Academic literature on the topic 'Clowns in art'

This thesis is an attempt to de-construct the linear way in which I describe my work. I am attempting to deal with my family’s background in the theater and identity as a Texan. In addition I am attempting to address my interest in phenomenological concerns. This document was created in Microsoft Word 2000. The video portions of the video were edited on Imovie HD and Final Cut Pro, while the audio text was recorded from TextEdit’s text to speech program.

L’hôpital est un lieu où l’on ne s’attend a priori pas à rencontrer des clowns. Pourtant, ils y sont de plus en plus nombreux. Que font les clowns à l’hôpital ? A quelles situations sont-ils confrontés et comment y répondent-ils ? Quelle place tiennent-ils dans les soins ? Comment sont-ils organisés ? Cette thèse est consacrée au travail des clowns à l’hôpital et plus particulièrement, à celui qu’ils mènent dans les services pédiatriques. Dans ces lieux, leurs prestations prennent différentes formes : une berceuse dans la chambre d’un bébé, un tour de magie dans le couloir avec les adolescents, une course poursuite dans la salle d’attente des urgences… En suivant une approche ethnographique, cette recherche donne à voir comment l’hôpital reconfigure le métier de clown (formes d’exercice, modes d’organisation, enjeux du travail, etc.). Elle est organisée en trois parties. La première s’intéresse à l’émergence des clowns à l’hôpital comme groupe spécifique et à son entrée dans une logique de professionnalisation. En France, une association, Le Rire Médecin, a largement orchestré ce mouvement en définissant un dispositif d’action particulier (avec des spectacles improvisés et réalisés « sur mesure »), formalisant certaines normes de jeu (comme le travail en duo), inscrivant leur activité dans la profession de comédien (plutôt que les professions de santé), et mobilisant différents outils pour contrôler l’accès à l’exercice du métier (et avec eux aussi, l’accès à un nouveau marché du travail). Toutefois, cette professionnalisation dessine aussi de nouveaux enjeux : comment assurer la reproduction de ce modèle dans le temps ? Quelle terminologie professionnelle choisir ? Quel type de contrôle professionnel mettre en place ? Dans une deuxième partie, un détour par la question de l’apprentissage du métier plus général de clown s’est imposé pour comprendre comment se réalise l’entrée, puis le maintien dans la profession. En effet, cet apprentissage repose sur un processus de création, consistant pour chaque acteur à créer son propre personnage de clown, qu’il pourra ensuite « amener » et « piloter » à l’hôpital. Simultanément, chaque acteur apprend qu’il doit « nourrir » et perfectionner son personnage. En ce sens, l’activité des clowns à l’hôpital se prête tout particulièrement à des formes de management néolibérales (valorisation de l’autonomie des individus, intériorisation de la contrainte, contrôle par les pairs). Enfin, la troisième partie vise à décrire et analyser le travail en actes de ces clowns, dans son déroulement quotidien : comment ils s’insèrent dans le flux des activités de l’hôpital, comment ils transforment les ambiances qui préexistent dans chaque service, comment ils élaborent leurs différents numéros. Dans les chambres, les clowns travaillent dans une configuration inédite, caractérisée par des situations de face à face avec un public composé d’un seul spectateur qui peut intervenir sur le déroulement du numéro. De plus, son état peut être plus ou moins altéré par la maladie et les numéros peuvent être interrompus à tout moment (par l’entrée d’un soignant, par exemple). Comment alors les clowns parviennent-ils à se coordonner et à contrôler la dynamique de chaque spectacle ? L’analyse, appuyée sur la Grounded Theory, les travaux de Strauss et de Goffman, a permis d’identifier des situations types, en fonction desquelles les clowns déclenchent différentes figures d’interaction. Pour autant, l’application de ces « recettes de clown » n’est pas suffisante. Ainsi, chaque spectacle apparaît plutôt comme étant le résultat d’une action située, qui tient compte d’un ensemble de paramètres (matériels et immatériels) et qui répond tantôt à des enjeux traditionnels (divertir le public, par exemple), tantôt à des enjeux nouveaux : apaiser l’attente, soulager la douleur causée par un acte médical et/ou encore, rendre le jeune patient – et parfois aussi, son parent – coopératif(s) pendant les soins<br>Noone goes to the hospital to see clowns, yet you meet an increasing number of them there. What are clowns doing in hospitals? What types of situations are they faced with and how do they respond? What role do they have in patient care? And how are they organized? This PhD dissertation analyses the work of clowns in paediatric wards. In that particular space, their performances take on a different form: a lullaby in a child’s room, a magic trick in the hallway with teenagers, a chase in the emergency room... Based on an ethnographic framework, this research explores how clowns are reinventing their profession (forms of practice, work organization, goals, etc.) in the hospital context. It is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on analyzing the emergence of hospital clowns as a specific group, and their organization as a profession. In France, the association Le Rire Médecin has largely orchestrated this new movement by defining a specific performance framework for shows (as tailor-made improvisation), codifying performance standards (such as working in pairs), categorizing their work as part of the actor’s (rather than the healthcare profession), and mobilizing various tools to control access to the profession (including controlling access to a new labor market). This professionalization also raises new challenges, notably: how can this model be reproduced over time? What professional terminology must be used? What kind of professional oversight should be put into place? In part two, we explore the issue of the training of professional clowns. This is a critical to understanding how clowns enter, and maintain themselves, into the hospital clowns’ profession. Indeed, their training is based on a creative process in which each actor creates their own clown character which they can then “bring” to and “pilot” in hospitals. At the same time, each actor learns that s/he needs to nurture and perfect their character. That way the hospital clown activity particularly lends itself to neo-liberal forms of management (praise for individual autonomy, internalization of restrictions, and monitoring by peers). The third and final part aims to describe and analyze the work of these clowns in practice during its daily unfoldings: how do they fit into the flow of hospitals’ activities? How do they transform the atmosphere that pre-exists in each hospital ward? How do they develop their various acts? In the patients’ rooms, clowns work in a unique environment, characterized by a face-to-face encounter with a single spectator audience that can intervene in the course of the show. Each performance may be impaired by the disease of the patient or interrupted for medical reasons at any time. In that context, how do clowns manage to coordinate and control the dynamics of each show? The analysis based on the Grounded Theory, the work of Strauss and Goffman, identifies typical situations, where clowns trigger different types of interaction. However, the implementation of these “clown recipes” is not enough. Thus, each show appears to be the result of a situated action, which takes into account a certain set of parameters (tangible and intangible) and which at times responds to traditional goals (entertaining an audience, for example) or new ones: soothing the waiting room’s atmosphere, relieving the pain caused by a medical procedure, or enlisting young patients’ – and at times also, their parents’ – cooperation during a care procedure

Le clown, personnage culturel et social, se construit par l'interaction avec son public et son milieu d'intervention. Le fait que le clown corresponde si durablement dans les représentations à la caricature d'un personnage de cirque, amène à se demander si le clown n'est pas victime de son image, pourtant si positive il fut un temps. Ce constat amène à réfléchir directement sur l'identité des clowns et leur réalité actuelle. Comprendre comment et pourquoi les clowns ont évolué ces dernières années revient à questionner à la fois les éléments de permanence et d'unicité qui les constituent mais aussi les facteurs de variations et de variabilité de leur travail artistique. L'analyse des transformations passées et en cours de la figure du clown à travers un état des lieux sur la figure du clown puis la construction identitaire des nouveaux clowns et enfin leurs formes diverses et récentes, donne au sujet une profondeur et une compréhension plus vaste. Ce travail, relevant d'une approche sociologique, a pour objectif de rendre compte d'une identité, d'une profession et d'un art qui entrent en lien avec des enjeux sociaux, politiques et économiques des sociétés contemporaines et occidentales. Questionner les ressources que le clown met en œuvre à l'heure actuelle pour survivre est une façon de comprendre son identité sociale et par là, la société dans laquelle il vit. L'existence sociale des nouveaux clowns est en rapport constant avec les arts frères que sont la danse, le théâtre, le cirque, mais aussi avec les mondes des amuseurs publics que constituent par exemple les humoristes desquels ils se nourrissent et avec lesquels ils se confrontent dans un même temps<br>The clown, a cultural and social character, is shaped in interaction with his public and his environment. Yet, the fact that the figure of the clown is consistently associated with the caricatural representation of the circus character leads to question if the clown could be a victim of his own image, which was once so positive. Furthermore, this highlights the relevancy of reflecting directly on the identity of the clowns and their present reality. Understanding how and why the clown has evolved in recent years requires identifying the elements of durability and uniqueness which establish the clown, but also of the variations and variability of the artistic work. The analysis of both past and present transformations through an overview of the figure of the clown and the identity-building of the “new clowns” and finally, their diverse and recent forms, allows for a deeper and wider understanding of the subject. The objective of this thesis is, through a sociological approach, to highlight an identity, a profession and an art form and it's relation to social, political and economic issues in contemporary western societies. To question the resources that the clown must presently mobilize to survive allows an understanding of his social identity and thus also of the society in which he lives. The social existence of the “new clowns” is in constant interaction with related artistic disciplines such as dance, theater, and circus, but also with the worlds of public entertainers, for example humorists, in whom they find inspiration at the same time as grounds to confront ideas

Submitted by LEANDRO LAGO SANTOS null (leandrolago@ymail.com) on 2016-07-10T02:03:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_versão final_Leandro Lago.pdf: 8334646 bytes, checksum: 3614118466eb2d24ed58d50af6991384 (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-07-12T18:02:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_ll_me_ai.pdf: 8334646 bytes, checksum: 3614118466eb2d24ed58d50af6991384 (MD5)<br>Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-12T18:02:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_ll_me_ai.pdf: 8334646 bytes, checksum: 3614118466eb2d24ed58d50af6991384 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-12<br>Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)<br>O presente trabalho propõe reflexões sobre o fenômeno do grotesco, que se define a partir de alguns aspectos como: estranho, bizarro, disforme, ridículo, híbrido, monstruoso, extravagante, cômico, trágico e tragicômico, trazendo como foco para esta discussão sua capacidade de dialogar elementos aparentemente contraditórios. Estas oposições que identificam tal fenômeno manifestam-se a partir de seu aspecto tragicômico. Soma-se a esta reflexão, aspectos característicos da linguagem do palhaço, em que o grotesco tragicômico é apontado como um dos importantes elementos constituintes dessa figura cômica, conforme exemplificados na dupla de palhaços, Branco e o Augusto. Toda esta discussão nos leva ao principal objetivo deste trabalho que é estabelecer uma analogia entre o grotesco tragicômico no palhaço e as personagens Doutor, Capitão e Woyzeck da obra Woyzeck de Georg Büchner. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa mostra-se importante na medida em que, propõe a discussão sobre o fenômeno estético do grotesco tragicômico, de forte influência em inúmeras produções artísticas e dramatúrgicas, ampliando nossa compreensão sobre o homem moderno, fortemente caracterizado por suas contradições. Além disso, aliar essa reflexão ao palhaço, nos ajuda a compreender os aspectos cômicos dessa figura, expandindo nossa forma de conceber o riso naturalmente atrelado à figura do palhaço, na sua capacidade de buscar no trágico da vida inspiração para suscitar o cômico. É a partir dessa reflexão, que buscamos uma aproximação entre esses aspectos do palhaço com algumas personagens da obra Woyzeck mantendo vivos um autor e uma obra de grandes contribuições para a história da dramaturgia moderna e contemporânea.<br>This work proposes reflections on the grotesque phenomenon, which is defined from some aspects such as: strange, bizarre, shapless, ridiculous, hybrid, horrendous, extravagant , funny and tragicomic, bringing as focus to this discussion it’s ability to dialogue seemingly contradictory elements. These oppositions that identify this phenomenon manifested from it’s tragicomic aspect. Added to this reflection, characteristic features of the clown language, in which the tragicomic grotesque is pointed out as one of the important constituents of this comic figure, as exemplified in the pair of clowns, Branco and Augusto. All of this discussion leads us to the main goal of this work, which is to establish an analogy between the tragicomic grotesque on the clown and the characters Doctor, Captain and Woyzeck of the artwork ‘Woyzeck’ by Georg Büchner. In this way, the research shows itself important as far as proposes a debate of the aesthetic phenomenon of tragicomic grotesque, strong influence in many artistic and dramaturgical productions, expanding our understanding of modern man, strongly characterized by its contradictions. Also, combine this reflection to the clown, helps us to understand the comedic aspects of this character, expanding our way of conceiving the laughter naturally, linked to the clown character, in their ability to seek the tragic aspect of life, inspiration to raise the comic. It is from this reflection, we seek an approach between these aspects of the clown with some characters of Woyzeck work keeping alive an author and an artwork of great contributions to the history of modern and contemporary dramatic art.

Depuis 1994 à l'hôpital de jour pour adultes de Dreux, "Môssieu Gaga" clown-thérapeute déambule le vendredi au milieu des différents ateliers, participe à la réunion soignants-soignés et partage le repas avec les patients. Après avoir "déliré" sur le banc de la pause-café il va jouer aux "Jeux de familles" inspirés du psychodrame, à moins qu'il n'aille raconter ou se faire raconter des histoires en tête-à-tête. Avec ses accessoires et bouts de ficelle, il construit tout un monde imaginaire où "il y a du jeu". Dans cet espace transitionnel où se déploient les armes du rire, de l'humour, de la dérision et de la subversion le langage et sa fonction poétique tiennent une place privilégiée. Il s'est agi dans ce travail de recherche d'éclairer la pertinence de la délocalisation du clown, du cirque à l'hôpital psychiatrique. Pour cela il s'est avéré indispensable d'étudier les conditions historiques de la naissance de ce personnage, au départ simple "utilité", et de définir son espace de jeu, la piste. Sous l'apparente futilité de son nez rouge, figurant le plus petit masque du monde, émerge la gravité de ce vestige d'un produit culturel ancien, outil symbolique de la gestion de l'angoisse, en lien avec la peur de l'étranger, en tension entre l'animal et l'humain. Ce médiateur baroque qui assure le triomphe de l'illusion et du pulsionnel opère comme un "coup de théâtre" dans ce moment de suspension fécond où une nouvelle forme d'organisation peut se mettre en place. Son rôle thérapeutique hors-cadre prend toute son efficacité avec les patients-limites<br>Since 1994, in the section for adults of the day-hospital of Dreux, Môssieu Gaga, a therapist-clown, wanders around on Fridays among the different work-groups, takes part in the "nursing-nursed" meeting and has a meal with all of them. After having fun on the bench during the coffee-break, he plays "Family-games" inspired by psychodrama unless he tells or let him tell face to face stories. With his accessories and pieces of string, he builds an imaginary world where "game is present". In this transitional space where weapons such as laugh, humour, derision and subversion are used, language and its poetic function get a high rank. This research aims at clarifying the pertinence of the clown delocation, from the circus to the psychiatric hospital. Therefore, it seems inevitable to study the beginning of this character, at first as a "small part", and to define his playground, the ring. Behind the obvious uselessness of this red nose, as the smallest mask of the world, the seriousness of this relies of the past comes out, a symbolic tool for controlling anguish, connected with the fear of strange, a link between Animal and Human. This baroque mediator who ensures the victory of illusion and impulse, works as a dramatic turn to events in this moment of fertile breaking off when a new form of organization can take place. His out of space therapeutic role takes all his efficiency with the borderline patients

My thesis analyses in detail the comic characters of Shakespeare's romances (Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest), in particular those created for Robert Armin, the leading comedian of the King's Men in the period. The first chapter focuses on the relationship between actor and role: after an introductory section where I give an overview of the life and works of Robert Armin along with the particular features of his clowning style as opposed to those of Will Kemp, his predecessor in Shakespeare’s company, I move on to consider the parts in the romances he was likely to have played in the early performances: Boult, Cloten, Autolycus and Caliban. In particular, I close-read the texts to highlight the clues pointing at Armin’s own person, physical characteristics, clowning style and outlook. The following chapters are devoted to a thorough discussion of each of the four characters, which are grouped according to their professions or social roles. So the second chapter examines the criminal fools in Pericles and The Winter’s Tale, where Boult and Autolycus are respectively a brothel male-bawd and an eclectic rogue. In the third chapter, then, we find Cloten and Caliban from Cymbeline and The Tempest, characters who display or are scorned for their real or alleged natural folly. In each case I consider the relationship between the role and Shakespeare’s sources as well as the influences from previous comic traditions, and the ways in which the character elicits laughter. An important part of the chapters, however, is dedicated to a contextualization of the characters in the social, historical and cultural environment of the period. So I analyse Boult as a representative of the flourishing economy of prostitution in early modern England and Autolycus as a multifarious mirror of the consequences deriving from masterlessness and vagrancy. With Cloten and Caliban, instead, I explore the theme of natural folly or congenital deficiency in medicine and society, considering how the texts describe their condition. Throughout the analyses I also seek to emphasise any additional links between the characters and the outlook of Robert Armin as expressed in his works, in order to give a further contribution to recent trends in research that view Shakespeare’s work as the result of a collaboration with his actors and in particular with his leading comedian. Finally, the conclusive chapter lists the analogies between the characters and the differences between them and the previous roles created for Armin in Shakespeare.<br>La mia tesi propone un’analisi dettagliata dei personaggi comici nei romances Shakespeariani (Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale e The Tempest) in particolare quelli creati appositamente per Robert Armin, attore comico di punta dei King’s Men in quel periodo. Nel primo capitolo traccio la presenza di Armin nei quattro testi, individuando cioè gli indizi che rimandano alla sua figura e alla tipologia di comicità tipica dei suoi personaggi precedenti in Shakespeare e di quelli presenti nelle sue stesse opere. I quattro personaggi creati per lui da Shakespeare vengono analizzati in profondità nei seguenti capitoli, raggruppandoli a seconda dei loro ruoli sociali o professioni. Nel secondo capitolo mi occupo dei fools criminali, considerando Pericles e The Winter’s Tale, dove i personaggi di Boult e Autolycus sono rispettivamente un ruffiano di bordello e un delinquente di strada. Nel terzo capitolo mi concentro invece sui personaggi che esibiscono o vengono discriminati per una reale od imputata deficienza congenita (natural folly): il principe Cloten in Cymbeline e Caliban in The Tempest. Per ciascun caso discuto il rapporto del personaggio con le fonti shakespeariane ed eventualmente con la tradizione comica precedente o contemporanea a Shakespeare, il ruolo all’interno del testo, e il modo in cui il personaggio suscita l’effetto comico. Una parte importante di questi due capitoli è dedicata ad un analisi storico-testuale dei personaggi in rapporto alla situazione storica dell’Inghilterra di fine Cinquecento/inizio Seicento per quanto riguarda lo sfruttamento della prostituzione, la criminalità derivante dal vagabondaggio (secondo capitolo, Boult e Autolycus), e la nozione di disabilità mentale in medicina e società (terzo capitolo, Cloten e Caliban). Nel corso dell’analisi dei personaggi cerco in particolare di evidenziarne le ambiguità e i tratti tragicomici, che sono importanti in relazione allo specifico genere drammatico a cui questi testi afferiscono. Inoltre, discuto la drammatizzazione dei personaggi in rapporto alla nozione di follia sia come depravazione nel tardo medioevo e nel rinascimento, sia come giocosa e risibile innocenza nei precedenti lavori di Robert Armin, cercando di dare ulteriore forza alle recenti linee di ricerca che vedono l’opera di Shakespeare come il risultato di una collaborazione con i suoi attori e in particolare con il suo comico principale. Il capitolo conclusivo raccoglie le analogie tra i quattro personaggi e mette a fuoco le differenze tra questi e i personaggi comici precedenti interpretati da Armin.

Le jeu du clown dans la Colombie contemporaine est en voie de développement. Bien que la figure du clown n’ait jamais cessé d’exister dans la société, quelles que fussent ses formes à travers l’histoire, on assiste à la renaissance de l’art du clown dans notre pays depuis ces dix dernières années. L’art du clown devient une possibilité de revalorisation du langage comique et poétique de l’artiste dans la société colombienne actuelle, conférant à l’acteur clown un rôle social et politique et permettant au spectateur de vivre une forme de résistance et de libération de sa réalité quotidienne violente.La mise en perspective historique du cirque comme langage artistique moderne permet de comprendre comment le clown va se constituer et se développer tout au long des XIXe et XXe siècles jusqu’à devenir un art autonome avec son incursion dans le théâtre et les écoles de formation théâtrale. Cette démarche vise à donner les fondements théoriques de la naissance et de l’évolution du cirque et du clown dans le cirque depuis l’époque de l’Amérique préhispanique jusqu’à la Colombie contemporaine. La perspective historique remarque que, bien avant l’arrivée des clowns dans les cirques modernes après le XVIIIe siècle, on peut constater l’existence de personnages comiques et clownesques dans la culture précolombienne et pendant la période de la colonisation. L’histoire des fêtes populaires de l’Amérique latine, les personnages itinérants et comiques vont se développer parallèlement aux formes spectaculaires religieuses de l’idéologie espagnole. Les cirques européens et américains arriveront dans une atmosphère de résistance et, plus tard, d’indépendance et commencera à s’écrire l’histoire du cirque en Amérique latine.Le modèle économique latino-américain, la récente industrie culturelle et le manque d’écoles de formation du cirque marqueront l’évolution du cirque comme institution sociale, cherchant à travers la discipline et ses techniques à former des jeunes et enfants en situation de violence. D’autre part, le théâtre subira des divisions entre la tradition et l’apparition d’idéologies modernes sur la formation de l’acteur jusqu’à la consolidation de la méthode artistique de création collective. Le clown du cirque traditionnel deviendra une sorte de stéréotype avec les duos clownesques à la télévision, les clowns dans la rue, les restaurants, et les mendiants habillés en clowns. Cette étude aborde les éléments sémiotiques de la figure des nouveaux clowns en tant qu’art autonome impulsé par la pédagogie du français Jacques Lecoq diffusée dans le monde entier, avec une incidence importante en Amérique latine, où elle rencontre la création collective basée sur l’improvisation. Cette pédagogie arrive à travers les festivals internationaux du théâtre où artistes et public accèdent au panorama de l’art du clown dans le monde, au travers de stages et de spectacles. Rénovant ainsi le phénomène de marginalisation du clown par un changement de statut artistique et social. La pratique enracinée de la création collective, letravail du collectif et l’implication du théâtre dans les transformations sociales et politiques du pays, rencontre le langage des nouveaux clowns, pour donner forme à des créations clownesques collectives tout à fait solides et originales. Nous nous concentrons sur la fonction qu’exercent les clowns contemporains au présent de la société colombienne résultant d’une vaste période de crises marquée par des affrontements et des vagues successives de violence. L’humour comme trait particulier de la culture devenant une forme incontestable d’affronter une réalité douloureuse rencontre le clown que par le rire permettra de récupérer la valeur sacrée du chaman, bobo, bouffons et fous de l’histoire. Ainsi nous reconnaissons l’incursion du langage du clown sur plusieurs terrains (l’hôpital, l’humanitaire et le social) pour admettre que le spectateur vive une forme de libération par la communication établie avec le clown dans le rire<br>Clown acting in contemporary Colombia is developing. Even though the figure of clowns has always being present in society, regardless of its forms through history, we are now witnessing the rebirth of the art of clowning in Colombia in the last decade. The art of clowning becomes an enhancement possibility of comic and poetic language of the artist in the current Colombian society, conferring the clown actor a social and political role, and allowing the spectator to live a form of resistance and freedom from their daily violent reality.The historical perspective of the circus as modern artistic language allows understanding how the clown is built up and developed through the XIX and XX centuries until the point of becoming an independent art with its foray into theater and theater schools. This perspective aims to provide the theoretical foundations of the birth and evolution of the circus and the clown in the circus since the time of pre-Hispanic America until contemporary Colombia. The historical perspective points out that the existence of comic and clownesque characters in the Pre-Columbian culture and during the colonization era can be recorded even before the clowns’ arrival to the modern circus after the XVIII century. The history of Latin America popular celebrations and the itinerant and comic characters are developed at the same time as the spectacular religious forms of the Spanish ideology. The European and American circuses arrived amid an atmosphere of resistance and, later, of independence. The history of the circus in Latin America begins to be written.The Latin American economic model, the recent cultural industry and the lack of schools for circus training mark the circus evolution as a social institution which, through its discipline and techniques, looks to form young people and children that are in violence situations. On the other hand, the theater is subjected to divisions between tradition and the emergence of modern ideologies on actor’s training until the consolidation of the artistic method of collective creation. The traditional circus clown becomes a kind of stereotype with the clownesque duos on T.V., the clowns in the streets and restaurants, and the beggars dressed up as clowns.This study approaches the semiotic elements of the new clowns’ figure as an independent art encouraged by French Jacques Lecoq’s pedagogy, spread all around the world with an important impact in Latin America, where this pedagogy meets the collective creation based on improvisation. It arrives through international theater festivals, where artists and spectators have access to the panorama of the clown art around the world, by means of courses and shows renewing the clown’s marginalization phenomenon through an artistic and social status change. The established practice of collective creation, the collective work and the involvement of theater in social and political transformation of the country, meet the language of the new clowns to give shape to absolutely strong and original collective clownesque creations.We will focus on the function performed by the contemporary clowns in the current Colombian society resulting from a large period of crisis marked by confrontations and successive waves of violence. Humor, as a particular feature of the culture and becoming an unquestionable way of facing a painful reality, meets the clown, who makes possible to recover the sacred value of the shaman, bobo, buffoons and mad characters of history. Thus, recognizing the foray of clown language into different fields (the hospital, the humanitarian and the social ones) in Colombia, it is possible to accept that the spectator lives a form of freedom through the communication established with the clown in the laughing

En mi tesis hago un estudio genealógico de la figura de la payasa, a partir de un abordaje interdisciplinar que facilite un dialogo entre la Payasaría y otras disciplinas artísticas y teóricas, como las Artes Visuales, los Estudios de Performance, la Teoría Crítica, Artes y Educación, los Feminismos y las Teorías Queer y Crip. El estudio genealógico se basa en un trabajo de campo por lo cual he realizado entrevistas con payasas, participación en festivales, investigación documental, análisis y crítica de género. La investigación acaba por indagar sobre la diversidad de cuerpos y formas en el campo da la risa y la comicidad, desplazando la pregunta inicial sobre género para una problemática más amplia y fundamental sobre lo humano. Desde un abordaje feminista-queer-crip-clown, propongo nuevas figuraciones teóricas que sirvan como herramientas críticas y analíticas para comprender nuestra subjetividad como un proceso de devenir. Un proyecto de devenir que podemos establecer no solamente con los diferentes Otros con quien vivimos y nos relacionamos, sino también con los posibles y potentes Otros que existen en cada uno de nosotros. También busco establecer clown_tactos y clown_labor_aciones artísticas y políticas entre sujetxs y campos del conocimiento comprometidos en la creación de nuevos mundos posibles a través del arte. El proceso de investigación influye directamente en la construcción de mi subjetividad e identidad como artivista, educadora e investigadora, marcada por diversos afectos y afinidades, encarnados en los siguientes proyectos: Xoxo Clown Show, TransClowning y Belly.Breast_Mama.Monster.Clown.<br>In my PhD research, I do a genealogical study of the female clown figure, from an interdisciplinary approach that engages in a dialogue between clownery and others artistic and theoretical disciplines, like the Visual Arts, Performance Studies, Arts Education, Critical Theory, Feminisms, Queer and Crip Theories. The genealogical study is based on a field research in which I conducted interviews with women clowns, participated in women’s clown festivals, documental research, gender criticism and analyses. The research ends up inquiring about the diversity of bodies and forms in the fields of laughter and comicality, displacing the initial woman and gender question to a more central, yet very related one: the human question. From a feminist-queer-crip-clown approach, I suggest new theoretical figurations that can serve as critical and analytical tools to comprehend our subjectivity as a becoming project. A becoming project that we can stablish not just with the different external Others, but also with the potential and possible others that exist in each one of us. I also try to stablish artistic and political “clown_tacts” and “clown_laborations” between diverse subjects and knowledge fields engaged in the artistic creation of new possible worlds. Clowntacts and clownlaborations that are able to develop creative pedagogies and politics that serve a democratic project based on the new approaches on posthuman ethics. The research process directly influence the construction of my subjectivity and identity as artvist, educador and researcher, marked by several affinities and affects, embodied in the following projects: Cunt Clown Show, TransClowning and Belly.Breast_Mama.Monster.Clown.

I set about exploring the history of Jambi batik with a view to establishing its nature, characteristics, methods of manufacture and function in its social context. A central aim of the study was to establish an accurate description of batiks from Jambi which could serve as a guide to museum cataloguers. In particular I planned to clarify the position regarding the red batiks. During the course of my investigations, I came across a similar confusion surrounding a group of batiks containing Arabic calligraphy. A further purpose of the study was then to determine which, if any, of these calligraphy batiks were made in Jambi. For those which did, my intention was to discover how they fitted into the social and economic context in which they were produced. This study has challenged a number of assumptions which have been made about batik in Indonesia. I have confronted static models and others which have focussed too narrowly on Javanese techniques and meanings. I have demonstrated the importance of approaching textiles from a perspective which recognises change and diversity. I have tried to emphasise the need to understand the central role of trade and colonial experience in relation to textiles in South-East Asia. I have also shown the need for taking into consideration the wider geographical context, beyond the Indonesian archipelago and beyond the notional boundaries of South-East Asia. Previous studies of Indonesian batik have tended to apply Javanese models to all of Indonesia. Indonesia was viewed with Java as the centre and the other regions as satellites to it: a Java-centric model which has marginalised batiks from Jambi. Finally, I believe I have shown the crucial importance of studying the technical aspects of textiles. Many other studies of textiles in South-East Asia have employed an anthropological perspective focusing almost exclusively on the symbolic to the neglect of the technical. This has resulted in a paucity of information which could help museum curators to identify both how and where the textiles were made. This lack of information made the study of textiles from Jambi, as it must do for many other marginalised places, particularly difficult. I hope that this study has not only revealed this problem, but has gone some way to remedy it.