É comum observarmos entre os cantores a ideia de que o corpo é o instrumento de sua arte. Apesar de vivermos num momento onde entender a vida e nossas experiências por uma perspectiva sistêmica deveria ser algo já difundido, perpetua-se um modelo de entendimento do canto compartimentalizado e desconectado da vida do cantor. Tentando entender esse problema, nesta pesquisa de natureza qualitativa questionamos se os cantores líricos identificam o seu corpo como seu instrumento, ou como locus da performance. E, nesse sentido, qual é o papel das práticas motoras (práticas corporais e de atividade física) no seu desenvolvimento e na sua performance. Sabendo que essas questões são aspectos importantes das práticas de Educação Somática, propusemos interlocução entre esse tipo de prática corporal e as experiências com cantores líricos. A investigação foi organizada em três etapas: 1) Prática de Educação Somática associada a aulas de canto individuais, por um ano; 2) Prática de Educação Somática associada a aulas de canto em grupo, em dois encontros; 3) Entrevistas semiestruturadas com 3 cantoras e 2 cantores que possuem experiência com Educação Somática. Durante os encontros práticos, foi tomado nota das impressões, percepções e relatos dos estudantes num caderno de campo. O material, constituído das conversas e das experiências práticas, foi analisado por uma perspectiva somaestética, disciplina filosófica proposta por Richard Shusterman. Fica evidenciado que, para os participantes da investigação, a prática de Educação Somática permite que eles sintam e conheçam a si mesmos de maneira ampliada e fica claro como corpo e voz se tornam indissociáveis. Também há a compreensão de que o corpo que atua, o que canta e o que ensina são os mesmos. Apesar de haver uma percepção do corpo subjetivado quando relatam suas experiências, a ideia de corpo como instrumento é aceita pelos participantes dessa investigação / It is common to find among singers the idea that the body is the instrument of their art. Although we live in a time where to understand life and our experiences from a systemic perspective should be something widespread, an understanding of singing as something compartmentalized and disconnected from the singers life is perpetuated. Trying to understand this issue, in this research of qualitative nature we ask if classical singers identify their bodies as their instrument, or as locus of performance. And, in this regard, what is the role of motor practices (bodily practices and physical activity) in their development and their art. Knowing that these issues are important aspects of Somatic Education practices, we intended to make an interlocution between this type of bodily practice and the experience with classical singers. This inquiry was organized in three stages: 1) Somatic Education practices associated with individual singing lessons, through a whole year; 2) Somatic Education practices associated with group singing lessons, in two meetings; 3) Semi-structures interviews with 5 singers who are experienced in Somatic Education. Along the practice meetings, impressions, perceptions and reports were written down as fieldnotes. The data, constituted of conversations and practical experiences, was analyzed through a somaesthetic perspective, a philosophical discipline proposed by Richard Shusterman. It becomes evident that to the participants of this inquiry, the practice of Somatic Education allows them to feel and know themselves in an expanded way and it becomes clear how body and voice become inseparable. There is, also, the understanding that the acting body, the singing body and the teaching body are all the same. Although there is the comprehension of a subjectified body when they report their experience, the idea of body as an instrument is accepted by the participants of this inquiry

The main theme of the thesis is the position of the concept of the aesthetic experience on the field of the contemporary esthetics. As the one of the most basic concepts of the modern-age esthetics the esthetic experience was criticized from the different views in the last half century. But at the same time in the last decades, this concept is effort to reinterpret and keep as the meaningful and functional one at the frame of discourse of the esthetic theory from few related reasons (revival of the philosophical pragmatism, re-thinking of the Kant's esthetic theory etc.). The closer topic of the thesis is the defense of the neo pragmatically oriented interpretation of the concept of the esthetic experience in the work of Richard Shusterman. The thesis should point out not only the Shusterman's arguments, which support the sustainability of the pragmatism approach of the esthetic experience's concept, but also the attitudes that prevent the sustaining of this point of view. The attention will be focused mainly on Shusterman's interpretation of Dewey's conception "The art as the experiences" and in the end on Shusterman's theme - Somaesthetics, that related with Dewey's pragmatism too. Key words: aesthetic experience, pagmatism, Richard Shusterman, somaesthetic

Even though food-based artworks are no longer a new occurrence within art practice, the particular practice of food that uses taste, smell and touch as artistic medium is still relatively new. This practice poses new challenges at both the creative and receptive ends: for the audience the challenge is linked to understanding and relating with the artwork while for the artist it involves directing the audience’s engagement. Under the theoretical lens of Somaesthetics and Langer’s Mindfulness discourse, this thesis has examined what it means to appreciate food-based artworks through taste, smell and touch. It has also investigated ways in which this form of practice can be developed further. Practice within the research has been used as a means of thinking through the creative choices taken by artists with the purpose of understanding how perceptibility and engagement with food-based works through taste, smell and touch can be enhanced. Some of the key references include Miwa Koizumi’s NY flavors, Burkhard Bacher & Herbert Hinter’s Landscape, Maki Ueda’s Aromascape, and several works by Sam Bompas and Harry Parr amongst others. The outcome of the research include: the development of an attentive discourse of appreciation which outlines the conditions necessary for the appreciation of food-based artwork through its taste, smell and touch; and the articulation of creative strategies that can be used by artists to enhance the perceptibility of taste, smell and touch and encourage engagement. The contributions to knowledge made by this thesis include: The introduction of a new genre of food-based practice; the use of Somaesthetics and Mindfulness as a lens to examine the appreciation of food-based art; the identification of new concerns within practice facing artists using food’s taste, smell and touch as medium; and the new form of encounter with art that requires a mindful-somatic attentiveness.

É comum observarmos entre os cantores a ideia de que o corpo é o instrumento de sua arte. Apesar de vivermos num momento onde entender a vida e nossas experiências por uma perspectiva sistêmica deveria ser algo já difundido, perpetua-se um modelo de entendimento do canto compartimentalizado e desconectado da vida do cantor. Tentando entender esse problema, nesta pesquisa de natureza qualitativa questionamos se os cantores líricos identificam o seu corpo como seu instrumento, ou como locus da performance. E, nesse sentido, qual é o papel das práticas motoras (práticas corporais e de atividade física) no seu desenvolvimento e na sua performance. Sabendo que essas questões são aspectos importantes das práticas de Educação Somática, propusemos interlocução entre esse tipo de prática corporal e as experiências com cantores líricos. A investigação foi organizada em três etapas: 1) Prática de Educação Somática associada a aulas de canto individuais, por um ano; 2) Prática de Educação Somática associada a aulas de canto em grupo, em dois encontros; 3) Entrevistas semiestruturadas com 3 cantoras e 2 cantores que possuem experiência com Educação Somática. Durante os encontros práticos, foi tomado nota das impressões, percepções e relatos dos estudantes num caderno de campo. O material, constituído das conversas e das experiências práticas, foi analisado por uma perspectiva somaestética, disciplina filosófica proposta por Richard Shusterman. Fica evidenciado que, para os participantes da investigação, a prática de Educação Somática permite que eles sintam e conheçam a si mesmos de maneira ampliada e fica claro como corpo e voz se tornam indissociáveis. Também há a compreensão de que o corpo que atua, o que canta e o que ensina são os mesmos. Apesar de haver uma percepção do corpo subjetivado quando relatam suas experiências, a ideia de corpo como instrumento é aceita pelos participantes dessa investigação / It is common to find among singers the idea that the body is the instrument of their art. Although we live in a time where to understand life and our experiences from a systemic perspective should be something widespread, an understanding of singing as something compartmentalized and disconnected from the singers life is perpetuated. Trying to understand this issue, in this research of qualitative nature we ask if classical singers identify their bodies as their instrument, or as locus of performance. And, in this regard, what is the role of motor practices (bodily practices and physical activity) in their development and their art. Knowing that these issues are important aspects of Somatic Education practices, we intended to make an interlocution between this type of bodily practice and the experience with classical singers. This inquiry was organized in three stages: 1) Somatic Education practices associated with individual singing lessons, through a whole year; 2) Somatic Education practices associated with group singing lessons, in two meetings; 3) Semi-structures interviews with 5 singers who are experienced in Somatic Education. Along the practice meetings, impressions, perceptions and reports were written down as fieldnotes. The data, constituted of conversations and practical experiences, was analyzed through a somaesthetic perspective, a philosophical discipline proposed by Richard Shusterman. It becomes evident that to the participants of this inquiry, the practice of Somatic Education allows them to feel and know themselves in an expanded way and it becomes clear how body and voice become inseparable. There is, also, the understanding that the acting body, the singing body and the teaching body are all the same. Although there is the comprehension of a subjectified body when they report their experience, the idea of body as an instrument is accepted by the participants of this inquiry

Estetiker inom design är ofta subjektiva, då vad som definierar interaktionens kvaliteter skiljer sig åt mellan dem. Vissa estetiker kan dock visas distinkt genom kroppsspråk, vilket påståendevis skulle vara en mer konkret metod för att förmedla upplevelser och intryck. Detta arbete utforskar trivsamt passivt gungande, ur perspektivet av en dansare och massör, genom first-person research. Den dokumenterar sedan designprocessen av en artefakt som har förmågan att kunna återskapa denna sensation. Gungande valdes på grund av personliga erfarenheter och intresse för hur det kan visas genom att endast använda kroppen, till skillnad från många andra estetiker. Genom att använda metoder inom Soma Design kombinerat med first-person research började denna process med brainstormingaktiviteter kring gungande och fortsatte sedan med att genom Feldenkrais-inspirerade aktiviteter främmandegöra konceptet. Med den nyvunna förståelsen av gungning skapades en formförändrande nackkudde kallad "The Neck Hammock" för att framkalla en gungande sensation hos en dansare eller en massör. Kvantitativt utforskande av rörelserna som skapades av "The Neck Hammock" placerade gungande längs et spektrum av olika upplevelser och visade även att den djupt själviaktagande upplevelsen kan resultera i starka minnesbilder och associationer av tidigare upplevelser. Dessa associationergjorde det enkelt at kategorisera en session med "The Neck Hammock", då framgångsrika sessioner väckte minnen från erfarenheter av gungstolar, hängmattor mm. Detta tyder på att individuella responser på "The Neck Hammock" kommer att vara unika och baserade på varje användares tidigare erfarenheter av gungande, trots att allmänna egenskaper som t.ex. behagligheten i det hela lär finnas kvar. Trots att många sessioner förmedlade en sensation av gungande var det fåsom passade perfekt in i det sökta ,trivsamma, passiva gungandet. De sessioner som var framgångsrika och framkallade tydliga minnesbilder hade en betydande känslomässig påverkan och orsakade stundom långvariga känslor i hela kroppen. / Aesthetics in design are often subjective because definitions of the qualities of interaction differ. Some aesthetics, however, can be distinctly shown with body movement, perhaps offering a more concrete method to communicate experience. This thesis explores a first-person understanding, as a dancer and masseuse, of pleasant passive rocking. It then documents the design process of an artefact capable of conveying the same experience. Rocking was chosen due to personal history and interest in how it can be shown explicitly using the body, unlike many other aesthetics. Using first-person Soma Design methods, this process began with brainstorming attributes of rocking and later utilized defamiliarization through Feldenkrais-inspired activities. With the newfound understanding of rocking, a shape-changing neck pillow named the Neck Hammock was created to evoke a dancer’s and masseuse’s rocking. Quantitative exploration of the Neck Hammock movement placed rocking along a spectrum of experience, and also revealed that the deeply introspective experience can result in vivid mental visualizations of past lived experiences. These visualizations made categorizing a session with the Neck Hammock simple, as successful trials evoked memories of hammocks, rocking chairs, etc. This suggests that individual responses to the Neck Hammock will be unique based upon the user’s past associations with rocking, though general qualities like pleasantness ought to remain. While many trials conveyed rocking, few aligned perfectly with the targeted pleasant passive rocking. The trials that were successful and caused a mental visualization had significant emotional impact and sometimes caused long-lasting full body experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to get a better understanding of how the malerole is changing over time. Masculinity and what defines a male hero seemsto be changing depending on the time we are living in. Society and normsare forming ideals for how a man should act and look. I have chosen to doan analysis on Batman because he is a hero who has a long history in ourpopular culture. I have analysed 5 different movies with 5 different actorswho have portrayed him from 1966 to 2005. The paper's method is filmanalysis and I have analysed how the actors who are portraying Batmanhave changed over time in the different Batman movies, focusing on howhis body, male role and masculinity have changed in the different Batmanincarnations. This implies paying attention to changes in muscularity, typeof masculinity and the relationship between the hero's mind and body. I amalso viewing Batman as if he is two different persons, one as Bruce Wayneand one as Batman. The result shows that the focus on the body's physicalattributes has increased gradually over time. The physical changes began inBatman's costume and slowly over time the focus has switched to his realbody.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to explore the possibilities of using auditory stimulation in order to raise somatic awareness of horse riders while riding using Somaesthetic Appreciation Design as a method. In research of Somaesthetics and horse-human relations, a gap in Somaesthetics is being questioned, and a new dimension is suggested. Somaesthetics in the design of technology often surround the self of a user, and Somaesthetics as described by Shusterman is focused on self development, but many of our experiences are in union to other beings. The suggestion of a new dimension is called Centaur Somaesthetics, and it focuses on the relation and communication between two somas in order to understand and improve oneself.  One example of an experience where the self is dependent to another being is within equestrianism, where the rider is dependent on the horse. Riders, as well as their horses, use their bodies to communicate while riding, meaning that being aware of one's body as a tool for communication is crucial. When horse and rider find harmony within teamwork, the rider may experience a centaur feeling of being one with the horse. This centaur feeling relies on the rider's ability to support and direct the horse, but to do this we need to understand the horse. One of the basics in equestrianism is rhythm and tempo, where a correct rhythm and a consistent tempo in all gaits is desirable as it is a sign of good communication and a well-educated horse. By applying the Somaesthetics principle of raising somatic awareness to understand and improve oneself - this study has explored the possibilities of using audio in combination with the self-tracking application Equilab, using their technology of tracking motion data to determine rhythm and tempo. This has resulted in the concept of using rhythm-adaptive and tempo-flexible music to support the riders to be more aware of their bodies as a tool for communication. The music will present a correct rhythm of the ridden gait as well as it is being played at a consistent tempo of the horse’s natural tempi. While testing a design of the concept called Hear the Centaur, the conclusion of the music having great signs of a heightened somatic awareness was established. No objective data of a more consistent tempo or a more correct rhythm was found, but all riders who participated in the study articulated that they found a great support in the music. All riders found support in the area that they were currently struggling with, and all riders mentioned that the music helped them with their communication to their horse.

This thesis questions the idea that; quantified self technology can make us understand our bodies better and facilitate a healthy relationship with the body. Instead, it proposes that a healthy relationship to the body is developed through technology that facilitates a somatic practice, involving the bodily experience in the interpretations of the data. This is achieved by bringing in values inspired by the practice of mindfulness as an alternative to the existing design values promoted in technological solutions dealing with the body. I have designed a first prototype, Inner Mirror, which explores adolescents’ body relationship through screen-based visuals. Inner Mirror detects adolescents’ arousals to visualize their emotional changes in abstract representations that they are invited to connect to specific emotional experiences. The process of designing Inner Mirror will be described thoroughly in the paper. The process was a continuous negotiation between the ideas and values that I brought into the project and the adolescents’ worldview. This is described through a first-person perspective and a participatory design approach. Two school classes of 43 adolescents (between 13 to 14 years old) have participated in the project through three workshops. In the end, I test the prototype in two different settings: on myself, adopting the first-person perspective and together with the adolescents. Finally, three concepts that emerged in the design work are evaluated to suggest a direction for future work.

Media designed to elicit Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) has been used for years for relaxation and improved sleep. Recent research has shown that experiencing ASMR lowers markers for stress, and can induce a relaxed mood. In this thesis, the use of ASMR in a somaesthetic design process was used to define experiential qualities of relaxation. Somaesthetic sensitivity training, ASMR exploration, a material exploration, and a workshop produced several themes relevant to relaxation. Out of these, the themes with the most promise for this project were selected and further examined through the formation of the artifact The Rice Walker, a walking-based artifact for ASMR-inspired relaxation. Using a thematic analysis, the foundations for three experiential qualities of relaxation were identified: Allowing for Anticipation, Softness, Gentleness, and Gradual Transitions, and Control Without Demands. These qualities can be used to expand the soma design space, or could be used in the development of relaxing human-computer interactions. / Media designad för att framkalla ASMR har använts i flera år för avslappning och bättre sömn. Ny forskning har visat att upplevd ASMR sänker stressmarkörer, och kan leda till ett avslappnat tillstånd. I detta examensarbete utforskades användandet av ASMR i en somaestetisk designprocess för att definera experientiella kvalitéer av avslappning. Somaestetisk träning, utforskning av ASMR, en förstapersons material utforskning, samt en workshop resulterade i flera teman relevanta för avslappning. Av dessa valdes de teman med bäst möjlighet till utveckling ut, och dessa teman utvärderades mer utförligt i skapandet av artifakten The Rice Walker som använder gång för att ge känslan av ASMR-inspirerad avslappning. Tre kvalitéer identifierades genom en tematisk analys: Allowing for Anticipation, Softness, Gentleness, and Gradual Transitions, och Control Without Demands. Dessa kvalitéer kan utöka soma design-området, och kan användas i utvecklingen av avslapppnande människo-dator interaktioner.