Mphil/PhD by project
Royal College of Art
2008
TACTILE IMAGINATION AND FILM
How the sense of touch can deepen our experience of reality on film
Research Summary
I propose an extended and multi-disciplinary study, in thought and practice, of the unique qualities of touch as a sense, of its place in our culture and its relationship to the real. Using the Czech Surrealist filmmaker, animator and tactile artist Jan Švankmajer’s practical research and films as a foundation, I will further explore the relationship between touch and the moving image, and the possibility of employing touch as a way of enriching the medium of film.
Film as a medium, which does not allow for a direct application of the sense of touch on the part of the viewer, can greatly benefit from the deepening of its imaginative possibilities based on tactile perceptions translated into image and sound.
Through the translation of tactile impressions into visual imagery I will develop a language that communicates tactile impressions without the use of the sense itself. This new language I will then apply to the medium of film, as a way of expanding the tools available to the mediums creative expression.
The practical outcome of the research process will be a series of Tactile Conversations on Film. These short films will embody the results of the research phase. They will explore the representation of various materials on film and their interaction, as well as the experience of textures, movement and the emotional / reactive implications of such encounters. Because such a process is directly linked to the subject matter, the methodology and tools (ie film versus digital media etc) will also be explored.
Further notes:
The aim of my research is to explore the language of touch, and find a way of translating it into an audio-visual language of film, as a way of expanding the expression of filmic language, as well as reintroducing the sense of touch in order to counteract technology’s tendency to alienate the body.
The primary goal
Identify the ‘scale of touch’ and find a way of translating this tactile language into the audio-visual language of film. It will exist as an independent piece of work, in a form of research gathered into writing, photographs, and audio-visual media. This new ‘alphabet of touch’ can then be used towards the secondary goal/s. Tactile audio-visual language will be based on exploration of conscious and unconscious associations evoked by touch, and translated into a language applicable to film.
The secondary goal
Application of my findings to my filmic work/ Filmic work informed by experience of touch and its unique qualities. Touching can ‘educate’ the eye so that it looks in a ‘better way’.
This work will show how the reintroduction of touch can help to:
Develop a further expressive quality to (my) films. Find a more precise way of conveying meaning (precision of communication). Creating a heightened sense of perception in the viewer through specific sequencing/juxtaposition of images and sounds etc. (“in touching surprise is common, stemming from the inability to anticipate as well as from the unexpected qualities produced by touching.” American artist Rosalyn Driscoll.)
There are some interesting parallels between touch and film: touch unfolds in time, just as film does. Touch is therefore much closer to narrative then to an image.