From bodymind to bodyworld : the case of mask work as a training for the senses

Abstract

The article proposes the concept of bodyworld to refer to the roles played by the material environment in performer processes. As such the term belongs to what the author calls postpsychophysical perspectives in acknowledging an agential interactive relation with the world. In doing so, bodyworld updates and extends the human-centric formulation of the psychophysical bodymind. To illustrate an instance of bodyworld, the article considers the case of mask work as constituitive of human–non-human relationalities. Though the focus is on mask work in general, reference is made to masks of different types to achieve a broader perspective that can be applied to specific practices. In particular, the neutral mask tradition of Jacques Copeau and Jacques Lecoq is invoked to illuminate various points. The bodyworld analysis of mask work is informed by Brian Massumi’s theory of affects which considers the connection between movement, sensory perception, and situated materiality.