2020 Essays

Working (with) the Corps: The Body of Sands, Colors, and Varnishes in Ms. Fr. 640

Boulboullé, Jenny

This essay traces the use of the term corps in Ms. Fr. 640, investigating its occurrence, meaning, and translation. While the term—which literally translates as “body”—seems straightforward to understand at first sight, close reading and comparison with contemporary sources and dictionaries reveals its complex web of meaning. Reconstructions underscore this fact and allow insight into the polysemic qualities of corps. Employing concepts from linguistics and anthropology, we argue that the author-practitioner employed corps as a rich linguistic strategy that allowed him to navigate the fields of practice and theory, to document or communicate aspects of artistic practice that would otherwise remain ineffable.