Encounterism
The Neglected Joys of Being In Person
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A playful, analytical, informed, and poetic exploration of the delight and transformative power of real-life encounters.
The light touch of a hairdresser’s hands on one’s scalp, the euphoric energy of a nightclub, huddling with strangers under a shelter in the rain, a spontaneous snowball fight in the street, a daily interaction with a homeless man—such mundane connections, when we closely inhabit the same space, and touch or are touched by others, were nearly lost to “social distancing.” Will we ever again shake hands without a thought?
In this deeply rewarding book, Andy Field brings together history, science, psychology, queer theory, and pop culture with his love of urban life and his own experiences—both as a city-dweller and as a performance artist—to forge creative connections: walking hand-in-hand with strangers, knocking on doors, staging encounters in parked cars. In considering twelve different kinds of encounters, from car rides to video calls to dog-walker chats in the park, Field argues “that in the spontaneity and joy of our meetings with each other, we might find the faint outline of a better future.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Performance artist Field (Performance in an Age of Precarity) offers a spirited ode to in-person interactions. Blending science, history, and personal anecdotes, Field serves up loosely connected considerations of how such activities as going to the movies, clubbing, sharing meals, and walking pets provide opportunities for meaningful engagement with others. He laments that changing social norms have transformed public spaces from sites of social interaction into "transit routes," recounting the discomfort he felt conducting interviews with strangers for an art project in Bedford, England, and noting that in the Middle Ages, the same thoroughfare would have been filled with throngs of people trading and socializing. However, opportunities for such encounters still abound. Going to a hairdresser, Field contends, is one such occasion: "Allowing your whole body to be under their control demands a kind of trust that in today's world feels almost radical." Elsewhere, Field describes a study that found moviegoers release chemicals detectable by smell during funny and suspenseful moments, creating a communal experience irreplicable at home. Field's enthusiasm succeeds in "render the ordinary briefly strange" and makes for an enjoyable paean to small connections. This is a blast.
