"When we speak the word "life," it must be understood we are not referring to life as we know it from its surface of fact, but to that fragile, fluctuating center which forms never reach"

Antonin Artaud invites us to question our assumptions about the nature of life, urging a deeper engagement beyond observable facts and surface experiences. The word "life", as commonly used, often refers to biological existence, the sum of daily routines, social facts, and physical phenomena. Yet Artaud resists this reduction, directing attention to a more elusive, inner aspect, an essence that does not align neatly with tangible forms or socially accepted definitions.

He describes this as a "fragile, fluctuating center", an image evoking something inherently unstable, always in motion, and perhaps even undefinable. This center escapes capture by language, form, or habit; it resists objectification. The "forms" of life, roles, rituals, institutions, even bodies, do not touch this core. Instead, they act as shells or surfaces, necessary for survival but ultimately inadequate to convey genuine vitality or existential meaning. Artaud’s reference to forms "never reach[ing]" this center highlights the ongoing gap between outer manifestation and inner reality. No matter how perfectly constructed a form may be, it always falls short of the raw, ineffable pulse that animates us.

By distinguishing between "life as we know it" and this deeper center, Artaud foregrounds the limitations of perception, cognition, and communication. For artists, this distinction becomes all the more urgent. Surface representations, whether on stage, canvas, or page, are mere echoes, attempts to approximate something greater, something living that consistently evades capture. Life, at its most authentic, is a lived, moment-to-moment experience shaped by uncertainty, vulnerability, and transformation. It is ever-changing, always beyond the reach of static descriptions or systems.

Artaud's words challenge us to acknowledge and embrace the mystery at the heart of existence. He calls for an openness to the ungraspable, an appreciation of life’s liveliness that lies not in its outward facts, but in its ceaseless, trembling interior.