SKU: 95113920883

Total Expansion of the Letter: Avant-Garde Art and Language After Mallarm

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Total Expansion of the Letter: Avant-Garde Art and Language After MallarmHow cubism and Dada radically reimagined the social nature of language, following the utopian poetic vision of Stphane Mallarm. At the outset of the twentieth century, language became a visual medium and a philosophical problem for European avant garde artists. In Total Expansion of the Letter, art historian Trevor Stark offers a provocative history of this "linguistic turn," centered on the radical doubt about the social function of language that

How cubism and Dada radically reimagined the social nature of language, following the utopian poetic vision of Stéphane Mallarmé.

At the outset of the twentieth century, language became a visual medium and a philosophical problem for European avant-garde artists. In Total Expansion of the Letter, art historian Trevor Stark offers a provocative history of this "linguistic turn," centered on the radical doubt about the social function of language that defined the avant-garde movements. Major cubists and Dadaists--including Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and Tristan Tzara--appropriated bureaucratic paperwork, newspapers, popular songs, and advertisements, only to render them dysfunctional and incommunicative. In doing so, Stark argues, these figures contended with the utopian vision of the late nineteenth-century poet Stéphane Mallarmé, who promised a "total expansion of the letter."

In his poems, Mallarmé claimed, "the act of writing was scrutinized down to its origins." This scrutiny, however, delivered his work into an indeterminate zone between mediums, social practices, and temporalities--a paradox that reverberates through Stark's wide-ranging case studies in the history of the avant-garde. Stark examines Picasso's nearly abstract works of 1910, which promised to unite painting and writing at the brink of illegibility; the cubists' "hope of an anonymous art," expressed in newspaper collages and industrial colors; the collaborative, cacophonous invention of "simultaneous poems" by the Dadaists in Zurich during World War I; and Duchamp's artistic exploration of chance in gambling and finance. Each of these cases reflected the avant-garde's transformative encounter with the premise of Mallarmé's poetics: that language--the very medium of human communication and community--is perpetually in flux and haunted by emptiness.

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SKU: 95113920883

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Sam
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
Makes bar soap better
Color: 5 Pack, Color: 5 Pack
I recently switched back to bar soap because I wanted to save money on bath products, having to shower twice a day at work during the pandemic. These little pouches are soft, but have enough fiber to be mildly exfoliating but not abrasive. The rubbing motion of the fiber on the soap bar while washing actually increases the lather beyond what you would get with the bar alone. The sisal fiber also absorbs the oils and scents of the bar, and I noticed that the smell of the soap was stronger on my skin after showering. I am a man, and it is soft enough for your face and naughty bits. You also don’t waste any soap, as the pouch holds your bar even after it shrinks down and breaks. It also hangs conveniently on my shower rack. I have been using Dove white beauty bars with these pouches and I have noticed my skin is noticeably less dry and softer. NOTE: the pouches do have a slight odor like hay or dry wood when they come out of the box (there is a warning on the package), but it goes away quickly on your first use. If you use bar soap you should definitely give these a try!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2020
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Ramón
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 3
Works, but not as well as a plastic one
Color: 5 Pack
Easy to scrub with and not uncomfortable to use. When it dries out, it has an unpleasant texture and sometimes discoloration. I dropped this one less often than my plastic ones thanks to the durable cord making grip easier. It's more difficult to get to lather than plastic equivalents, so you'll waste a little water if that's a concern. Overall an easy to use product, but a little harder to use than a plastic one.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2026
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aftx
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 5
Great product at a fair price
Color: 5 Pack
Love these, no plastic and feel like it helps exfoliate. Perfect size and thickness for larger man size bars.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2026
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Catherine
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
Well-made
Color: 5 Pack
Well-made bag. Keeps the soap in and doubles as a washcloth.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2026
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Valerie Burns
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 4
Pretty good for price
Color: 5 Pack
Super nice! It makes my skin feel soft. The only thing is that it starts to get gray. I tried hand washing it, and putting it through the wash and it doesn’t come out.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2026

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