----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
Dear Susan
On 6 Jul 2014, at 19:48, Susan Kozel <susan.ko...@mah.se> wrote:
> I like to see somatic materialism as being based on flow and as John says,
> not tied to a cosmic realm. Embodied sensory presence is key, I would go
> further to say embodied affective presence (playing on a distinction between
> the senses and affect). I have a feeling that what Sue discussed below
> regarding breath, pressure and resonance, working from internality radiating
> ourwards and letting external forces richochet inward has something to say to
> this project but am still thinking about it
>
Yes, I think I am talking about something like somatic materialism. The play on
breath patterns I described began as an exploration of presence; the
punctuation of the breathing pattern was intended to interrupt the 'flow'. The
device of imposing a metronomic discipline on the breath pattern emphasised the
physicality of the present moment, and it required distinct attentional
efforts to concentrate awareness either toward present bodily sensation and
environment, or toward the "virtual" space of imagination/memory, nothing novel
there. But what was curious was how the timing constraint added an unexpected
affective layer. We found we did things like pausing action in the pauses, even
though imaginatively we were travelling 'somewhere else', or of moving faster
to try and fit more in to the time, like sped-up old movies. It was also a
condition that we try not to predetermine 'where' we would go in the two-second
breath pause, so each time we suspended the 'now' there was the possibility to
find ourselves anywhere that exists in our somatic/memory archive, and not
necessarily where we were in the previous two-second window, so each virtual
transition was full of not-knowing. This then brought to awareness another
element - fear - which further complicates the somatic material, and a coping
mechanism of adopting an objective-subjective standpoint kicks in, altering the
field of awareness again. And this was all before dealing with others,
language, technological interfaces etc., let alone cosmic dimensions!
Susan, in your earlier post you said <My approach to embodiment has shifted
over the years from a preoccupation with the sense and kinaesthesia to a focus
on affect and the somatic> Could you expand a little on the distinctions you
are making between these elements? I'd love to hear more about the work with
Jeanette and in the city. I think there will be some interesting connections
with the work Sophia Lycouris has been doing with city spaces,
all the best, Sue
SUE HAWKSLEY
independent dance artist
s...@articulateanimal.org.uk
http://www.articulateanimal.org.uk
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