Personhood and the Allure of the Object
In: The Visual in Performance PracticeSearch for other papers by Sozita Goudouna in
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Theatre is mostly defined by the performer’s presence and personhood is the term used to define this notion. However, performance practitioners emphasize the object-qualities of the human body by simultaneously de-emphasizing their human qualities. As part of their anti-theatrical methods, theatre practitioners, writers and choreographers have integrated the ‘personhood’ of the performer. Minimalist choreography demonstrates the sculptural elements of dance. Minimalist practice, in general, blurred the categorical distinction between aesthetic experience, the specular experience of ordinary empirical objects and restricted interpretive practices, because of the notion of ‘objecthood.’ Minimalist works by artists from different disciplines such as dance, music and sculpture exemplify a significant shift in compositional methods, towards subtraction of representation, emphasis on objecthood (literalness) and on the object of art. The chapter will discuss the relationship between the notion of objecthood, that is central to minimalism in the arts, and the notion of ‘personhood’ of the live performer so as to analyze the artistic venture to define the borders between a theatrical performance and a purely visual representation.