12

The ViRTual and

The phYsiCal:

a phenomenologiCal

appRoaCh To

peRFoRmanCe ReseaRCh

Susan Kozel

artistic research is a convergence of materialities; sometimes a clash, other times
a smooth flow, occasionally it is as if different rhythms play in counterpoint pulling
the researcher in different directions. Vision is material, as is the tactile engagement
with objects; concepts have their own materiality, and movement provokes a dance
of materiality and meaning. in contrast to many of the contributions to this book this
chapter takes a kinaesthetic rather than a visual approach, addressing the convergence
between the virtual and the physical in research in dance and movement improvisation.
When working across bodies and digital technologies not only is the concept of
knowledge restructured but, of necessity, our modes of perception and notions of
materiality also shift. Further, the methodologies used need to be chosen in a way that
is faithful to the research, and the voice and output may defy convention. This area
of artistic research offers distinct challenges but is increasingly compelling as digital
technologies become ever more ubiquitous, from tiny chips inserted in common objects
to vast and interconnected networked applications impacting how we communicate,
create and socialize. perhaps the most contentious claim in this chapter is that research
is a form of performance, but this is a by- product of the primary focus which is an
application of phenomenological method to performance with technologies revealing
an alternate construction of knowledge. What emerges is a reciprocity between
models of knowledge and research practices: the practices point to different models of
knowledge, and the models offer up refinements of the practice.
This chapter begins by revisiting basic tensions between practice and theory,
revealing a deep entanglement between the two. instead of stitching these domains
together in a unifying gesture that still preserves a fundamental antinomy, a shift of
perspective is enacted: by viewing both theoretical and practical pursuits in terms of