Abstract:
My PhD project is about how experiences of liveness and presence are associated with a sense that things exceed or elude fixed description. Liveness as a concept is expanded beyond questions of what is technically here-and-now to focus on what produces a sense of the live nature of reality. The topic is approached on one hand in connection to contemporary performance theory, and on the other hand through the aesthetic theory of Zeami (c. 1363 – c. 1443), a founding figure of Japanese nō theatre.
In this seminar, I will present the chapter focusing on the aesthetic theory of Zeami. It is the second chapter of the thesis, discounting the introduction. Through a reading of Zeami, the chapter demonstrates how secrets or not knowing is a precondition to produce a sense of liveness for the audience, expressed by the concept of hana, the “flower.” It also elaborates on how this sense of secrets is significant also for the artistic process, and how on an existential level, it is connected to a certain understanding of the nature of reality.
A preliminary draft of the chapter will be available for reading, and during the seminar, I will give a short presentation of the main points. I am keen to discuss my interpretation of Zeami’s ideas, which very much relate to wider features of medieval East Asian thought and artistic practice.

To attendees from outside the Department: Please pre-register with Jaqueline Berndt (jberndt@su.se).
To specialists in East Asian studies from the Department: Please contact Jaqueline Berndt (jberndt@su.se) for the chapter draft.