On the Road with mnemonic nonstop

Abstract

Martin Nachbar and Jochen Roller are performing ‘On the Road with mnemonic nonstop’ in front of an academic audience. Yet are the two presenters, introduced as dancers and choreographers, actually presenting themselves as artists? Their set-up is deceptively similar to the one found in countless lecture theatres: a space with a lectern (a little too small to be called a proper stage), microphones, an overhead projector, a white screen behind them. Ordinary clothes. No make-up, no curtain. Yet their posture, tone of voice, manner of movement, and the ways in which they illustrate their discourse with minimal technical equipment testify to the fact that this lecture is conscious of its visual and physical staging. The power of performativity which is at work here makes the audience aware of the techniques for creating evidence that inform the delivery of any academic paper. Even a detail as small as the reassuring warmth of the firm yet soothing voices of Martin Nachbar and Jochen Roller adds to the winning effect of a presentation that confronts the audience with an unsettlingly unusual format acted out within a wellknown setting.

Jochen Roller: Imagine you are planning to walk from A to B. You are consulting a map which shows potential routes. The map visualises the connection between A and B. You know that this connection exists, but you have not yet followed its path yourself. The map is based on the three-dimensional nature of space, which has been translated into the two dimensions of a plane filled with various symbols. You are able to read these symbols or to decipher them using the help of captions. Before you begin your journey, you are choosing one of various possible routes. Along your way, you are checking it several times on the map. The engraving of the map turns into the engraving of your body.

Martin Nachbar: If you follow the chosen path more than once or twice, your walk becomes a routine. Your neurons form cords of memory and patterns of habit. You are producing an inner map which is superimposed on the printed one and eventually renders it unnecessary. Your route represents a choreography that demonstrates your experience to anyone following your path. A and B denote the margins of a map. Or the beginning and ending of a dance. Imagine now: this lecture performance is a map.¹