2. a. A subtlety or nicety in argument; a quibble. In later use also: a witticism; a quip.
b. As a mass noun: subtlety (of wit); ability or tendency to employ quiddities in argument.
3. In pl. Idiosyncrasies, eccentricities, peculiar features. Chiefly in quirks and quiddities (cf. sense 2a ,
(Source: OED)
I love how, like much bad academic writing (my own recent attempts proving most exemplary), the definition of quiddity devolves from attempting to describe the intangible truth or essence of something, to treating just the argument or meta discursive level, to finally settling on the amusing quirks with which a reader might identify and therefore justify the reading of said text.
Sawaki Suushi, Mikoshi-nyuudou from the Hyakkai Zukkan, 1737
On perhaps not an unrelated note, this is a picture of Mikoshi-nyuudou, the cross-eyed mendicant monster monk from a set of Edo-period Japan picture scrolls. According to this source, the more you look up at him, the taller he grows. If you look up for too long, you die. Unless you say "I see higher," in which case he disappears. Now that's a mantra I can get down with. (More pictures of the Sawaki Suushi scroll here.)
6 comments:
"The cross-eyed mendicant monster monk." OMG the Japanese are weird... :). Then again, so are some jargon-happy art historians we know...
Well, you probably know where the idea for this post came from: "the signified cannot be reified...its objecthood, its quiddity, is only a fiction..."
Fiction indeed. I prefer the googly-eyed monks, thanks. Perhaps I should have chosen my sub-field better.
When I first saw the monk, I just figured you were illustrating what that reading made you feel like. And yes. Go look for a better sub-field. Learn Japanese, too, just in case.
I was!
Cause, you know, if you look up to Rosalind Krauss too long without saying "I can see higher" or at least "I can see past," you might go all googly-eyed and die too. I am approaching this state.
"Cause, you know, if you look up to Rosalind Krauss too long without saying "I can see higher" or at least "I can see past," you might go all googly-eyed and die too." Excellent point! I don't imagine a whole lot of people ever actually say that to her, though...
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