Antonin Artaud on the varieties of communication

Noh Actor

Noh Actor
Image credit: Kyoto University of Foreign Studies

It has not been definitively proved that the language of words is the best possible language. And it seems that on the stage, which is above all a space to fill and a place where something happens, the language of words may have to give way before a language of signs whose objective aspect is the one that has the most immediate impact upon us.
Antonin Artaud in The Theater and its Double, (New York: Grove Press, 1958), p. 107. Originally published as Le théatre et son double, (Paris: Gallimard, 1938). Translated from the French by Mary Caroline Richards. Cited by Rolando Perez in On An(archy) and Schizoanalysis, (Brooklyn, New York: Autonomedia, 1990), p. 39.

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"it has not been definitively proved"
Antonin Artaud Posted on behalf of on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 under Quotations.

One comment so far

  1. As someone who is passionate about dance, I would have to agree. A 3 minute dance can portray so much more and provide a look deep into a soul. I can cry after a dance but a 3 minute monologue would not take me as far.
    For years people have been relying on body language and motions to communicate and really still do. I can pick up on so much more from body language than the hoo-ha that comes out of some peoples’ mouths.

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