Personal Information
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Given name: Magdalena 









Surname: Mayas









Email: magdalena.mayas@hslu.ch









I understand that by submitting this form, I consent to the use of my data for the purposes of the 2026 Forum on Artistic Research'.: Yes









I agree to the terms of service.: Yes













Your contribution
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Title: Gesture as knowledge - Sonic–Visual–Embodied Meaning Making









Format: Other format (7)









Main language: English









Abstract:
This contribution proposes a collaborative lecture-performance by Charlotte Hug (viola, live-scoring) and Magda Mayas (piano) focusing on gesture as sonic, visual, and embodied knowledge-making within contemporary artistic research.
Gesture operates as an epistemic force through which artistic knowledge is generated, tested, and transmitted across sound, movement, and visual inscription. Yet gestural knowledge remains endangered: fragile, tacit, process-based, and ephemeral, it is systematically marginalized within notation-centric traditions that privilege fixed representation over embodied process. Because gestures unfold in time and resist codification, they risk being overlooked or lost—subjugated knowledges falling outside dominant systems. This erasure is particularly acute in improvisation where gesture serves as compositional material, generating meaning through embodied, real-time action.
Hug and Mayas draw on practices in improvisation, graphic notation, extended techniques, and interdisciplinary collaboration to demonstrate how gesture functions as a cross-modal artistic-research method. Their work reveals how gestures shift between media—from drawing to movement to sound—generating meaning that is continuously unfolding and relational.
The lecture-performance unfolds through spoken reflection, live performance, and live-scoring, allowing audiences to witness gestural thinking in real time. The artists perform two miniature graphic scores created exclusively for SAR 2026, making visible how gestural knowledge operates across domains and opens interpretive spaces that resist standardization. The session concludes with Q&A, inviting audiences to consider how gestural experimentation enriches perception, challenges norms, and contributes to alternative knowledge production.
Research Question: How can gesture generate, preserve, and articulate knowledge that remains tacit, fragile, or marginalized within dominant representational systems?











Image: https://www.sar2026.ie/system/files/webform/submit_contribution/292/TS%20in%20the%20Studio%20%C2%A9BarbaraMarbot.png









Short biographies of the presenter(s):
- Magda Mayas
  Magda Mayas is a Berlin-based pianist, composer, performer, curator, and researcher. Her work has redefined the sonic possibilities of the piano through amplification, preparations, and extended techniques. She holds a PhD from the University of Gothenburg and is a professor at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She performs internationally with leading figures in experimental music such as Tony Buck, George Lewis, John Butcher, and Zeena Parkins. Since 2021, she co-founded smallest functional unit, publishing experimental notation through Graphème. Mayas has released over 40 albums. www.magdamayas.com
  
- Charlotte Hug is a Swiss composer-performer (voice & viola), improviser, and visual artist. Having completed her studies in Classical Music and Fine Arts, she won artist residences in London, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Shanghai, was «artiste étoile» at the world-renowned Lucerne Festival, and winner of the Swiss Music Prize 2025. Her Intermedia-Compositions and Spatial-Scores with Son-Icons are played internationally. Hug is a professor at the Lucerne University of Applied Science and Arts. In addition to exhibitions in galleries and museums, she is fully active as a performer, improviser, soloist, composer, and conductor of her works at major festivals worldwide. www.charlottehug.com 










Previous presentations or iterations of the research:
this RC exposition has been created specifically for the SAR 2026 conference
https://www.researchcatalogue.net/shared/a3a6eaa866659b737cbc173f42e2c201














Requirements
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Additional information:
The project will be presented as a lecture-performance and structured over 30 minutes, followed by Q&A:
Introduction and Framing (10 minutes): Hug and Mayas present their individual practices, establishing gesture as a primary site of knowledge production. They articulate why gestural knowledge is endangered—its ephemerality, resistance to documentation, and exclusion from academic/archival systems.
Performance (20 minutes): Through live performance on viola and piano and live-scoring (drawing), the artists demonstrate how gestures operate across sound, movement, and visual inscription. They perform two miniature graphic scores created exclusively for SAR, allowing audiences to experience gestural thinking unfolding in real time. The performance foregrounds cross-modal meaning-making that resists hierarchical or fixed interpretation.
Q&A: Open discussion follows, offering interdisciplinary insight into gestural experimentation as alternative knowledge production.











Spatial and technical requirements :
Technical Requirements 
•	Grand piano
•	PA system and amplification for viola/voice and piano
•	Projection system for slides
All necessary materials for live-scoring (drawing materials, paper, etc.) will be provided by the artists, however mounting options for the fabric such as a solid wall (5m x 3m), long tables put up vertically or boards are neccessary for the attachment of the fabric.











Potential risks or ethical concerns:
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