[-empyre-] Virtual Embodiment: week 2

[Sue Hawksley]

Dear Sophia

Many thanks for raising these points. I'd like to ask you about discussing notions such as 'virtual embodiment' in a foreign langauge. As we are seeing from the discussion so far, the term evades simple definition. I just checked the etymology of the word virtual to see if there is any greek in the roots, but its all from Latin. Would any particular nuances be drawn out differently if you were discussing this in Greek? I was also reminded that the term virtual only entered the vocabulary of computation in the late 50s.  I wondered if you could expand on the notions of flow, potential and magic that you mentioned:

On 10 Jul 2014, at 12:36, sophia lycouris <sophia at kunstwerk-blend.co.uk> wrote:

> The term virtual embodiment creates an impression, a feeling that there is this other domain which is the virtual, which is different because it is not physical, however for some reason there is a need to address it from within a lens that has been defined by the physical.  It creates a disjunction between the physical and the virtual, it insists to remind us of categories instead of flow and potential…


> The Skype call (when it works!) adds a certain magic (still!) which makes the meeting more focused. I almost become more bodily present.

This makes me think about illusions, apparitions, hallucinations dreams etc. In theatrical or therapeutic terms, virtual effects might be brought about by physical sleight of hand,the trickery of  lights and mirrors, props and costumes; chemical changes brought about by ingestion of substances, physical practices, environmental factors etc. or the uncanny effects on the brain of physical illusions such as the 'cutaneous rabbit' or the 'rubber hand'. The BeAnother Lab have done some fascinating experiments on 'Body Swapping' in the "Be Another" project <http://www.themachinetobeanother.org/> 

Do you think that part of what creates the 'magic' of the illusion of altered states of bodily experience is the interruption of habitual flows, the creation of something new, and/or the releasing of a potential that is always there, or something else?

all the best, Sue




SUE HAWKSLEY
independent dance artist
sue at articulateanimal.org.uk
http://www.articulateanimal.org.uk