Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-217). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-217). Also available on the Internet.

This thesis seeks to demonstrate that although Laurie Anderson’s performance works are technologically driven and often involve gender play, seemingly transgressing the gender binary, ultimately she reinscribes traditional gender norms. On the one hand, Anderson has been a pioneer in the use of electronic technology, which is significant considering she is a woman and electronics is a male-dominated arena; on the other hand, her ambiguously- gendered cyborg persona, which does often raise awareness about gender stereotypes, ultimately reinscribes traditional gender norms. Although I consider these issues as they pertain specifically to Anderson, the significance of this project lies in the broader picture. Are there limits to gender performativity? Is it possible to break traditional gender norms? Must gender norms constantly reinscribe themselves regardless of new technology? As gender norms are deeply rooted in society, they are difficult to escape, as Anderson’s work demonstrates.

O objetivo desta tese é, por um lado, abordar a relação entre o corpo e a linguagem a partir das perspectivas da poesia, do teatro e da performance. Por outro lado, propomos que a compreensão de tal campo relacional pode esclarecer pontos em comum entre essas diferentes artes, trazendo uma nova percepção do fenômeno poético. Para tal, fez-se necessário operar um desvio com relação à concepção moderna que entende o corpo enquanto substância material extensa e a linguagem como algo associado à substância subjetiva ideal do pensamento. Pelo contrário, procuramos trabalhar com a hipótese de que corpo e linguagem se encontram em estado de relação senão necessária ao menos constante, valendo-nos da ideia do corpo-em-vida, e da linguagem enquanto ação e enquanto discurso. A análise opera um recorte contemporâneo entre obras que vão das poetas Angélica Freitas e Marília Garcia até a da atriz e encenadora Cristina Flores, e da performer norte-americana Laurie Anderson. A escrita da tese nos levou a uma combinação entre aspectos formais do ensaio e do drama, numa costura de múltiplas vozes, de modo a concretizar o entrelaçamento entre as ideias vividas ao longo da pesquisa e a experiência física da produção do texto / The aim of this work is, on one side, to approach the connection between body and language considering the outlook obtained from pieces of poetry, theater and performance art. On the other side, we suggest that the understanding of such relational space can point to similarities among these different fields of artistic creation, enabling us a new perception of the aesthetics of poetry. To achieve such goal, it was necessary to avoid the modern conceptions of the body as matter, a substance whose main attribute is extension and its possibilities of measurement, and the language as a tool of the mind, associated with conceptual and ideal thinking. On the contrary, we attempt to work with the hypothesis that body and language are if not necessarily at least constantly connected to each other, throughout the concepts of body-in-life and language as action and discourse. The analysis took in consideration an ensemble of contemporary works, from the poets Angélica Freitas and Marília Garcia, to the actress, writer and theater director Cristina Flores, through the North-American performer Laurie Anderson. We found it necessary to formulate a style of writing that entangled formal aspects from the essay and from the drama, in a sort of entangle of distinct voices, in a way that was possible to achieve the connection between the concepts brought to life during the research and the physical experience of elaborating the text

O objetivo desta tese é, por um lado, abordar a relação entre o corpo e a linguagem a partir das perspectivas da poesia, do teatro e da performance. Por outro lado, propomos que a compreensão de tal campo relacional pode esclarecer pontos em comum entre essas diferentes artes, trazendo uma nova percepção do fenômeno poético. Para tal, fez-se necessário operar um desvio com relação à concepção moderna que entende o corpo enquanto substância material extensa e a linguagem como algo associado à substância subjetiva ideal do pensamento. Pelo contrário, procuramos trabalhar com a hipótese de que corpo e linguagem se encontram em estado de relação senão necessária ao menos constante, valendo-nos da ideia do corpo-em-vida, e da linguagem enquanto ação e enquanto discurso. A análise opera um recorte contemporâneo entre obras que vão das poetas Angélica Freitas e Marília Garcia até a da atriz e encenadora Cristina Flores, e da performer norte-americana Laurie Anderson. A escrita da tese nos levou a uma combinação entre aspectos formais do ensaio e do drama, numa costura de múltiplas vozes, de modo a concretizar o entrelaçamento entre as ideias vividas ao longo da pesquisa e a experiência física da produção do texto / The aim of this work is, on one side, to approach the connection between body and language considering the outlook obtained from pieces of poetry, theater and performance art. On the other side, we suggest that the understanding of such relational space can point to similarities among these different fields of artistic creation, enabling us a new perception of the aesthetics of poetry. To achieve such goal, it was necessary to avoid the modern conceptions of the body as matter, a substance whose main attribute is extension and its possibilities of measurement, and the language as a tool of the mind, associated with conceptual and ideal thinking. On the contrary, we attempt to work with the hypothesis that body and language are if not necessarily at least constantly connected to each other, throughout the concepts of body-in-life and language as action and discourse. The analysis took in consideration an ensemble of contemporary works, from the poets Angélica Freitas and Marília Garcia, to the actress, writer and theater director Cristina Flores, through the North-American performer Laurie Anderson. We found it necessary to formulate a style of writing that entangled formal aspects from the essay and from the drama, in a sort of entangle of distinct voices, in a way that was possible to achieve the connection between the concepts brought to life during the research and the physical experience of elaborating the text

This thesis explores the notion of ‘experimental voice’ in avant-garde performance, in the way it transgresses conventional forms of vocal expression as a means of both extending and enhancing the expressive capabilities of the voice, and reframing the social and political contexts in which these voices are heard. I examine these avant-garde voices in relation to three different liminal contexts in which the voice plays a central role: in ritual vocal expressions, such as Greek lament and Māori karanga, where the voice forms a bridge between the living and the dead; in electroacoustic music and film, where the voice is dissociated from its source body and can be heard to resound somewhere between human and machine; and from a psychoanalytic perspective, where the voice may bring to consciousness the repressed fears and desires of the unconscious. The liminal phase of ritual performance is a time of inherent possibility, where the usual social structures are inverted or subverted, but the liminal is ultimately temporary and conservative. Victor Turner suggests the concept of the ‘liminoid’ as a more transgressive alternative to the liminal, allowing for permanent and lasting social change. It may be in the liminoid realm of avant-garde performance that voices can be reimagined inside the frame of performance, as a means of exploring new forms of expression in life. This thesis comes out of my own experience as a performer and is informed both by theoretical discourse and practical experimentation in the theatre. Exploring the voice as a liminal, transgressive force requires analysis from an experiential perspective.