“Blind Point”
Foucault explains, "The spectacle he (the painter) is observing is thus doubly invisible: first, because it is not represented within the space of the painting, and, second, because it is situated precisely in that blind point, in that essential hiding-place into which our gaze disappears from ourselves at the moment of our actual looking." A 'blind point' denotes invisibility. It is a location that cannot be perceived by a viewer of a work of art. The painter covers the point; hence, it would not be directly visible to the observer.
“Folded in upon itself”
Foucault writes, “The universe was folded in upon itself: the earth echoing the sky, faces seeing themselves reflected in the stars, and plants holding within their stems the secrets that were of use to man.” Folding implies the earth and its components are a reflection of the sky and all that is found in it. The sky is a categorical mirror of the earth; or they are mirrors for each other. The items found on earth can be paired with those in the sky.
Syntax
Foucault expounds, “In the vast syntax of the world, the different beings adjust themselves to one another; the plant communicates with the animal, the earth with the sea, man with everything around him. Resemblance imposes adjacencies that in their turn guarantee further resemblances.” Syntax denotes the structure of the earth which influences the positioning of creatures. Like language, the earth comprises structural rules which facilitate the organization of the universe. The syntax brings out the similarities between plants and animals.
Sign
Foucault states, “The metal appeared only as a sign, and as a sign for measuring wealth, in so far as it was itself wealth. It possessed the power to signify because it was itself a real mark.” Metals are tangible signs of wealth. Possessing the valuable metal is an affirmation that one has wealth. The tangibility of metals makes them material gauges of wealth whose value can be quantified.
Reality
Foucault elaborates, “Just as words had the same reality as what they said, just as the marks of living beings were inscribed upon their bodies in the manner of visible and positive marks, similarly the signs that indicated wealth and measured it were bound to carry the real mark in themselves.” Words connote reality. Assertion of specific words confirms facts or ideas which an individual believes in. Reality is inherent in words that are utilized in languages. Audiences discern the reality by making meaning of words depending on their contexts.
