existence:+An+Anthropology+of+the+

Moderns,!trans.!Catherine!Porter,!Cambridge:!Harvard!University!Press,!2013.!!

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really!exist!as!a!commodity,!there!are!other!protocols.!It!is!not!enough!for!me!to!

lie!in!bed!and!announce!that!my!cat!is!a!commodity!for!her!to!turn!into!one.!!

!

But!we!can!see!why!the!reciprocal!situations!of!unreality,!like!the!one!

characterising!the!relations!of!art!and!commerce,!are!interesting.!They!allow!us,!

a+contrario,!better!to!understand!the!procedures!that!make+being,!for!example,!

the!“je!ne!sais!quoi”!which!constitutes!something!out!of!the!stuff!of!art,!by!

showing!us!why!the!former!doesn’t!survive!the!protocols!which!would!permit!it!

to!establish!its!commercial!existence.!Of!course,!this!doesn’t!mean!that!a!given!

thing!can’t!be!both!a!commodity!and!a!work!of!art,!but!this!tension!shows!us!

there!are!precise!conditions!for!it!to!survive!as!a!commodity,!while!at!the!same!

time!being!subject!to!the!ontogenetic!operations!of!art,!and!viceGversa.!

!

So!I!would!like!to!suggest!that!one!should!compare!commodities!and!works!of!

art!at+the+ontological+level,!that!is,!in!comparing!their!specific!kinds+of+being.!

Generally,!works!of!art!and!commodities!are!compared!on!the!basis!of!their!

value.!The!typical!question!being,!to!what!extent!is!its!aesthetic!value!compatible!

with!its!market!value?5!Our!question!is!more!radical:!how!can!the!very!being!of!

art!coGexist!with!the!being!of!the!commodity?!It!is!not!a!situation!where!on!one!

side!is!the!“real”!thing,!and!on!the!other!the!values!(economic,!aesthetic,!and!also!

moral!and!political)!that!would!be!attributed!to!it.!There!are!beings!that,!by!

virtue!of!their!mode!of!being,!of!their!way!of!determining!themselves!as!realities,!

necessarily!acquire!what!we!call!value,!and!the!diversity!of!values!is!in!tune!with!

the!diversity!of!ways!of!being.!In!fact,!the!nature!of!our!Nexus!project,!when!we!

defined!our!“Art!Value!Commodity”!program,!was!to!investigate!the!question!of!

value!on!the!basis!of!ontology.!

Why!turn!to!Bruno!Latour!to!ask!these!questions?!The!very!title!of!his!book!leads!

us!to!understand!that!he!is!defending!the!thesis!of!ontological!pluralism.!There!

are!several!figurations!of!reality,!not!just!one.!And!yet,!what!is!interesting!about!

his!enterprise!is!not!only!the!defence!of!the!metaphysical!thesis,!but!the!

redefinition!of!metaphysics!as!an!experimental!enterprise,!where!one!does!not!

content!oneself!with!speculatively!deciding!what!is!and!what!isn’t,!then!debates!

one’s!decision!conceptually,!but!where!one!can!undertake!an!inquiry!both!on!the!

number!and!the!nature!of!these!“modes!of!existence,”!juxtaposing!them!with!

each!other.!This!is!undeniably!the!most!original!aspect!of!this!work.!

!

In!Part!1,!I!want!to!try!to!outline!for!you!the!protocol!for!this!inquiry.!In!Part!2,!I!

will!come!back!to!the!mode!of!existence!of!art,!as!Latour!proposes!it!in!his!book,!

and!we!will!specifically!see!why!for!him!art!does!not!constitute!its!own!domain!

of!reality,!but!only!a!special!case!of!what!he!calls!“fiction”.!Then,!in!Part!3,!we!will!

turn!to!the!mode!of!existence!of!commodities,!which!on!their!own!account!form!

part!of!the!broader!grouping!of!realities,!which!he!calls!“beings!of!attachment”.!!

And!finally,!in!Part!4,!we!will!talk!of!the!crossing!of!these!two!modes!of!existence,!

in!order!to!see!in!what!way!the!debate!over!the!relations!of!art!and!commerce!

allows!us!better!to!describe!each!by!way!of!their!contrast.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5!See,!for!example,!Becker’s!article!«!La!Confusion!des!valeurs!»,!in!L’Art+de+la+

recherche+:+essais+en+l’honneur+de+Raymonde+Moulin,!Paris!:!Documentation!

Française,!1994.!

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!

1) Principles(of(Ontological(Inquiry(!

!

The!inquiry!poses!a!simple!question:!how!many!different!kinds!of!reality!are!

there,!and!what!are!they?!However,!the!answer!is!constrained!in!certain!ways,!

which!define!the!protocols!of!the!inquiry.!!

!

First,!as!we!have!seen,!this!question!does!not!emerge!simply!from!intellectual!

curiosity,!as!if,!like!Sartre’s!Roquentin,!I!woke!up!one!morning!amazed!or!

horrified!that!there!was!something!rather!than!nothing,!and!I!exclaimed:!“My!

God!!What!could!being!be?”!The!question!emerges!from!metaphysical!

controversies,!from!conflicts!of!reality,!like!that!of!art!and!commerce.!

Metaphysics,!or!rather!this!particular!metaphysic,!is!born!in!the!centre!of!the!

storm.!It!presupposes!that!there!are!adversaries.!I’ll!call!these!adversaries!

“activists”.!They!work!so!that!certain!beings!do!not!perish.!They!are!dedicated!to!

them,!they!look!after!them,!they!promote!them,!and!they!put!themselves!at!their!

service.!So!a!being!is!first!of!all!something!that+one+is+attached+to,!or!to!pick!up!a!

Heideggarian!term,!something+one+cares+about,!which!is!to!say,!something+that+is+

the+object+of+activism.+

!

!

This!necessarily!means!that!metaphysics!always!comes!second.!The!

metaphysician!doesn’t!set!up!the!existents.!He!is!content!to!describe!the!mode!of!

existence!of!beings!proposed!from!elsewhere.!Let’s!call!this!first!methodological!

requirement!the!principle+of+positivity.!It!explains!why!this!metaphysics!takes!the!

form!of!an!inquiry.!This!means!that!the!report!one!comes!up!with!on!a!manner!of!

being!must!be!based!on!the!effective!practices!of!the!activists!through!whom!one!

can!see!just!what!they!are!attached!to.!Positive!metaphysics!(which!we!could!

oppose!to!dogmatic!metaphysics)!is!characterised!by!the!fact!that!it!makes!itself!

conditional!on!positions!of!being!that!it!declares!itself!incapable!of!fulfilling.!The!

task!is!not!to!say!what!is,!but!to!say!that!being!can!be!understood!in!several!

ways,!and!that!this!variety!of!meaning!is!what!allows!conflicts!to!be!smoothed!

over.!Therefore!the!inquiry!will!not!allow,!methodologically,!any!a+priori!decision!

about!being.!The!being!that!is!of!interest!is!not!the!being!that!the!metaphysician!

establishes!with!the!sovereignty!of!his!or!her!logical!or!illogical!mind,!it!is!the!

being!that!must!be!saved!in!conflict!situations,!a!being!as!a!diplomatic+problem.+

Consequently,!metaphysics!must!follow!the!activists,!situating!itself!as!close!as!

possible!to!the!places!that!they!say!they!cannot!give!up.!

!

This!first!principle!leads!to!a!second.!There!are!no!grounds!for!describing!a!mode!

of!existence!unless!misunderstandings!as!to!the!specificity+of!its!type!of!reality!

would!endanger!the!attentive!practice!of!these!beings.!Any!denial+of+reality+is!a!

signal!and!a!call!for!metaphysical!intervention.!Not!that!one!would!necessarily!

have!to!accept!any!activist’s!claims!for!reality!as!indisputable.!There!may!be!

realities!that!can!be!sacrificed!(for!example,!because!they!can’t!affirm!their!

existence!without!denying!all!the!others,!or,!what!comes!to!the!same!thing,!

because!they!are!radically!incomparable).!But!any!denial!of!reality!necessitates!

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by!rights!a!metaphysical!inquiry!(even!if,!because!of!time!constraints,!one!must!

exercise!the!art!of!choosing!among!metaphysical!appeals).!A!militant!sticking!to!

one!point,!asserting!that!giving!this!one!up!would!mean!letting!the!beings!he!is!

devoted!to!perish,!and!therefore!giving!up!his!own!practice—this!is!the!rightful!

condition!for!a!metaphysical!enterprise.!!Without!these!points!of!resistance,!

without!these!cries!of!protest,!there!would!simply!not!be!grounds!to!ask!

questions!about!being.!This!not!only!means!that!metaphysics!comes!second,!and!

presupposes!activist!practices,!but!also!that!metaphysics!is!always+in+the+service+

of+a!threatened!reality.!It!is!necessarily!engaged,!taken!up,!in!the!resistance!of!a!

being!to!what!we!must!call!its!reduction.!A!wrong!is!inflicted!on!certain!beings,!

and!it!is!a!matter!of!delivering!justice!to!these!misunderstood!beings.!!However,!

this!doesn’t!mean!that!the!metaphysician!should!become!purely!and!simply!an!

activist!on!behalf!of!any!given!truth.!The!difference!between!metaphysician!and!

activist!is!that!the!former!does!not!enter!directly!into!the!conflict.!She!tries!to!

move!around!the!field!of!the!different!meanings!of!“being”,!so!as!to!move!from!an!

opposition!to!a!difference.!The!activist!holds!onto!an!existence,!the!

metaphysician!differentiates!ways!of!being.!The!one!says,!“And!yet,!this!is.”!The!

other!adds,!“Yes,!but!in!this!way.”!She!has!won!if!she!can!say,!“Look,!you!are!both!

negating!each!other!because!you!don’t!see!that!the!assertion!of!one!does!not!

imply!the!negation!of!the!other,!because!you!speak!of!yourselves!in!several!

different!ways.”!!She!gives+value!to!the!singularity!of!one!mode!of!existence!vis6à6

vis+another,!by!showing!that!these!beings!are!not!subject!to!the!protocols!that!

one!wants!to!impose!on!them.!We!can!call!this!the!principle!of!irreduction,!

because!indeed!it!is!a!question!of!showing!the!irreducibility!of!certain!beings!to!

others.!

!

The!third!rule!is,!in!a!way,!symmetrical!to!the!preceding!one.!In!the!same!way!

that!an!existent!one!is!fond!of!should!be!saved!in!its!ontological!singularity,!it!

should!happen!in!such!a!way!that!it!doesn’t,!in!turn,!crush!other!modes!of!

existence.!Therefore,!the!metaphysical!description!must!never!loose!sight!of!the!

need!to!reconcile!both!the!being!that!one!is!concentrating!on!not!giving!up,!and!

the!other!beings.!This!imposes!particular!constraints!on!this!description,!which!

explains!why!the!activists!might!not!immediately!recognise!themselves!in!the!

description!that!the!metaphysician!gives!of!the!beings!they!are!looking!after.!The!

metaphysical!report!should!be!ready!to!fend!off!any!possible!reduction,!but!it!

will!not,!or!rather!should!never,!turn!the!being!proposed!for!ontological!

description!into!a!being!of!absolute!privilege!or!radical!exceptionality.!This!

constraint!could!be!called!the!incompleteness!principle,!or!the!

counterhegemonic!principle:!being!is!the!power!of!being!in!another!sense.!The!

description!we!give!of!the!being!of!art!must!allow!this!being!(or!some!other)!also!

to!be!in!another!sense.!The!activist!of!good!will!should!be!imbued!with!this!

constraint,!and,!when!he!protests!against!the!wrongs!that,!according!to!him,!the!

metaphysician!is!ratifying,!he!must!never!cease!asking!himself!to!what!extent!

this!aspect!of!the!metaphysical!report!is!the!condition!stopping!a!lot!of!other!

wrongs!being!committed,!very!serious!ones,!to!the!other!modes!of!existence.!

!

Finally,!the!description!should,!at!least!by!rights,!be!able!to!be!signed!off!on!by!

the!activists.!Since!the!metaphysician!is!only!a!representative,!she!is!necessarily!

limited!by!her!mandate.!And!because!she!has!the!additional!diplomatic!aim,!she!

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has!to!verify!that!this!description!protects!these!beings!in!all!the!ontological!

controversies!that!engage!their!activists.!!So,!once!the!compromise!is!reached!

and!the!description!finalised,!she!has!to!verify!with!them!that!the!essential!is!

effectively!saved,!and!allowing!for!the!continuation!of!the!beings!they!care!about.!

And!yet!this!final!requirement!should!not!be!interpreted!as!coming!from!an!

empirical!consensus,!which!would,!of!course,!be!illusory.!The!activists!don’t!

necessarily!understand!the!metaphysical!operation,!maybe!they!are!not!

interested!in!it,!or!even!refuse!the!diplomatic!protocol!(for!example!the!

counterhegemonic!principle,!etc.).!The!question!is!nevertheless!one!of!rights.!By!

rights,!the!metaphysical!text!must!be!correctable!by!activists!of!good!will.!The!

metaphysical!text!is!not!addressed!to!specialists!who!could!be!divided!amongst!

themselves;!it!is!addressed!to!those!who!are!interested!in!the!beings!it!describes.!

This!means!first!of!all!that!the!metaphysical!text!should!not!be!written!in!such!a!

technical!or!professional!language!that!it!thus!activates!the!selection!of!a!definite!

public.!It!also!means!that!the!metaphysician!should!continue!to!remain!vigilant,!

listening!for!the!alerts!the!activists!put!out,!which!is!to!say!the!wrongs!that!they!

see!as!not!redressed.!She!should!verify!that!the!reluctance!the!activists!might!

have!in!accepting!the!proposed!compromise!(the!report!on!the!modes!of!

existence)!can!by!rights!be!dissipated,!in!other!words,!based!on!a!poor!

comprehension!of!the!metaphysical!text,!or!even!a!refusal!of!the!principle!of!

diplomatic!philosophy.!Factual!misunderstandings!should!therefore!be!able!to!be!

used!by!the!metaphysician!in!the!correction!of!her!description.!She!must!be!able!

to!respond!to!the!reluctance!of!the!activists.!It!is!in!the!spirit!of!this!last!principle!

that!I!have!written!this!text!now.!In!order!to!submit!to!art!activists,!and!to!a!

lesser!extent!to!commercial!ones,!a!metaphysical!description!of!their!practices!

that!they!are!able!to!assess.!!

!

Summary.!We!have!set!out!four!methodological!principles!to!guide!the!metaphysical!inquiry.!

A+principle+of+positivity:!Metaphysics!doesn’t!decide!what!is,!but!describes!the!

manner!of!being!of!entities!located!elsewhere.!

A+principle+of+irreduction:!metaphysics!doesn’t!describe!any!random!mode!of!

being,!but!only!those!which!seem!to!be!the!object!of!a!denial!or!a!wrong,!in!order!

to!show!that!these!entities!can!coGhabit!with!others!on!condition!that!they!

respect!each!others’!own!format!and!reality.!

A+counterhegemonic+principle:!Each!mode!of!existence!must!be!described!in!such!

a!way!that!it!doesn’t!crush!any!other.!

A+responsibility+principle:!Compromises!reached!must!be!submitted!for!

ratification,!and!one!must!be!prepared!to!improve!the!metaphysical!description.!

!

With!these!four!principles!in!mind,!we!are!now!able!to!study!what!Latour!says!

about!the!ontology!of!works!of!art!and!of!commodities,!before!seeing,!in!the!end,!

if!this!description!will!enable!a!“peace!treaty”.!It!is!a!matter!now!of!making!

comparisons!of!what!is!said!about!them,!in!front!of!the!activists!representing!

these!modes!of!existence,!in!order!to!see!if!the!metaphysical!work!will!allow!the!

beings!on!both!sides!to!be!saved,!at!the!cost!some!possible!sacrifices,!but!

sacrifices!that!should!not!be!fatal,!in!other!words!that!do!not!touch!the!very!

existence!of!that!which!is!dear!to!them;!they!would!only!require!rearrangements.!

!