Touching on Fetish Black Box—A Haptic Performance

Abstract

Touching on the haptic/tactile performance artwork A Haptic Performance, this article unveils the installation Fetish Black Box as the artist’s safe space of possibilities, to explore the field of haptic art. The installation is examined from the perspective of fetish theory as suggested by Hartmut Böhme, which emphasizes the roles of subject and object in recognizing the qualities of desire in order to facilitate coexistence in a future society. Kroneis’ performance-installation challenges the limits of what is possible in socially accepted modes of conduct and puts a more inclusive future way of living together into practice.

Keywords:

• Art
• black box
• fetish
• haptic
• installation
• performance
• tactile
• touch

Notes

1 This approach takes advantage of the notion that many simple movements (e.g., lowering the hand by bending the wrist) can be both achieved by moving the distal part of a joint (hand) as well as by moving its proximal part (forearm).