Metaphors of work: Investigating meanings of 'work' at the intersections of language, image, and performance.

Abstract

The research "Metaphors of Work" investigates how language theory, visual communication design, and performance art can contribute to the comprehension and representation of work in our culture. This investigation aims to understand the practice of work beyond the domains of economic theory, acknowledging the relevance of embodied experience and different methods of perception in the formulation of meanings and therefore, in the production of knowledge. This research is conducted in two intertwined parts: a theoretical discussion and a creative experiment. The theoretical discussion is concerned with the way language provides frameworks for the assimilation and interpretation of embodied experiences. Metaphors are appointed as an essential cognitive operation in the foundation of our conceptual systems. As a starting point, nine pieces of performance work have been curated in order to unpack different aspects of work. These performances have been interpreted as meta-labors, and analyzed under the perspective of open ended metaphorical formulations. Inspired by the particular methodological approach of these performances, appointed by Fabião as performative programs, a practical experiment has also been conducted. This program was executed with the participation of volunteers in between February and April, 2021. As the result of this experiment, a poetic inventory of gestures and words is introduced and analyzed in the third chapter of this research. It consisted of a series of language based games, set to question the differences between saying and showing, and how these two verbs could be approached through the practices of performance art and graphic design. This inventory establishes insightful dynamics between words, images and gestures, relevant to the fields of performance and visual communications.