ofgerere) (15c) 1 archaic : carriage bearing 2 : a movement usu. The first step toward answering these questions, then, was reviewing the meaning of gesture: What, then, are “decolonial gestures”? What are the set of “gestures” that are not decolonial and in relation to which “decolonial gesture” defines itself as an option? If “gestures” are signs and if “universes of meanings” are semantic frames, at what juncture could gesture be created or interpreted as decolonial? On the one hand, ideological options (systems of ideas) such as Christianity, Liberalism, and Marxism (pervasive in Western civilizations), and Islamism or Confucianism beyond the West and on the other, disciplinary options (social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, professional schools, etc.). “Decolonial option” was framed in relation to two universes of meaning. If we, in front of a ritual or a ceremony, name them performance it would be as irreverent and offensive as it would be for a performer to hear his or her performance called ritual or ceremony. Why? Because ritual and ceremony, on the one hand, and performance on the other belong to different universes of meaning. At that point I began to think that if we take “gesture” to mean a movement of part of the body, then the same term “gesture” would conjure different meanings when the frame is a ritual, a ceremony, or a performance. Furthermore, before going to Guatemala I attended a workshop in Pittsburg entitled “Mimicry and Decolonial Performance” where Native American art historian and curator, Jolene Rickard, opened up the workshop with a lecture in which Native American rituals and ceremonies were interwoven with Western performances. “Decolonial turn” acquired its meaning in the frame of previously defined “turns”: linguistic turn, pragmatic turn, and discursive turn. Both titles bring “gesture” next to “decolonial.” Since I have been working on the idea of “decolonial option(s)” in conversation with the “decolonial turn,” it was both intriguing and compelling to think about this new dimension of decoloniality. Simposio de Arte y Pensamiento Político Contemporáneo. When Macarena invited me to participate in this special issue on “Decolonial Gesture,” I had already been invited by Rozina Cazali to participate in an event titled “Del gesto al pensamiento decolonial” in Guatemala under the auspices of Absurdo. Looking for the Meaning of ‘Decolonial Gesture’ Walter D.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |