«Huge, Disgusting, Corpulent, A-Hundred-Throats»: a Philosophical Study of the Fence and Other Monsters (Review of the book Savchuk V.V. Fence as a Balance of Forces. St. Petersburg: Publishing house Academy of Culture Research, 2021. – 249 p.).

Abstract

The text is a contemplation review of the new book by V.V. Savchuk. Fence as a balance of power. (St. Petersburg: Publishing House “Academy of Culture Research”, 2021. - 249 p.). The book raises a wide range of problems: the world as an extension of the skin, cultural rhythms of the collective body, principles of building trust and openness, mechanisms of psychological isolation and social distancing, current forms of environmental reflection and art practice. The fence turns out to be one of those limiting things, after the invention of which it is not clear how to think of culture without it. An excursion into the author's thought is given, the logic of the narrative being built is commented to reflect on the embarrassing omnipresence and inevitability of the fence. How did culture end up crucified on the fence? When is the fence not a source of comfort, but of excess discipline and increasing anxiety? What is intimidation fraught with? All these questions are outlined and deeply investigated by the author, while the task of this text is to maximize attention both to the book and to the problem. In other words, start a productive dialogue about fences - which, paradoxically, has hardly been noticed in humanistic research.

Keywords

• balance of power
• collective body
• building trust
• rubbish
• alienation
• topological reflection
• performativity
• thanatology
• psychedelic drift
• downside of transparency