Investigation: Windowlicking (part 2)

This time, Window Licker and Jacques Lacan…yep.

So, did you watch? And?

Once you get through the first 4 minutes, 127 uses of profanity, and 38 windows in the stretch limousine, you will see a reflection of the gals (the ‘window shopping’ reference could refer to the guys ‘shopping’ for these ladies?) in the window. The mirrored window is rolled down and the image of the ladies is replaced by the grimacing face of Richard D. James. And then the song kicks in.

Oh, that face. First on his own body, as he splashes and dances around, and eventually on everyone around him. All I can think about during this epic ‘representation’ of Aphex Twin or Richard D. James is that this smart guy (or perhaps the director Chris Cunningham) are channelling one Monsieur Jacques Lacan (read about him, very interesting stuff).

A little Lacan: “Our experience shows that we should start […] from the function of méconaissance that characterizes the ego in all its structures” (from Jacques Lacan, Écrits: A Selection).

More french! Zut alors!

Méconaissance, what a great word. Translated as misunderstanding or misrecognition, this word is a lovely way to think about representations of reality, and in this case the self. For me, James’ face superimposed here, there and everywhere might suggest the ‘fragmented body-image’ proposed by Lacan in the ‘mirror stage’ and the relationship he describes between the Innenwelt and the Umwelt or our inner world and outer world.

Blah, blah, blah…so what?

Well, this inner and outer world are, for me, integral to understanding our perceptions and representations of reality. The way the world is represented is at the reigns of our internal and external understandings of ourselves and ‘others’. And, these understandings are underscored by a constant conflict between what we perceive to be ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’. Lacan says it best: “the mirror stage is far from a mere phenomenon which occurs in the development of the child. It illustrates the conflictual nature of the dual relationship” (from La relation d’objet). La relation duelle, to which Lacan refers, is the relation between the Ego and the body but also the relation between the imaginary and the real. For me, this video explores this blurring of real and imaginary, ego and body as well as all sorts of other boundaries (which could be the basis for volumes of posts). Gender, race, genre, to name a few. 

Bringing it back to window licking, all I can think about is Lacan’s reference to that infant that LOVES looking in the mirror. Perhaps getting so close that he/she is in licking range?