Acta Structuralica

international journal for structuralist research

Book

139582

Artaud the Moma

Jacques Derrida

Translated by Peggy Kamuf

Abstract

In 1996 Jacques Derrida gave a lecture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on the occasion of Antonin Artaud: Works on Paper, one of the first major international exhibitions to present the avant-garde dramatist and poet's paintings and drawings. Derrida's original title, "Artaud the Moma," is a characteristic play on words. It alludes to Artaud's calling himself Mômo, Marseilles slang for "fool," upon his return to Paris in 1946 after nine years in various asylums, while playing off of the museum's nickname, MoMA. But the title was not deemed "presentable or decent," in Derrida's words, by the very institution that chose to exhibit Artaud's work. Instead, the lecture was advertised as "Jacques Derrida . . . will present a lecture about Artaud's drawings."

Publication details

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Place: New York

Year: 2017

Pages: 112

ISBN (hardback): 9783851655506

Full citation:

Derrida Jacques (2017) Artaud the Moma. New York, Columbia University Press.