Deferral of meaning - deconstruction

 

Jacques Derrida´s theory of deconstruction has acted as an important point of departure for how the texts were developed and informed the choreographic process. Deconstruction, a theory about language and literature, is a post-structuralist theory from the 1960´s referring to a wave of academic output which critically revised the structuralist movement which preceded it. The term “deconstruction” does not mean destruction as it might indicate, instead referring to analysis in a linguistic sense of undoing. Paul H. Fry at Yale University states that Derrida´s thought process on deconstruction was a deliberate process of refusing to settle for definite positions. He goes on to discuss deconstruction as “the dismantling of the grounds whereby we suppose our thinking can be derived from one or another definite concept” (Fry, 2012, p. 125). In other words, Derrida attempted to illustrate how basic ideas and concepts fail to ever express only one meaning in a text.

 

Derrida´s deconstructive strategies included taking apart hierarchical systems of thought to re-write them with a new intention. What is interesting to consider is where meaning is constructed in a text. In Derrida´s case he considers it not only inscribed in the sign (signifier and the signified) but considers everything as a “text”. That meaning and representation lay in the interpretation of the work. His famous statement “nothing outside of the text” (1998) can be understood that meaning is always incomplete depending on what will be said next and how the words are understood in relation to each other. Derrida didn´t mean that there is nothing outside of writing, or that text is all that matters, that the world of reality does not matter, nor is he trying to play down the importance of social concerns that lay behind the texts. Comparatively, he suggests that meaning is never as straight forward as we think. Stating that everything, like text, can be interpreted in multiple ways and is never a pure signifier of the signified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The choreographic movement and text materials in If Only have been constructed with this in mind. The materials work with fragmentation, and repetition through accumulation. The performance explores multilinear ways of understanding and reading meaning. For example, during the creative process we explored how the sound of words can affect the meaning of what is being said in spoken language. Together with the performers, I developed tasks exploring fragmentation, repetition and accumulation based on the sounding of words. I realised that this exploration could be connected to Derrida´s deferral of meaning, by exploring the differences and similarities of words through sound vs written language. The point of departure in the language exploration was to expand on the words “align/a line”, constructing and shifting the meaning of the text through repetition and accumulation. The two words have identical pronunciation but different spelling and meaning. Example of word play from the performance in G Score module:  — “Align, a line, a lining, aligning a line, a line of aligning lines, in line of aligning, a lie of lines, align, flying lines, of aligning, a lying lie of lines align.”

 

My choreographic work draws parallels with Derrida´s deconstructive approach to working with language and exploring where meaning lies. It’s been intriguing to consider where meaning arises in a choreographic work which explores the relationship between the spoken language and movement, opposed to Derrida´s speech/writing hierarchy.