Sensorial Art and the nude sense

Abstract

The paper investigates the practice of meaning emerging from the perception of becoming-body, proposing the concept of Sensorial Art. Based on Susan Sontag’s praise of the sensory for a critical and aesthetic contemplation of art work, on the notion of naked image from José Gil, on the concept of affect as described by Brian Massumi, and on the studies of conscience from António Damásio and from Gerald Edelman, the concept of Sensorial Art is here argued as a mode of making sense, which occurs through the perception of affection and micro-movements instead of pre-determined communication signs. This concept is then exemplified through an analysis of the performance A+B=X from Gilles Jobin. Lastly, by confronting this analysis with an article from Una Bauer that reflects on the performance Jérôme Bel from Jérôme Bel, this paper claims the possibility of a Stage Zero of Signification intrinsic to Sensorial Art.