Practising the Real on the Contemporary Stage
Practising the Real on the Contemporary Stage (Book)
An analysis of reality and 'the real' as presented in contemporary artistic creation, Practising the Real on the Contemporary Stage examines the responses given by performing arts to the importance placed on reality beyond representation. This book proposes four historic itineraries defined by the ways in which the issue of the real is addressed: the representation of visible reality and its paradoxes, the place of the real on the lived body, the limits placed on representation by experiences of pain and death, and those practices that denounce the real. Practising the Real on the Contemporary Stage will be warmly welcomed by scholars of aesthetics and contemporary artistic practice.
Edition
An analysis of reality and ‘the real’ as presented in contemporary artistic creation, Practising the Real on the Contemporary Stage examines the responses given by performing arts to the importance placed on reality beyond representation. This book proposes four historic itineraries defined by the ways in which the issue of the real is addressed: the representation of the visible reality and its paradoxes, the place of the real on the lived body, the limits placed on representation by experiences of pain and death, and those practices that denounce the real. Practising the Real on the Contemporary Stage will be warmly welcomed by scholars of aesthetics and contemporary artistic practice.
José A. Sánchez is professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts and head of the Art History department at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. He is also director of the research group Artea (www.arte-a.org).
Translated by Charlie Allwood who is a graduate of Sheffield University and of Queen Mary, University of London and specialises in the translation of art, architecture, culture and theatre articles. He currently lives in Barcelona.
Foreword
Introduction
Reality and the Visible
Real and Virtual
The Irruption of the Real
Iconoclastic Theatre
At the Limits of Representation
Genocides
History and Memory
The Performance of Others
The Real Is Relational
Essayism and Representation
Conclusion: Theatre and Reality
Appendix: Ethics of Representation
