Kinaesthesia at Any Speed: Empathy, Rhythm and Performance
摘要
Chapter 6 examines the visual form of bodies in movement. The main focus is the theory of kinaesthetic empathy in which the observer is deemed to have a direct corporeal and affective connection to the movement of others. The theory has developed from the nineteenth-century conception of einfühlung and empathy to more recent neuroaesthetic concept of mirror neurons, where the motor cortex directly responds to bodily expression and movement. These theories, however, are limited insofar as they do not address the role of speed in mediating the viewer’s relationship to corporeal movement. These issues are explored through phenomenological accounts of bodily movement and the degree to which a body’s affective contours depend on intentionality and habit. The chapter also draws upon Susanne Langer’s notion of semblance to argue that the movement to some degree exceeds its own material support. This is supplemented by an examination of how slow motion mediates the affective relationship between the spectator and human body, with particular reference to slow motion video performances by visual artists such as Norman McLaren and Bill Viola, as well as dance performances that slow down and defamiliarise the intentional unity of movement.