distantziak / distancias / distances
Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October 2021, in Room Z of Tabakalera
Presentations to explore the theme of Distances from different perspectives were given by the following invited guests: Lorea Alfaro, Tarek Atoui, David Bestué, Luz Broto, Patricia Esquivias, Dora García, Olatz González Abrisketa, Erlea Maneros Zabala, Asunción Molinos Gordo, Lisa Rosendahl. The conference will end with a performance by Eddi Circa.
The 2021 International Conference is based on the binomial bodies-distance. These two words, and how they are articulated, carry a strong resonance at the present moment which also extends into current art practices. There have been many moments in art recently where the spatial relationship between bodies – whether close or distant – and between the body and its surroundings, have taken on particular significance.
We have chosen to draw on proxemics theory (from the Latin proximus, “very close”). Proxemics is the study of the use and perception of the personal space that exists around our bodies. Formalised by the anthropologist Edward T. Hall, proxemics examines the way we occupy space and the distances we keep in our interactions and communication. Hall identified several types of space, which vary depending on the type of encounter, the relationship between the interlocutors, their personalities, and other factors. Hall conceived a model of personal space divided into four sub-categories in which distances range from: intimate (bodily), which ranges from physical contact to 45 cm; personal, habitual in interpersonal relationships, 45 – 120 cm; social distance, which favours interaction in everyday transactions like work, and extends from 120 – 360 cm; and public distance, which can extend to the limit of visibility and audibility.
It was our understanding, however, that a greater distance need not lead to less intimacy. Bodies can be distanced but interconnected, and we find that art as a medium can imagine forms of intimacy where intimacy seems to be impossible. Negotiating with norms governing spatial distances, limits on movement and the impossibility of physical contact without renouncing it altogether, art helps us to imagine other modes of being and relating.
Esparru hartan eremuak#8 aldizkaria eta artista-koadernoa aurkeztuko dira.