A rigorous practice of artistic analysis is key to our vision of embodied reflection, as illustrated in the following example.
Some time ago, I worked with a group of theology graduate students. In an in-person session, we decided to analyse the theme “Community at Our School” using Image Theatre techniques. One by one, the five students stepped up to create a 3-dimensional composite image. One knelt in prayer; one stared off into the distance with arms crossed; one stood with an imaginary drink in their hand. A fourth reached out in pantomime greeting with a hearty handshake and a smile; the fifth reached back, almost meeting the handshake while pointedly looking away.
My first move was to step into each person’s image, taking their place so that they could walk around the sculpture and take it in for themselves. Then I stepped back out to snap a photo, and I projected the image on a large screen.
“Physically,” I asked, “what do you notice? What physical aspects of this image strike you? Don’t interpret, just tell me what you see.”
No one is looking each other in the eye; no one is touching.
I’m ignoring them.
It looks like some people are checking others out.
One is on their knees, while all the others are standing.
Some have closed-off body language; some have open body language.
Everyone is in a different plane; I’m looking at five separate pictures.
“Now let’s interpret this image. What might these physical attributes mean?”
No one is genuine – fake postures.
Only one person looks happy. Anger.
Spirituality in the midst – praying is very individual..
People are disinterested and indifferent.
There is a grudging acknowledgement of each other.
Having a “social” means consuming alcohol.
One of the key challenges in lectio visceralis is to maintain the tension between consensus and divergence. In TO games and performances, the director or MC is the “Joker”: the player who steps into different roles in order to shake up the game. For Boal, the Joker is a facilitator, but also, and more importantly, a “difficultator.” She cultivates a keen eye for outlying data and brings it to the attention of the group. She raises questions, interrogates answers, and challenges participants. “What else could that image represent? Is that interpretation realistic, or just wishful thinking?”
The leader’s role within lectio visceralis is to tack between generating, assessing, and consolidating interpretations. Because the aim of this work is to prepare people for action, the Joker drives the conversation toward points of synthesis and consensus. She may ask, “What is your main take away from this image? What’s the most important thing that this image says about your school? If this image were an artwork called ‘Our School,’ what might it’s subtitle be?” At the same time, the Joker seeks out contradictory data and welcomes contrary interpretations. “So you see indifference in this image; but also grudging acknowledgement. Can they exist both at once? How does that work?” This sort of rich and nuanced exploration is a key benefit of using images to generate themes or to pursue practical inquiry and qualitative research.