The sky’s the limit: Art and the idea of infinity

Abstract

The idea of infinity is a natural one. We know, of course, of mathematical infinity — the infinity of numbers: an idea that is familiar to mathematicians, and anathema to physicists because it is a non-answer to problems of astro-physics. Mathematical infinity here represents either an endless series of numbers, or a theoretical impasse. In philosophy, the idea of infinitude is a metaphysical concept that is linked to transcendence. For modern thought, transcendence itself is problematic, as it is implicit to logo-centrism, and therefore fundamental to the notion of a fixed position with regard to any question of truth. There isan underlying paradox here that was explored at great length by two of the last century’s most innovative writers on philosophy — Derrida and Levinas. This paradox, far from indicating a conceptual impasse, and interpreted instead as aporeia, may be the means to open the way to infinity not as limited being or non-being, but as an essential quality of the human psyche. Phenomenology, which inspired Derrida and Levinas both positively and critically, has at its source the notionof a human consciousness that is potentially infinite in its scope. It is this appurtenance that I wish to develop, and by relating it to art as essential paradox, to reveal in art the possibility of a means of experiencing infinity not only as a concept, but also as an inner reality.