The exploration of imagination has been a focal point for philosophers, artists, and theorists across centuries, each contributing to a rich tapestry of understanding that delves into the realms of the unseen, the unformed, and the yet-to-be. At the heart of our exploration lies the assertion by Foucault that the 19th century unearthed a domain of imagination whose magnitude was likely unfathomable to prior ages. This discovery marks a pivotal shift in the perception and valuation of imagination, framing it not merely as a faculty of the mind but as a vast expanse ripe for exploration and cultivation.

The evocative imagery of the German Romanticism – e.g. “shadow pictures of a sunken life” (E.T.A. Hoffmann 1819) and “flown-in peelings from the world” (Jean Paul 1804) – serves as a metaphorical representation of the fragments and remnants that imagination stitches together to form new wholes (and worlds). These elements, akin to the concept of “blanks” or “indeterminacy” (see Ryan 2015 and Iser 1994), act as spaces of virtuality that invite the creative engagement of the mind, liberating it from the constraints of the tangible.

Imagination, as Kant posits, is the faculty of forming images in freedom, where the concretizations are inherently pictorial. This aligns with the notion of “miniature paintings of an idea” (Reil 1803), suggesting that imagination crafts vivid, detailed mental images that transcend the mere abstraction of thought. The historic description of imagination as “seeing inward” or “thinking with the eyes of the soul” (see Perpeet 1988), along with Jean Paul’s “inward gaze” (Jean Paul 1804), further emphasizes the introspective nature of imaginative engagement, where the depths of the soul are plumbed to bring forth the unseen.

The process of enriching “shadow pictures” with color and vitality mirrors the creative act of imbuing the vague and the formless with substance and life. This transformation is emblematic of the journey from the penumbral outlines of ideas to their full realization in vivid detail and complexity.

The transition to a discussion of the semiotic fabric or “semantic landscape”, as proposed by Lévy (1998) and Ryan (2015), highlights the role of imagination in asserting a proprietary claim over the world beyond the self. This spatial manifestation of imagination underscores its capacity to extend the boundaries of the individual’s experiential world, offering a counterpoint to the “cold spirit of Enlightenment” through a plurality of interpretive possibilities. This, the Romantics argue, introduces a “fruitful doubt” into the deterministic epistemology of the Enlightenment, championing the multiplicity and ambiguity of meaning.

The notion that imagination symbolizes the imaginary (see Caduff 2003) brings to light the process of translating the nebulous and ephemeral into tangible symbols, a task that demands poetic power to “shape the rich fabric of the phenomenal world grasped by the imagination into organized artistic forms”.. This act of creation is not just a replication of reality but an augmentation of it, where the imaginary infuses the real with new dimensions of possibility.

The concept of pareidolia, along with the reference to Da Vinci’s practice of finding shapes in stained walls, introduces the idea of imagination as a tool for transcending conventional perception, sometimes bordering on the pathological. The objective here is to disrupt the “sensible everyday consciousness and the solidified perceptual clichés of the reader/listener” challenging the audience to break free from the confines of habitual observation and engage with complexity on an incommensurable scale.

The metaphor of the fragment, alongside the rejection of closure, aligns with the idea of “textural complexity” inviting a departure from linear, cohesive narratives in favor of a chiaroscuro of ideas and impressions. This approach embraces the incomplete, the fractured, and the ambiguous, celebrating the inherent uncertainty and multiplicity of interpretation that imagination fosters.

In conclusion, the landscape of imagination is one of infinite depth and diversity, where the shadows of the unformed are colored with the hues of potentiality. It is a realm where the inward gaze reveals universes within, challenging the boundaries of perception and understanding. Through the lens of imagination, the world is not merely seen but transformed, revealing the endless possibilities that lie just beyond the reach of the visible.

Reading List

  • Caduff, Corina (2003): Die Literarisierung von Musik und bildender Kunst um 1800. München: Wilhelm Fink.
  • Foucault, Michel (2008): Nachwort zu Flaubert Die Versuchung des heiligen Antonius. In: Michel Foucault: Schriften zur Literatur. Edited by Daniel Defert and François Ewald. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp (Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch Wissenschaft, 1675), pp. 117–141.
  • Hoffmann, E. T. A. (2008 [1819]): Die Serapions-Brüder. Dritter Band. In: Wulf Segebrecht und Ursula Segebrecht (Eds.): Die Serapions-Brüder. Text und Kommentar. Frankfurt, M.: Deutscher Klassiker Verlag (Deutscher Klassiker-Verlag im Taschenbuch, Bd. 28), pp. 617–908.
  • Iser, Wolfgang (1994): Die Appellstruktur der Texte. In: Rainer Warning (Eds.): Rezeptionsästhetik. Theorie und Praxis. 4., unveränd. Aufl. München: Wilhelm Fink (UTB für Wissenschaft Uni-Taschenbücher Literaturwissenschaft, 303), pp. 228–252.
  • Jean Paul, [= Jean Paul Richter] (1804): Vorschule der Aesthetik. Nebst einigen Vorlesungen in Leipzig über die Parteien der Zeit. 3 Bände. Hamburg: Friedrich Perthes (1).
  • Lévy, Pierre (1998): Becoming virtual. Reality in the Digital Age. New York: Plenum.
  • Perpeet, Wilhelm (1988): Antike Ästhetik. Freiburg: Karl Alber.
  • Reil, Johann Christian (1803): Rhapsodien über die Anwendung der psychischen Curmethode auf Geisteszerrüttungen. Halle: Curtsche Buchhandlung.
  • Ryan, Marie-Laure (2015): Narrative as virtual reality 2. Revisiting immersion and interactivity in literature and electronic media. Second edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.