Towards a Sociology of Buenos Aires Art-Theater: an Approach based on Practices.

Procedures by Matías Feldman, Guillermo Cacace and Mariana Obersztern

Abstract

Based on the idea of procedure, both regarding creation and staging, we seek to analyze some formal constructions by three important creators of Buenos Aires theater today from a sociological perspective. If we follow the field model developed by Bourdieu, the focus of this article can be set in the “art for art’s sake” pole. However, we are especially interested in addressing the practices of artists from the perspective of a pragmatic sociology in Boltanski's terms, which is why we will seek to outline the methodological and aesthetic differences of the creators. To do so, we will address the experiences of three artists who reject realism as "mimetic representation" in favor of a reality of art, according to Danto’s well-known formula. Firstly, Matías Feldman and his methodology of superimposed and in transit expressive states for acting and of technical imagination for the writing and formal composition of works. Secondly, Guillermo Cacace, who seeks in his workshops to develop a "connection" or an "in-between" that builds a form of acting based on the bond between actors regardless of the text’s plot. Finally, we will approach the compositional strategies of Mariana Obersztern who opens the construction of expressive states towards a notion of performance.