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1 START


2 PLAYERS & ELEMENTS


3 PRACTICE PROTOCOL 




 



 

2 PLAYERS & ELEMENTS

THE QUESTIONOLOGIST
acts from a space before (time). Xe drafts the questions while trying to foresee possible types of responses. Xe fathoms them in his/her mind, tries them on. Xe tries to imagine the pressure of their grip without knowing what or whom they will touch. How in/direct can a question be? If it is too abstract it becomes meaningless, irrelevant. If it is too concrete it becomes meaningless too or indiscreet. Levels of anonymity, address and directedness will have to be tested both through ways of contacting potential guests and how to speak with them.

Maieutics from Greek (μαιευτική maieutikḗ [téchnē] 'art of midwifery') is a metaphorical expression allegedly used by Socrates to define a dialogical method of questioning and leading a dialogue in order to bring forth insight and understanding. Socrates’ mother was a midwife (maia) and the philosopher used the image of her practice of delivering babies to shed light on his own intellectual method. 

 CD: As a writer I was particularly interested in the poetological dimension of questioning. What does questioning do? How can the act of questioning bring forth, give form to thoughts? And how does the very form of the question, of the act of questioning already pre-form a response? 


In Plato's dialogue Theaitetos Socrates applies maieutikos to his student Theaitetos. In Questionology two artist researchers (who also happen to be mothers) apply an open set of questions to invited guests in order to find out about the practice of questioning. I researched the concepual history of maieutics and wondered how to appropriate and re-sense it. 

 

 

THE QUESTION  


can guide, orient, channel sometimes even force a phenomenon into appearance. Into its word appearance, its manifestation in language. Into a gesture or into a drawing.

 
Timing is crucial! The lags between the questions, the position of the forward button influences the responses. Their howness. A simple question - even most friendly mannered - in the wrong moment can freak me out. ('Can I help you?')

A question trigger images, thoughts and memories, wanted and unwanted ones. Maybe it leads to a situation. Maybe to a physical space. Maybe this space can be re-visited with the questionologist and further examined in another semi-performative setting, sometimes. This would be beautiful!

CR: As a choreographer I'm specifically interested in what place a question invites someone to go. A place of memory, a state of attentiveness or the gap inbetween knowing but maybe not being able to express the answer. Being very interested in choreographic clues and conceptual instructions I also love questions for the fact that placing a question mark at the end of a sentence rewrites it's content and the way it invites somebody to act.

 

 

THE VISITOR
can be lead, pushed, dragged, annoyed by the questions. Xe decides what to give, how much to get into the game. Xe might also play dumb. A particular question might drive him/her. Another one turns him/her off.
 
POSSIBLE GUESTS
 
a. the clueless guest (who comes unprepared)
b. the expert guest (who comes prepared and with a specific phenomenon in mind)
c. the naive expert (the questionologist is after some phenomenon and therefore invites the guest)