Földényi:Der lange Schatten der Guillot

Even before the French Revolution, there were occasional executions by guillotine, but it was only from 1791 onwards that death on the scaffold became widespread and applicable to all. Until then, the choice of execution method depended on social status and the nature of the crime. Now, the industrialization of killing takes hold. For before the guillotine, everyone is equal. And while contemporaries ponder whether the consciousness of the decapitated can continue to live separately from the body, László F. Földényi crafts his own narrative of the long 19th century in his richly illustrated essay – starting from our entry into headlessness. At the same time, the new technology of photography also emerges. Only its widespread dissemination allows for the moment to be extracted from the transience of life, equally immortalizing and killing it. This not only leads to a new understanding of time and space but also transforms perception itself. As if the cut of the guillotine were to continue infinitely from then on, everything appears fragmented: the bodies, the city, poetry, and painting. A completely new image of humanity emerges, depicting it as a bizarre, violent, headless being, which continues to resonate into our present.