The text revisited: The hour of the star approached through corporeal mimesis

Author(s)

Brisa de Oliveira Vieira

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Artes
• Defense date: 2017-11-10

Examining board members

Suzi Frankl Sperber; Jussara Corrêa Miller; Elisa Martins Belém Vieira; Alik Wunder; Ana Clara Cabral Amaral Brasil

• Advisor: Raquel Scotti Hirson; Suzi Frankl Sperber

Abstract

For this research, the author conducted practical experiments based on words from Clarice Lispector's novel "The Hour of the Star". The underlying idea was to insert Lispector's words into the actress's body, to make them dance in her body. Practical investigation was divided into two phases: in the first one, the unspoken word was recreated in the body in its potentiality to generate materials; in the second one, the word was recreated in the body in its linguistic and sound materiality. As far as the dissertation is concerned, the first phase resulted in the description of the materials created and included the tangible and intangible points on which the creation process was based; that is, it made visible the creation of the structure as well as of the images, thoughts, questions, and memories in which these materials are grounded. Besides conducting practical investigation, the first phase delved into the study of the trajectory of corporeal mimesis. This study resulted in a nuanced presentation of the methodology employed in the research. Corporeal mimesis was created and developed by LUME (an Interdisciplinary Research Center at Unicamp) in 1992 and its core referential procedures have been updated and expanded since then. As a result of this trajectory of updates, the research focused more closely on two creation processes experienced at LUME, in which the word was experienced from the perspective of corporeal mimesis. These processes led to the emergence of word mimesis, the main reference for the creation practice developed by this research within the scope of the procedures of corporeal mimesis. In the second phase, practical studies were conducted in which fragments of "The Hour of the Star" were appropriated so that the word might be uttered in its linguistic and sound materiality. This led to the composition of a final sequence in which materials and text were confronted. These studies were shared by means of descriptions and schemes with the purpose of making the experience of these processes visible. The second phase also resulted in a comparative study of the actress's previous text-related experiences which preceded the practice developed during the PhD (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/22967-8 - Isabelita, memory and humor
• Grantee: Brisa de Oliveira Vieira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate