Die Rahmenstruktur als Schnitt durch das Horizontfeld: Phänomenologische und Politische Überlegungen

Picture frames are not just things of everyday use, but have also drawn the philosophical interest of a tradition reaching from Kant to Butler. It is argued here that the philosophical fruitfulness of the concept of frame can be better understood by phenomenologically analyzing the perceptual situation implied in picture frames. In such an analysis, drawing on the framework developed by Edmund Husserl, it can be shown that picture frames cut through the infinite horizonal references that constitute the world as universal field, hence separating an inner unity from the surrounding world. As they center the subject’s interest on that which is framed, they themselves aim at disappearing in the background. On this phenomenological foundation, the function of the frame for the work and its inner unity is discussed, taking into account the contributions of Kant, Simmel, Derrida, Butler and Panourgia. Finally, the resulting frame structure is extrapolated and applied to three further examples, namely the map, the footnote and the nation. These examples will not only help to question and sharpen the characteristics of the frame structure, but they will also show the political relevance that it may feature.