'Pataphysics

Parody of science December 2022 thumb|250px|Alfred Jarry in Corbeil in 18982008-12-15 Alfred Jarry – Corbeil https://maisons-ecrivains.fr/2008/12/15/alfred-jarry-corbeil/ 2024-02-16 Maisons d écrivains fr-FR 'Pataphysics (fr 'pataphysique) is a sardonic "philosophy of science" invented by French writer Alfred Jarry (1873–1907)Jarry 1996 ix intended to be a parody of science.Pataphysics merriam-webster.com https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pataphysics 26 September 2020 en Difficult to be simply defined or pinned down, it has been described as the "science of imaginary solutions".Hill, Phillip G. 1995 Our Dramatic Heritage 6 Fairleigh Dickenson 31 0-8386-3421-4 Introduction 'Pataphysics was a concept expressed by Jarry in a mock-scientific manner, with undertones of spoofing and quackery, as expounded in his novel Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician. Here, Jarry toyed with conventional concepts and interpretations of reality.Jarry 1996 ix Jarry 1996 21 Another attempt at a definition interprets 'pataphysics as an idea that "the virtual or imaginary nature of things as glimpsed by the heightened vision of poetry or science or love can be seized and lived as real".Jarry 1996 ix Jarry defines 'pataphysics in a number of statements and examples, including that it is "the science of imaginary solutions, which symbolically attributes the properties of objects, described by their virtuality, to their lineaments".Jarry 1996 21 A practitioner of 'pataphysics is a pataphysician or a pataphysicist. Definitions One definition of 'pataphysics is that it is "a branch of philosophy or science that examines imaginary phenomena that exist in a world beyond metaphysics; it is the science of imaginary solutions."Pataphysics American Heritage Dictionary http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pataphysics?r=66 Dictionary.com https://web.archive.org/web/20150927080334/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pataphysics?r=66 27 September 2015 Jean Baudrillard defines 'pataphysics as "the imaginary science of our world, the imaginary science of excess, of excessive, parodic, paroxystic effects – particularly the excess of emptiness and insignificance".Baudrillard Jean The Perfect Crime 2008 Verso 978-1-84467-203-5 71 There are over one hundred definitions of 'pataphysics.Brotchie Chapman Foulc Jackson 2003 Some examples are shown below. 'Pataphysics is the science of that which is superinduced upon metaphysics, whether within or beyond the latter's limitations, extending as far beyond metaphysics as the latter extends beyond physics. ... 'Pataphysics will be, above all, the science of the particular, despite the common opinion that the only science is that of the general. 'Pataphysics will examine the laws governing exceptions, and will explain the universe supplementary to this one.Jarry 1996 21 'Pataphysics is patient; 'Pataphysics is benign; 'Pataphysics envies nothing, is never distracted, never puffed up, it has neither aspirations nor seeks not its own, it is even-tempered, and thinks not evil; it mocks not iniquity: It is enraptured with scientific truth; it supports everything, believes everything, has faith in everything, and upholds everything that is.Épanorthose sur le Clinamen moral Cahiers du Collège de 'Pataphysique 21, 22 Sable 83 29 December 1955 Alastair BrotchieBrotchie Chapman Foulc Jackson 2003 (in allusion to First Corinthians 13 about the virtues of love) 'Pataphysics passes easily from one state of apparent definition to another. Thus it can present itself under the aspect of a gas, a liquid or a solid.Patafluens 2001 Istituto Patafisico Vitellianese Viadana 2002Brotchie Chapman Foulc Jackson 2003 'Pataphysics "the science of the particular" does not, therefore, study the rules governing the general recurrence of a periodic incident (the expected case) so much as study the games governing the special occurrence of a sporadic accident (the excepted case). [...] Jarry performs humorously on behalf of literature what Nietzsche performs seriously on behalf of philosophy. Both thinkers in effect attempt to dream up a "gay science" whose joie de vivre thrives wherever the tyranny of truth has increased our esteem for the lie and wherever the tyranny of reason has increased our esteem for the mad.Bök 2002 9 Etymology The word pataphysics is a contracted formation that derives from the Greek grc τὰ ἐπὶ τὰ μεταφυσικά (tà epì tà metaphusiká).Jarry 1996 21 It is a phrase/expression that means "that which is above metaphysics". It is itself a sly variation on the title of Aristotle's Metaphysics, which in Greek is "grc τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικά" (tà metà tà phusiká). apostrophe_matter Jarry mandated the inclusion of the apostrophe in both the words 'pataphysique and 'pataphysics "... to avoid a simple pun".Jarry 1996 21 The words pataphysician or pataphysicist and the adjective pataphysical should not include the apostrophe. Only when consciously referring to Jarry's science itself should the word 'pataphysics carry the apostrophe.Hugill 2012 8 The term pataphysics is a paronym (considered a kind of pun in French) of metaphysics. Since the apostrophe in no way affects the meaning or pronunciation of pataphysics, this spelling of the term is a sly notation, to the reader, suggesting a variety of puns that listeners may hear, or be aware of. These puns include patte à physique ("physics paw"), as interpreted by Jarry scholars Keith Beaumont and Roger Shattuck, pas ta physique ("not your physics"), and pâte à physique ("physics paste"). History The term first appeared in print in the text of Alfred Jarry's play Guignol in the 28 April 1893 issue of L'Écho de Paris littéraire illustré, but it has been suggested that the word has its origins in the same school pranks at the lycée in Rennes that led Jarry to write Ubu Roi.Hugill 2012 207 Jarry considered Ibicrates and Sophrotatos the Armenian as the fathers of this "science".Hugill 2012 20 The Collège de 'Pataphysique The Collège de 'Pataphysique, founded in 1948 in Paris, France,Brotchie 1995 11 is "a society committed to learned and inutilious research".Brotchie 1995 77 (The word 'inutilious' is synonymous with 'useless'.) The motto of the college is la Eadem mutata resurgo ("I arise again the same though changed"). The permanent head of the college is the Inamovable Curator, Dr. Faustroll, assisted by Bosse-de-Nage (Starosta): both are fictional.Brotchie 1995 39 The Vice-Curator is the "first and most senior living entity" in the college's hierarchy.Hugill 2012 113 The Vice-Curatrice 2018 y is Tanya PeixotoHiebert 2018 96 of the London Institute of 'Pataphysics and Bookartbookshop.http://www.patakosmos.com/tanya-peixoto/ Fifth Magisterium of Her Magnificence Tanya Peixoto patakosmos.com 7 May 2018 live https://web.archive.org/web/20170712130012/https://www.patakosmos.com/tanya-peixoto/ 12 July 2017 She was elected in 2014 to succeed Her Magnificence Lutembi – a crocodileHugill 2012 38Hiebert 2018 72–73 – who succeeded Opach,Hiebert 2018 81–83 the Baron Mollet,Hiebert 2018 76–79 and Doctor Sandomir.Hiebert 2018 134–135Hiebert 2018 109–111 Jean-Christophe Averty was appointed Satrap in 1990. Publications of the college, generally called la Viridis Candela ("green candle"),Hugill 2012 123 include the Cahiers, Dossiers, the Subsidia Pataphysica and since September 2021, the Spéculations.List of publications Collège de 'Pataphysique http://www.college-de-pataphysique.org/college/accueil_files/Patalogue_Avril_2010.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20120426110525/http://www.college-de-pataphysique.org/college/accueil_files/Patalogue_Avril_2010.pdf 26 April 2012Brotchie 1995 102–104Journal – Collège de 'Pataphysique https://www.college-de-pataphysique.fr/revue/?lang=en 2024-04-28 www.college-de-pataphysique.fr Notable members have included: Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miró, Eugène Ionesco,An introduction to 'Pataphysics The Guardian 9 December 2005 http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2005/dec/09/8 8 October 2021 Noël Arnaud, Jean Baudrillard, Jean-Christophe Averty, René Daumal, Luc Étienne, François Le Lionnais, Jean Lescure, Raymond Queneau, Boris Vian, Jacques Carelman, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Julien Torma, Roger Shattuck, Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx, Philippe de Chérisey, Umberto Eco, Rolando Villazón, Fernando Arrabal and Gavin Bryars.Brotchie 1995 10–31 The Oulipo began as a subcommittee of the college.Motte Warren Oulipo: A Primer of Potential Literature Dalkey Archive Press 2007 978-1-56478-187-1 1Brotchie 1995 22 Offshoots of the Collège de 'Pataphysique Although France had been always the centre of the pataphysical globe, there are followers in different cities around the world. In 1966, Juan Esteban Fassio was commissioned to draw the map of the Collège de 'Pataphysique and its institutes abroad. The college stopped its public activities between 1975 and 2000, referred to as its occultation.Hugill 2012 39Brotchie 1995 31 However through that time, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, The Netherlands, and many other countries showed that the internationalization of 'pataphysics was irreversible. In the 1950s, Buenos Aires in the Western Hemisphere and Milan in Europe were the first cities to have pataphysical institutes. London, Edinburgh, Budapest, and Liège, as well as many other European cities, caught up in the sixties. Czechoslovakia During the communist era, a small group of 'pataphysicists in Czechoslovakia started a journal called PAKO, or Pataphysical Collegium.Hugill 2012 48 Jarry's plays had a lasting impression on the country's underground philosophical scene. London Institute of 'Pataphysics The London Institute of 'Pataphysics was established in September 2000 to promote 'pataphysics in the English-speaking world. The institute has various publications, including a journal, and has six departments:Institute of 'Pataphysics London, UK main page https://www.atlaspress.co.uk/theLIP/ https://web.archive.org/web/20171224213659/https://www.atlaspress.co.uk/theLIP/ 24 December 2017 Bureau for the Investigation of Subliminal Images, Committee for Hirsutism and Pogonotrophy, Department of Dogma and Theory, Department of Potassons, Department of Reconstructive Archaeology, and The Office of Patentry. The institute also contains a pataphysical museum and archive and organised the Anthony Hancock Paintings and Sculptures exhibition in 2002.Anthony Hancock paintings and sculptures exhibition atlaspress.co.uk https://www.atlaspress.co.uk/theLIP/dora-hancock.html https://web.archive.org/web/20171224213635/https://www.atlaspress.co.uk/theLIP/dora-hancock.html 24 December 2017 The official orchestra of the London Institute of 'Pataphysics is the London Snorkelling Team. Peter Blegvad has been the president of the London Institute of 'Pataphysics since 2011.Russell Anna 2023-11-20 Milk, the Book! https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/11/27/milk-the-book 2024-02-11 The New Yorker en-US 0028-792X Musée Patamécanique Musée Patamécanique is a private museum located in Bristol, Rhode Island.Musée Patamécanique main page http://www.museepata.org/welcome.html https://web.archive.org/web/20141005190744/http://www.museepata.org/welcome.html 5 October 2014 Founded in 2006, it is open by appointment only to friends, colleagues, and occasionally to outside observers. The museum is presented as a hybrid between an automaton theatre and a cabinet of curiosities and contains works representing the field of Patamechanics, an artistic practice and area of study chiefly inspired by 'pataphysics. Examples of exhibits include a troupe of singing animatronic chipmunks, a time machine the museum says is the world's largest automated phenakistoscope, an olfactory clock, a chandelier of singing animatronic nightingales, an Undigestulator (a device that purportedly reconstitutes digested foods), a peanuts enlarger, a syzygistic oracle, the earolin (a 24-inch tall holographic ear that plays the violin), and a machine for capturing the dreams of bumble bees.Exhibition Musée Patamécanique http://www.museepata.org/EXHIBITION.html https://web.archive.org/web/20141005184524/http://www.museepata.org/EXHIBITION.html 5 October 2014 'Pataphysics Institute in Vilnius A 'Pataphysics Institute opened in Vilnius, Lithuania in May 2013.The opening of the Vilnius Pataphysics Institute Rupert rupert.lt lt-LT http://rupert.lt/lt/the-opening-of-vilnius-institute-of-pataphysics/ 12 June 2017 live https://web.archive.org/web/20171016070035/http://rupert.lt/lt/the-opening-of-vilnius-institute-of-pataphysics/ 16 October 2017 Concepts Clinamen A clinamen is the unpredictable swerve of atoms that poet Christian Bök calls "... the smallest possible aberration that can make the greatest possible difference".Bök 2002 43–45 An example is Jarry's merdre, a swerve of fr merde ("shit").Hugill 2012 15–16 thumb|The Grand Gidouille on Ubu's belly is a symbol of 'pataphysics. Antinomy An antinomy is the mutually incompatible. It represents the duality of things, the echo or symmetry, the good and the evil at the same time. Hugill mentions various examples including the plus-minus, the faust-troll, the haldern-ablou, the yes-but, the ha-ha and the paradox.Hugill 2012 9–12 Syzygy The syzygy originally comes from astronomy and denotes the alignment of three celestial bodies in a straight line. In a pataphysical context it is the pun. It usually describes a conjunction of things, something unexpected and surprising. Serendipity is a simple chance encounter but the syzygy has a more scientific purpose. Bök mentions Jarry suggesting that the fall of a body towards a centre might not be preferable to the ascension of a vacuum towards a periphery.Bök 2002 40–43Hugill 2012 13–15 Absolute The absolute is the idea of a transcended reality.Hugill 2012 16–19 Anomaly An anomaly represents the exception. Jarry said that, "Pataphysics will examine the laws governing exceptions, and will explain the universe supplementary to this one."Jarry 1996 21 Bök calls it "... the repressed part of a rule which ensures that the rule does not work".Bök 2002 38–40Hugill 2012 12–13 Pataphor The pataphor (es patáfora, fr pataphore), is a term coined by writer and musician Pablo Lopez, for an unusually extended metaphor based on Alfred Jarry's "science" of 'pataphysics'.10 Supremely nerdy language tidbits 21 March 2013 Listverse http://listverse.com/2013/03/21/10-supremely-nerdy-language-tidbits/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150506212851/http://listverse.com/2013/03/21/10-supremely-nerdy-language-tidbits/ 6 May 2015 live 18 April 2015Pataphor unf.edu http://www.unf.edu/groups/riverhouse/Parlor/Pataphor.html 3 May 2016 live https://web.archive.org/web/20161017024714/http://www.unf.edu/groups/riverhouse/Parlor/Pataphor.html 17 October 2016 As Jarry claimed that 'pataphysics existed "... as far from metaphysics as metaphysics extends from regular reality", a pataphor attempts to create a figure of speech that exists as far from metaphor as metaphor exists from non-figurative language.Paul Avion's pataphor paulavion.com http://www.paulavion.com/pata.html https://web.archive.org/web/20070621012704/http://www.paulavion.com/pata.html 21 June 2007 Whereas a metaphor compares a real object or event to a seemingly unrelated subject to emphasize their similarities, the pataphor uses the newly created metaphorical similarity as a reality on which to base itself. In going beyond mere ornamentation of the original idea, the pataphor seeks to describe a new and separate world, in which an idea or aspect has taken on a life of its own.El Clarín El Clarin de Chile https://www.elclarin.cl/ 9 July 2022 esLes Cahiers du Collège de 'Pataphysique 22 December 2005 Collège de 'Pataphysique Like 'pataphysics itself, pataphors essentially describe two degrees of separation from reality (rather than merely one degree of separation, which is the world of metaphors and metaphysics). The pataphor may also be said to function as a critical tool, describing the world of "assumptions based on assumptions" – such as belief systems or rhetoric run amok. The following is an example: Non-figurative Tom and Alice stood side by side in the lunch line. Metaphor Tom and Alice stood side by side in the lunch line, two pieces positioned on a chessboard. Pataphor Tom took a step closer to Alice and made a date for Friday night, checkmating. Rudy was furious at losing to Margaret so easily and dumped the board on the rose-colored quilt, stomping downstairs.http://pataphor.com/cpat.html Pataphor / Pataphors: Official Site : closet 'pataphysics Pataphor.com 2014-01-16 live https://web.archive.org/web/20131206101215/http://pataphor.com/cpat.html 6 December 2013 Thus, the pataphor has created a world where the chessboard exists, including the characters who live in that world, entirely abandoning the original context. The pataphor has been subject to commercial interpretations,"Coke ... it's the Real Thing" not a real thing 31 January 2012 Notarealthing.com http://www.notarealthing.com/2010/04/coke-its-the-real-thing/ 16 January 2014 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140108111530/http://www.notarealthing.com/2010/04/coke-its-the-real-thing/ 8 January 2014 usage in speculative computer applications,Ill-Posed Philosophy 23 February 2006 Illposed.com http://www.illposed.com/philosophy/pataprogramming.html 16 January 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20131207183707/http://www.illposed.com/philosophy/pataprogramming.html 7 December 2013 applied to highly imaginative problem solving methodsFindlay John 3 July 2010 Wingwams: Playing with pataphors Wingwams.blogspot.com https://wingwams.blogspot.com/2010/07/playing-with-pataphors.html 16 January 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20140221141452/http://wingwams.blogspot.com/2010/07/playing-with-pataphors.html 21 February 2014 and even politics on the international level.Patafísica y patáforas El Clarín de Chile Elclarin.cl http://www.elclarin.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5947&Itemid=1189 16 January 2014 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20131126142044/http://www.elclarin.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5947&Itemid=1189 26 November 2013 The Firesign Theatre is a comedy troupe whose jokes often rely on pataphors. There is a band called PataphorPataphor Pataphor.bandcamp.com http://pataphor.bandcamp.com/ 16 January 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20131127151959/http://pataphor.bandcamp.com/ 27 November 2013 and an interactive fiction in the Interactive Fiction Database called "PataNoir", based on pataphors.http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=si9s1jktywxj5vdk PataNoir – Details Ifdb.tads.org 16 January 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20131127134907/http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=si9s1jktywxj5vdk 27 November 2013http://iplayif.com/?story=http%3A%2F%2Fifarchive.org%2Fif-archive%2Fgames%2Fglulx%2FPataNoir.gblorb Parchment Iplayif.com 16 January 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20120725085738/http://iplayif.com/?story=http%3A%2F%2Fifarchive.org%2Fif-archive%2Fgames%2Fglulx%2FPataNoir.gblorb 25 July 2012 Pataphor is used by the Writer's Program at the University of North Florida, and has appeared in works affiliated with the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University.Kowalewski Hubert 2014 "The Life of Insects" as a pataphor Workshop of Pataphysical Semiotics serwisy.umcs.lublin.pl http://serwisy.umcs.lublin.pl/hubert.kowalewski/en/articles/life-of-insects-as-a-pataphor.html 3 May 2016 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20160602184130/http://serwisy.umcs.lublin.pl/hubert.kowalewski/en/articles/life-of-insects-as-a-pataphor.html 2 June 2016 Pataphors have been the subject of art exhibits, as in Tara Strickstein's 2010 "Pataphor" exhibit at Next Art Fair / Art Chicago,Tara Strickstein's "Pataphor" at Next Art Fair / Art Chicago 2010 Art Talk Chicago ChicagoNow.com http://www.chicagonow.com/art-talk-chicago/2010/05/tara-stricksteins-pataphor-at-next-art-fairart-chicago-2010/ 16 January 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20140109154250/http://www.chicagonow.com/art-talk-chicago/2010/05/tara-stricksteins-pataphor-at-next-art-fairart-chicago-2010/ 9 January 2014 other artworks,Crest Russ 3 April 2014 Website builder made with color presents: The installations of Linville and McKenzie Beautiful / Decay http://beautifuldecay.com/2014/04/03/website-builder-made-color-presents-installations-linville-mckenzie/ 3 May 2016 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160603003005/http://beautifuldecay.com/2014/04/03/website-builder-made-color-presents-installations-linville-mckenzie/ 3 June 2016 and architectural works.Swipes and changeups with Mike Nesbit Features – Archinect Art + Architecture archinect.com http://archinect.com/features/article/141826948/art-architecture-swipes-and-changeups-with-mike-nesbit 3 May 2016 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160407113310/http://archinect.com/features/article/141826948/art-architecture-swipes-and-changeups-with-mike-nesbit 7 April 2016 Pataphors have also been used in literary criticism,A collaborative review of Amy Catanzano's Starlight in Two Million 22 May 2015 Queen Mob's Tea House en-GB http://queenmobs.com/2015/05/a-collaborative-review-of-amy-catanzanos-starlight-in-two-million/ 3 May 2016 live https://web.archive.org/web/20170720225646/http://queenmobs.com/2015/05/a-collaborative-review-of-amy-catanzanos-starlight-in-two-million/ 20 July 2017 and mentioned in Art in America.NEXT Art Fair Events – Art in America artinamericamagazine.com http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/events/next-art-fair/ 3 May 2016 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20160603160444/http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/events/next-art-fair/ 3 June 2016 There is also a book of pataphorical art called Pataphor by Dutch artist Hidde van Schie.Pataphor – Hidde van Schie TENT Rotterdam en-US http://www.tentrotterdam.nl/en/event/pataphor_hidde_van_schie-2/ 3 May 2016 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160602195858/http://www.tentrotterdam.nl/en/event/pataphor_hidde_van_schie-2/ 2 June 2016 In The Disappearance of Literature: Blanchot, Agamben, and the Writers of the No,The Disappearance of Literature: Blanchot, Agamben, and the Writers of the No reprint Bloomsbury Academic 2015 978-1-5013-0680-8 en Aaron Hillyer writes: While metaphysics and metaphors attain one degree of separation from reality, pataphors and pataphysics move beyond by two degrees. This allows an idea to assume its own life, a sort of plasticity freed from the harness of rigid representation. In other words, metaphors operate on the level of the same. They juxtapose apparently unrelated material in order to draw out subtle identities. Pataphors unsettle this mechanism; they use the facade of metaphorical similarity as a basis for establishing an entirely new range of references and outlandish articulations: a new world in the midst of the old, the novel taking to the streets. Just as Kafka sought to forge a new form of life on the basis of absolute separation from historical progress, on cultural 'intransmissibility', and just as Blanchot pursued the 'pure novel' that exists in a relationship of absolute refusal of the established world, so the pataphysician seeks to initiate a new world on the grounds of a tenuous unreality.December 2022 Pataphysical calendar The pataphysical calendarElectronic The pataphysical calendar fr http://www.college-de-pataphysique.org/college/accueil_files/calenpat.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20130301023115/http://www.college-de-pataphysique.org/college/accueil_files/calenpat.pdf 1 March 2013. is a variation of the Gregorian calendar. The Collège de 'Pataphysique created the calendarPatalogue Avril 2010 Reference number 1230 1954 Collège de 'Pataphysique Catalogue http://www.college-de-pataphysique.org/college/accueil_files/Patalogue_Avril_2010.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20120426110525/http://www.college-de-pataphysique.org/college/accueil_files/Patalogue_Avril_2010.pdf 26 April 2012 in 1949. The pataphysical era (E.P.) started on Jarry's birthday, 8 September 1873 vulg. When converting pataphysical dates to Gregorian dates, the appendage (vulg.) for vulgate ("common") is added.Hugill 2012 21–22 The week starts on a Sunday. Every 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd is a Sunday and every 13th day of a month falls on a Friday (see Friday the 13th). Each day is assigned a specific name or saint. For example, the 27 Haha (1 November vulg.) is called fr Occultation d'Alfred Jarry or the 14 Sable (14 December vulg.) is the day of fr Don Quichote, champion du monde.Brotchie 1995 45–54 The year has a total of 13 months each with 29 days. The 29th day of each month is imaginary with two exceptions:Brotchie 1995 45–54 the 29 Gidouille (13 July vulg.) is always non-imaginary the 29 Gueules (23 February vulg.) is non-imaginary during leap years The table below shows the names and order of months in a pataphysical year with their corresponding Gregorian dates and approximate translations or meanings by Hugill.Hugill 2012 21–22 + Pataphysical year Month Starts Ends Translation Absolu 8 September 5 October Absolute Haha 6 October 2 November Ha Ha As 3 November 30 November Skiff Sable 1 December 28 December Sand or heraldic black Décervelage 29 December 25 January Debraining Gueules 26 January 22 February Heraldic red or gob Pédale 23/24 February 22 March Bicycle pedal Clinamen 23 March 19 April Swerve Palotin 20 April 17 May Ubu's henchmen Merdre 18 May 14 June Shit Gidouille 15 June 13 July Spiral Tatane 14 July 10 August Shoe or being worn out Phalle 11 August 7 September Phallus For example: 8 September 1873 (vulg.) = 1 Absolu 1 1 January 2000 (vulg.) = 4 Décervelage 127 10 November 2012 (vulg.)(Saturday) = 8 As 140 (Sunday) Works influenced by 'Pataphysics In the 1960s 'pataphysics was used as a conceptual principle within various fine art forms, especially pop art and popular culture. Works within the pataphysical tradition tend to focus on the processes of their creation, and elements of chance or arbitrary choices are frequently key in those processes. Select pieces from the artist Marcel DuchampHugill 2012 55 and the composer John CageHugill 2012 51–52 characterize this. At around this time, Asger Jorn, a pataphysician and member of the Situationist International, referred to 'pataphysics as a new religion.Asger Jorn's "Pataphysics: A religion in the making" http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/pataphysics.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20130605180559/http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/pataphysics.html 5 June 2013 American artist Joey Skaggs has described his satirical hoaxes as pataphysical, aligning with Alfred Jarry's concept of "the science of imaginary solutions." His performances often incorporate absurdist logic and fictional science to critique societal norms. Notable examples include the Metamorphosis Cockroach Miracle Cure (1981), where Skaggs, under the alias Dr. Josef Gregor, claimed to have developed a cure-all derived from cockroach hormones,Schwarcz Dr Joe https://books.google.com/books?id=iyulDwAAQBAJ A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat 2019-10-08 ECW Press 978-1-77305-385-1 en and the Tiny Top Circus (2014), billed as "the world's only pataphysical circus," featuring the exhibition and escape of a purported Bigfoot.2014-06-07 Bigfoot Unveiling Turns Into Huge Toe Job https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bigfoot-tiny-tot-circus-n_n_5461278 2025-04-14 HuffPost en In literature In 1948 Raymond Queneau, Jean Genet, and Eugène Ionesco founded Collège de pataphysique and published OULIPO,"In 1948 a group of writers, basically the core of the group that would later call themselves OULIPO (Raymond Queneau, Jean Genet, and Eugene Ionesco, among others), founded a Collège de 'pataphysique and produced a periodical devoted to absurdist writing."'pataphysics Oxford Reference https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100309872 which influenced the following writers: Boris Vian became involved with the Collège de 'Pataphysique.1297935463 Sethi Robbie Clipper Boris Vian: 'Blues for a Black Cat' book review Studies in Short Fiction 30 3 Summer 1993 406 His critics call his method in these stories "pataphysical".Intern 8 August 2014 Review: Oulipo Compendium Boston Review en http://bostonreview.net/books-ideas/james-sallis-review-oulipo-compendium 9 November 2020B. Vian Boris Vian 2014 If I Say if: The poems and short stories of Boris Vian 978-1-922064-62-2 Rolls Alistair 9 10.20851/vian-if 2440/83660 https://www.doabooks.org/doab?func=search&query=rid:16101 West-Sooby John Fornasiero Jean René Daumal has references to pataphysics in his writings.Gac Roberto René Daumal et l'enseignement de Gurdjieff : René Daumal, le perpétuel incandescent, Ouvrage collectif aux édition Le bois d'Orion (2008) Sens Public 3 February 2016 10.7202/1043376ar free Handspring Puppet Company produces theatrical works with elements of pataphysics.10.4324/9781315113081-9 Handspring Puppet Company Documentary Vanguards in Modern Theatre 2017 Youker Timothy 163–179 978-1-315-11308-1 Pat Murphy features pataphysics in several works of science fiction.Clapp Jeffrey 8 August 2021 Jeff van der Meer, or the novel trapped in the open world Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 62 4 414–427 10.1080/00111619.2020.1816890 224913909 free Jean Baudrillard is often described as a pataphysician and identified as such for some part of his life.Redhead Steve 2008 The Jean Baudrillard Reader Columbia University Press 978-0-231-14613-5 6–7 Pablo Lopez has developed an extension of 'pataphysics called the pataphor.Han Ji-Ae 28 October 2016 The notion and forms of pataphor in science educational contents design Journal of Digital Convergence 14 10 399–406 10.14400/jdc.2016.14.10.399 free In music In the song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" on the Beatles album Abbey Road, "pataphysical science" is mentioned as a course of study for Joan, the first victim of Maxwell Edison.That Ubu that you do 25 April 2008 Pop and rock The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/apr/25/popandrock1 8 March 2022 Argentine duo Sui Generis mentioned in 1974 in their song Tango en segunda "southern Pataphysics". The debut album by Ron 'Pate's Debonairs, featuring Reverend Fred Lane (his first appearance on vinyl), is titled Raudelunas Pataphysical Revue (1977), a live theatrical performance. A review in The Wire magazine said, "No other record has ever come as close to realising Alfred Jarry's desire 'to make the soul monstrous' – or even had the vision or invention to try."Baxter Ed September 1998 100 Records that set the world on fire ... while no one was listening The Wire 35–36 'Pate (note the pataphysical apostrophe) and Lane were central members in the Raudelunas art collective in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Professor Andrew Hugill, of de Montfort University, is a practitioner of pataphysical music. He curated Pataphysics, for the Sonic Arts Network's CD series,Music Andrew Hugill http://andrewhugill.com/music.html 16 January 2014 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130726201022/http://andrewhugill.com/music.html 26 July 2013 and in 2007 some of his own music was issued by UHRecordings under the title Pataphysical Piano; The sounds and silences of Andrew Hugill.Pataphysical Piano – The sounds and silences of Andrew Hugill by various artists UHRecordings.co.uk http://uhrecordings.co.uk/_shop/albums/UHR/pataphysical-piano.aspx 16 January 2014 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150610224204/http://uhrecordings.co.uk/_shop/albums/UHR/pataphysical-piano.aspx 10 June 2015 British progressive rock band Soft Machine were self-described as "the Official Orchestra of the College of Pataphysics" and featured the two songs "Pataphysical Introduction" parts I and II on their 1969 album Volume Two. Japanese psychedelic rock band Acid Mothers Temple refer to the topic on their 1999 release Pataphisical Freak Out MU!!. Autolux, a Los Angeles–based noise pop band, have a song "Science of Imaginary Solutions" on their second album Transit Transit. The composer Gavin Bryars has been a member of the Collège de 'Pataphysique since 1974; he was appointed Regent in 2001 and a Transcendent Satrap in 2015 at the pataphysical New Year's Eve Vigil E.P. 143 (7 September 2015 vulg.) The Pataphysical Broadcasting Foundation Inc. (established 1972, dissolved 2015) founded radio station KUSP in Santa Cruz, California, for (then) non-conventional radio programming. A song on Barcelona garage rock/yé-yé band Les Rencards' 2025 album Angles Morts is called "Notre pataphysique". In visual art In 1962 American artist James E. Brewton developed a style of abstract expressionism he called Graffiti Pataphysic. A survey of Brewton's 'pataphysics-related work was shown in 2014 in Philadelphia.James E. Brewton (1930–1967) – Programs – Slought 7 May 2018 slought.org https://slought.org/resources/james_brewton live https://web.archive.org/web/20180507100834/https://slought.org/resources/james_brewton 7 May 2018 American artist Thomas Chimes developed an interest in Jarry's 'pataphysics, which became a lifelong passion, inspiring much of the painter's creative work. In 2000, The Laboratory of Feminist Pataphysics was founded by Canadian visual artist, writer and scholar, Mireille Perron. The Laboratory of Feminist Pataphysics has been shown at the Nickle Arts Museum,Nickle Galleries University of Calgary nickle.ucalgary.ca en https://nickle.ucalgary.ca/ 10 March 2018 live https://web.archive.org/web/20171026193442/http://nickle.ucalgary.ca/ 26 October 2017 The New GalleryJuly 2020 and Stride Gallery in Calgary, Alberta.Laboratory of Feminist Pataphysics Presents: Ateliert of the Near Future – Mireille Perron Stride Gallery (stride.ab.ca) 19 February 2018 en-US http://www.stride.ab.ca/laboratory-of-feminist-pataphysics-presents-ateliers-of-the-near-future-mireille-perron/ 10 March 2018 live https://web.archive.org/web/20180311140906/http://www.stride.ab.ca/laboratory-of-feminist-pataphysics-presents-ateliers-of-the-near-future-mireille-perron/ 11 March 2018 In 2010 American artist Kevin Ferreira began a visual exploration into the imaginary solutions for the constructs of reality (pataphysics=pata art). The exhibit SpektrumMEK that resulted from this endeavor has been put into his book SpektrumMEK: A pataphysical gestation to the birth of Lil' t. The League of Imaginary Scientists, a Los Angeles-based art collective specializing in 'pataphysics-based interactive experiments. In 2011 they exhibited a series of projects at Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Brian Reffin Smith, a Berlin-based British artist and Regent of Catachemistry and Speculative Metallurgy in the Collège de 'Pataphysique, Paris, often shows art based upon or influenced by 'Pataphysics and conducts performances at Pataphysical events. He was part of a group of German and Czech artists who exhibited at Patadata, in Zlín, Czech Republic, 2017. In online fiction The SCP Foundation has multiple articles referencing pataphysical concepts, such as SCP-2747 ("As below, so above"), where the pataphysical reality is described as "layers of metafictional narrative" and the anomaly in question ascends the narratives to destroy them.SCP-2747 – SCP Foundation https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2747 2024-01-26 The SCP Foundation en "Pataphysics" articles often deal with the fictional nature of the Foundation. For example, SCP-3309 ("Where We Go When We Fade, Fade Away") features Foundation scientists attempting to manipulate the real-life website's article deletion feature to destroy problematic SCP objectsWhere We Go When We Fade, Fade Away 13 April 2018 SCP-3309 SCP Foundation https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3309 4 October 2020 and SCP-5999, which is an attempt at killing the authors of the site itself.SCP-5999 – SCP Foundation https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5999 2024-01-27 The SCP Foundation en In architecture Le Corbusier developed an interest in Jarry's work.July 2020 See also Parody science Absurdism Atlas Press Bielefeld conspiracy Birds Aren't Real Dada Derailment Détournement Heterotopia Irish bull Magic 8 Ball Metafiction Ouxpo Pseudoscience Neoism Discordianism Footnotes References 25em Bibliography 25em yes The Disappearance of Literature: Blanchot, Agamben, and the Writers of the No Bloomsbury Academic 2015 reprint 978-1-5013-0680-8 en Beaumont Keith 1984 Alfred Jarry: A Critical and Biographical Study St. Martin's Press 0-312-01712-X Bök Christian 2002 'Pataphysics: The Poetics of an Imaginary Science Northwestern University Press 978-0-8101-1877-5 Brotchie Alistair 1995 A True History of the College of 'Pataphysics Atlas Press 0-947757-78-3 'Pataphysics: definitions and citations 2003 Atlas Press London, UK 1-900565-08-0 Alistair Brotchie Stanley Chapman Thieri Foulc Kevin Jackson Brotchie Alistair 2011 Alfred Jarry: A Pataphysical Life MIT Press 978-0-262-01619-3 Clements Cal 2002 Pataphysica iUnivers, Inc. 0-595-23604-9 Hiebert Ted 2018 101 Words of Pataphysics Noxious Sector Press 978-0-9936058-5-7 Hillyer, Aaron. The Disappearance of Literature: Blanchot, Agamben, and the Writers of the No. Hugill Andrew 'Pataphysics: A useless guide MIT Press 2012 978-0-262-01779-4 Jarry Alfred Exploits & Opinions of Doctor Faustroll, Pataphysician: A Neo-scientific Novel Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician 1996 Exact Change 978-1-878972-07-1 Jones, Andrew, 1995. Plunderphonics, Pataphysics & Pop Mechanics: An Introduction to Musique Actuelle. SAF Publishing Ltd. Jarry Alfred Gestes et opinions du Docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien 1980 Gallimard France fr 2-07-032198-3 Jarry Alfred Collected works II – Three early novels 2006 Atlas Press London 1-900565-36-6 Shattuck Roger Roger Shattuck's Selected Works of Alfred Jarry Grove Press 1980 0-8021-5167-1 Taylor Michael R. 2007 Thomas Chimes Adventures in 'Pataphysics Philadelphia Museum of Art 978-0-87633-253-5 Vian Boris 'Pataphysics? What's That? 2006 Atlas Press London 1-900565-32-3 Stanley Chapman Morton, Donald. (2001) "Pataphysics of the Closet." Transformation: Marxist Boundary Work in Theory, Economics, *Politics and Culture: 1–69. Powrie, Phil. (1989) "René Daumal and the 'pataphysics of liberation." Neophilologus 73.4: 532–540. H. Bouché, François Lachenal (1959): Was ist 'Pataphysik? Elementare Prolegomena zu einer Einführung in die 'Pataphysik. Offenbach. Cal Clements: Pataphysica. iUniverse 2002 0-595-23604-9 Lennon, Nigey. (1984) "Alfred Jarry: The Man with the Axe." Airstreambooks.net 0-86719-382-4 External links Collège de 'pataphysique College of Pataphysics fr official website http://college-de-pataphysique.fr/?lang=en Patakosmos Pataphysical terrestrial and extraterrestrial Institutes tourist map http://www.patakosmos.com Category:Fictional philosophies Category:Alfred Jarry