Ideas for the stage

Ideas for a new performance

4 pair of hands each playing 4 characters. The performance will incorporate all of my previous findings about handshakes and all of their nuances, but place them within a completely new context. I plan to write a script, with a fairytale like plot. The characters will be: the hero, the person that needs saving, the dragon and the squire. The idea is to continue exploring hands as a vehicle for performances, with each type of handshake respresenting an action in the story. For instance, when the hero is intimidating the dragon, the dominant handshake.

Using the snapchat AR filter I designed, I staged an explanatory performance where I’m basically displaying all the insights I gained through my practice research upon the phenomenon of the handshake.

The filter can also be used while interacting with people, so can be used as a guide to explore the variety of gestures and consequently power dynamics embedded through them.

An explanatory performance where I present the insights emerged throughout my research practice.

Script

The ritual of the handshake is ruled by a specific set of codes. Intentionally or unintentionally the way we enact the handshake according to different situations conveys a variety of meanings. A cubic structure will serve us as a guide for the handshake and to interpret those meanings.

Most people shake hands with their right hand. The right arm is raised in the middle of the imaginary cube with the fingertips pointing ahead. The angle the palm traces with the horizontal axis of the cube is the most important variable to determinates one’s intention. The palm perpendicular to the ground is the neutral form of handshake. It is professional and respectful. After grasping the other person’s hand it usually follows a brief up-and down-movement along the vertical axis. The up -and-down movement might sometimes evolve in a back-and-forth movement, which consists of pulling the other person’s hand several times along the frontal axis. The back-and-forth movement has the effect of making the other person unstable. It is considered an aggressive way to assert control.

Again regarding the frontal axis, two possible handshakes can be identified:

the close handshake, when the hand is close to the bust, aligned with the face of the cube nearest to the body.

The far handshake, when the arm is fully extended, and the hand is aligned with the face of the cube furthest away from the body.

This distinction has to do with the laws of proxemics, which is the study of human use of space while interacting and communicating.

The close handshake regards the intimate space. It conveys either inclusion or possess. The far handshake set the boundary between the social space and the personal space. It is a more detached way to shake hands and has the purpose to limit and to stop.

Going back to the perpendicular handshake, its neutrality can be shifted by rotating the wrist. If the angle between the palm and the horizontal axis is acute the intention is to prevail on the other person. The smaller the angle, the stronger the will is to appear dominant, so the most authoritative handshake is when there is zero angle, and the palm is fully facing downwards

On the contrary if the angle between the palm and the horizontal axis is obtuse, then approach towards the handshake is deferential and it is considered submissive.

The palm facing downwards conveys control and supremacy whereas the palm facing upwards communicates support.

Another case where the power dynamics of the handshake can be defined by a dominant-submissive relationship regards the ascending or descending ideal line which connects the elbow to the hand. If the direction is top-down, drawing a diagonal line in the lateral cube’s face, the gesture manifests dominance. If the direction is bottom-up the resulting message is about subordination. This differentiation mostly depends on the height and position of the two people shaking hands.

Finally, in the ritual of the handshake a relevant role might be played by the left hand as well. The latter can eventually double clasp the handshake, overpowering the other person’s hand, or it can also be placed and press the other person’s upper arm or even the shoulder. The sequence of these three options is a progressive climax where touching the shoulder represents the most confidential but also most assertive way of interacting.

Over the past two weeks I tried to work simultaneously in two directions keeping open the option for both the network brief and the platform one. I believe the connections I intertwined with professional designers are the most interesting and potentially insightful aspect of my third unit so far, but at the same time I am aware that the possibility for a collaboration to flourish is complicated and it does not only depend on me, therefore I tried to think also about a platform as a plan B.

Just when all hope was lost, I got emailed back by Ted Yoon. He showed genuine interest in my research and he shared with me few interesting insights about his practice and the designing process he followed for his project Designing Dictatorial Statues. It was stimulating to hear from a professional the kind of critical choices he had to take to make the most out of his project. Because of the similarities between mine and DDS’s researches (in terms of general topic, but more in depth of methodology), some of the obstacles Ted Yoon encountered were similar to the ones I had. Hearing from him how he circumvented those blocks helped me to shed lights on my process.

Ted also shared with me the contact of Mark Henning, another designer whose practice has a similar subject matter of mine. Particularly he worked on a project titled Normaal: “a performative design research that explores how the handshake – a simple social gesture – has become coded with immense nationalistic meaning and examines how our definition of normal influences our suspicions of others” [Mark Henning’s website].

The starting point of Henning’s research was declaration letter by the Dutch Prime Minister at that time, which referred to normal behaviours people have to follow if they want to stay in the Netherlands and particularly to the idea that in the Netherlands is normal to shake hands. What Henning asked to himself was what is a normal handshake. The research developed following a series of iterations and experiments which eventually took the form of an interactive performance. He designed a platform/stage which forms a testing station for handshakes. On the stage he interacted with the audience playing with the absurdity of normal.

The more I was digging into Henning’s practice the more it helped me to inform my own research. I read several articles and I listened to a podcast where he was explaining Normaal, and I was fascinated and astonished to notice strong affinity my project shares with his research. So I decided to email him to grasp further insights on his practice. In particular, I am very interested in the sort of diagrams he designed and drew on the desk he used as the handshake station. The dissection of the motion through a methodical system is something I have also tried during my iterations. So I asked him if he could share with me some details about those diagrams. I am still waiting for a response but studying his practice already helped me a lot to organise the material I gathered and make sense out of it.

Henning’s diagram reminded me to DelSarte’s imaginary cube I encountered previously in my investigation. They both are tools used to conduct an analytical research and interpret the gestures.

Following a suggestion I received during the last tutorial discussion I decided to experiment with the software lens studio in order to create a filter which can be used while interacting on digital platform, for instance Microsoft Teams, the platform we are using for our communication. So, I created a filter which replicates a sort of DelSarte’s cube and stays attached to the person chest. According to how the person places their hands in the cube to approach a handshake different meaning are conveyed.

I am aware that at this point this experiment is not taking a lot of advantage on the digital platform. I find difficult to recreate a sort of interaction through this channel, and at the end the relationship between the two people shaking hands is what interest me the most about the topic.

So far I have built a substantial list of references which have informed and inspired my research. So I thought that maybe it could have been useful to look at this list of designers and artists and see if I could get in contact with them to clarify some aspects of their practices and maybe grasp some insights about their process of designing.

The first person I contacted is Ted Hyunhak Yoon, whose project Decoding Dictatorial Statues has been my main source of inspiration. I acknowledge there is a significant difference between the phenomenon of my observation and the Hyunhak Yoon’s statues: statues are invariable matter whereas the handshake is a fluid performative act which cannot be frozen into a still image. For this reason, I emailed him in relation to the performative part of his exhibition Hands Gestures. I was wondering if he could share with me some material about his exhibition and insights about his creative process, how he ended up creating a performance, how it structured it and what was the aim. I’m still waiting his reply.

The second person I contacted is Jonas Berthod. Berthod Concrete Opera is an interesting transposition of a nowadays compelling issue into the fixed and archaic theatrical form of an Opera Libretto. I was interested in this kind of exploration in relation to the latest developments of my research. Now I am curious about the possibilities offered by different forms of narration to tell a story. Because I could not find a lot of material online I first asked to Berthod if he could share with me few more details in order to have a better comprehension of his project. Then I asked him about the choices he made and why specifically an Opera Libretto. Berthod replied very promptly and firstly I was glad to hear that my research reminded him Decoding Dictatorial Statues. He was very helpful about my doubts and he shared with me another interesting reference: an exhibition happened in Zurich in 2013 titled Talk to the Hand. Berthod also offered to ship me a copy of his Libretto, so I can have a closer look to the specific language he adopted and how the frame of an Opera can influence the perception of the story.  

Last week I started to use a cardboard box as a tool to stage and investigate my re-enactments of handshakes between politicians. The box reminds in a way a puppet theatre within which the hands become the acting puppets. However last week this decision came almost intuitively, and I did not give to much weight to the possible implications of this choice, so in that case the iterations I carried on revolved around the different levels of specificity and ambiguity used to describe the event.

Following the suggestions I received during last week tutorial I decided to explore the possibilities offered by different forms of narrations, so for instance to use the puppet theatre not only as a setting place but instead as a form of theatrical narration.

Inspired by Queneau Exercises in Style, I tried to write different scripts which could describe the handshake between Trump and Shinzo Abe using from time to time a different style of theatrical narration. Finally I added the narrations to the video I had previously shot. The footage is the same but every time it narrates a different story and consequently the power dynamics get strongly transformed.

The Handshake as a Puppet Show

• Hey Mr. Hand, look what a nice palm here
  • Hey! That’s a very nice palm Mr. Hand. Let’s shake hands!
• Who-woh your grip is very firm. I’m impressed
  • Eheh thanks Mr. Hand
  • Hey stop pulling me! also I don’t like when you pat me. AAAHHH again
• Sorry I didn’t mean it. All right I’ll see you around
  • See you!

The Handshake as a Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a knightly hand walking around in an enchanted cardboard box. Suddenly out of nowhere a monstrous hand appeared blocking the way. The two engaged in a fight to death. The knightly hand stroke with strength the spine of the monster which fled stunned, so the knightly hand could continue its journey happily ever after.

The Handshake as an Opera

Here the hand, young man,

I’m comfortable with the purchase:

Overall, above and below,

You look like a good son.

You will soon be corporal

If you take me to exemplar.

(I hired my rival:

This too is to be counted.)                                                       from Elisir d’Amore

The handshake as a Erotic Date

1 came to visit 2 in the middle of the night. When 1 entered the room, 2 leaped towards it and they intertwined their limbs. A syncopated dance ensued which took their breath away. Animated moments of passion were alternated with quiet pauses where 1 gently caressed 2’s back. At the first lights of dawn, they separated swearing to meet again the following night.

Last week I was working with 3D modelling and particularly on the technique of rigging. Soon I realised how this new tool was adding a further needless layer of complexity and that it was probably not relevant for the kind of research I wanted to conduct. So I took a step backwards with the project in order to identify the issues I actually wanted to raise. Again, I found the variety of power dynamics embedded through the act of shaking hands as the main theme. It is my belief that power, especially in the political field, is an intrinsic element of this phenomenon, so in order to bring it to light I decided again to continue with a process of essentialization and a thorough analysis of the gesture.

I switched medium and I started to make quick sketches of handshakes. I took Donald Trump as a case study for this analysis since on several occasions he revealed a close attention to the nuances of body language. I draw his hands interacting with other heads of state in 27 different moments, and I wrote down notes on the various position and the peculiar curl and angle of the fingers and the palm.

The phenomenology of the Trump’s handshake

Thanks to this amount of data, I noticed a recurring pattern in the handshake employed by Trump. On many occasions he is offering his hand with the palm facing upwards (which is generally considered a submissive approach by the experts of body language) giving to the counterpart a false sense of security and then he is patting the other person’s back of the hand with his left palm, which is a way of reasserting control.

In order to go deeper into the analysis, and also because I believe the fluid phenomenon of the handshake cannot be frozen into still images, I decided to re-enact the insights gained through a sort of performance.

Inspired by the Performance Notes on gesture by Ted Yoon, with the poor means available I created an object to help me in the observation of the handshakes. It consists of a box which replicates a sort of puppet theatre inside which the hands can perform. On the upper side there is a mirror tilted by 45° which simultaneously allows to look at the performance from another perspective.

I shot a video performance re-enacting the greeting between Trump and Shinzo Abe. The video consists of 9 progressive iterations where the same footage is accompanied by a description which gradually gets more and more precise and rich in details. Inevitably the narration becomes increasingly more complex and so the micro movements put in place by the two leaders start to acquire a multitude of significances. The different levels of specificity and ambiguity shift the viewer’s attention and the power dynamics embedded in the gestures are silently exhibited.

1. A and B shake hands
2. A and B shake hands while B pats A’s hand multiple times
3. B offers their hand to A and they start shaking hands while B pats A’s hand multiple times
4. B offers their right hand to A with the palm facing upwards and they start shaking hands while B pats A’s hand multiple times
5. B offers their right hand to A with the palm parallel to the ground facing upwards, B grasps A’s hand firmly and they start to shake hands while B pats A’s back of the hand multiple times
6. Trump offers his right hand to Abe with the palm parallel to the ground facing upwards, Abe grasps Trump’s hand firmly and they start shaking hands waving them briefly up-and-down. Trump pats Abe’s back of the hand with his left palm three times twice.
7. During a bilateral meeting in Washington Donald Trump offers his right hand to Shinzo Abe with the palm parallel to the ground facing upwards, Shinzo Abe grasps Donald Trump’s hand firmly and they start shaking hands waving them briefly up-and-down. Donald Trump pats Shinzo Abe’s back of the hand with his left palm three times and they continue to hold hands. Then Donald Trump pats Shinzo Abe’s hand three times again.
8. On the 10^th of February 2017, during a bilateral meeting in the oval office at the White House Donald Trump offers his right hand to Shinzo Abe with the palm parallel to the ground facing upwards, Shinzo Abe grasps Donald Trump’s hand firmly and they start shaking hands waving them briefly up-and-down. Donald Trump pats Shinzo Abe’s back of the hand with his left palm three times and they continue to hold hands. Donald Trump lightly squeezes Shinzo Abe’s hand and swiftly pulls him towards himself. Then Donald Trump pats Shinzo Abe’s hand three times again.
9. On the 10^th of February 2017, during a bilateral meeting in the oval office at the White House the President of the U.S Donald Trump offers his right hand with the palm parallel to the ground facing upwards to the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. Shinzo Abe grasps Donald Trump’s hand firmly and they start shaking hands waving them briefly up-and-down. Donald Trump pats Shinzo Abe’s back of the hand with his left palm three times and they continue to hold hands. Donald Trump lightly squeezes Shinzo Abe’s hand and swiftly pulls him towards himself. Then Donald Trump pats Shinzo Abe’s hand three times again before they loosen the grip. The two heads of state were expected to discuss many issues, including trade and security ties

Following the first tutorial meeting I have been thinking about how I could move my research towards new territories. The current situation related to the pandemic and the consequent restrictions forced me to reconsider my initial intentions to pursue the path of the performance, or at least its enactments. Challenged by this limitation I asked myself how I could reformulate the concept of the performance keeping its significances intact.

As pointed out by some feedback I received on my symposium presentation, the performance as a method presents the phenomenon of the handshake as a ritual which follows a precise protocol, therefore the two performers act as inanimate bodies/puppets moved by external forces, which in my case are represented by social expectations.

In particular, I found extremely insightful and useful the comment from Max, who suggested me explore the technique of rigging models in a 3d environment. The idea of setting up specific parameters to control the movements of the hands fully embraces the insight of the performers as marionettes, and moreover allows me to continue the exploration shifting from the physical world to its virtual depiction.

After these considerations I opted to start the first project of the third unit following the prompt of learning a new tool. I spent the first week following several tutorials on LinkedIn Learning about rigging 3d characters in 3dsMax. Then in the second week I tried to apply the knowledge I gained to my practice. I rigged the model of a right hand which can be used to re-enact the handshakes from my archive of political greetings. Using some controlling objects in correspondence of the joins of the knuckle and the phalanxes, I created a series of parameters which allowed me to control the movement of each finger and the spreading between all of them.

At this point a thought came up to me: it would be possible to organise a new taxonomy following the specific parameters of each politician, for instance the curling of the fingers or the angle inclination of the palm, and eventually interrogate the data acquired through the lens of the gesticulation’s manuals I have already encountered in my research.

After having rigged my model I realised that probably the starting mesh was too detailed and consequently the deformation generated by changing the parameters in some points created unrealistic bends in the skin. This problem can be easily fixed using a lower poly model, also because what matters to my investigation is the general position and movement of the hand rather than the truth of its texture. 

After these first experimentations the question that raises spontaneously is what the new implications of transposing the project into the virtual reality are and how the project could benefit of the new environment.

This further exploration follows the path already drawn in few previous iterations which consists in extrapolating the event of the handshake from its context to conduct a thorough analysis of the motion itself. The actual greeting deprived from its framework makes room for new narrations, but the problem to spot is where the threshold from which the abstraction becomes too detached to reality is.

A critical point which I already touched in this process is the problem with still images. The handshake is a fluid event and freezing it into a single shot may not be relevant to capture its complexity. For this reason, I believe the handshakes I will create in 3D have to be animated and in order to achieve it a motion capture technology would be necessary. Central Saint martins have it but in the current situation it is impossible to take advantage of it. Animating the model manually would be extremely difficult and time consuming, additionally the result of the motion could be quite unnatural.