Touch as a Communicative and Exploratory Medium

This chapter provides an examination of the specific actions of two people immersed in their respective family contexts in Lithuania and Turkey. Both were filmed continuously for one day in their lives thus providing approximately eight hours of video data for each person. The chapter selects very small segments of the total footage available to choose exact and fleeting visual moments of life for close analysis. Video enables such a fine-grain selection because it captures 25 frames per second so even 20 seconds of film can be imbued with meaning and interpretation. The first study comes from Jonas, an older Lithuanian adult, who shares with his grandchildren some of the moves and rules of chess, and then engages them in the processes of playing his accordion. The second study arises from Selin, a 24-month-old Turkish child, as she examines the moving arm of a toy monkey and the way in which it impacts on a small bell, and then explores the nature of a necklace with her hands, face, and mouth. In seeking explanations of the events observed, the chapter draws on theorists from the fields of phenomenology and material culture, for instance, Pallasmaa (2009), Stewart (2005, 1999), Ellsworth (2005), Merleau-Ponty (1945; 2020, Tilley (2004), and Casey (1993).

Keywords: Video Analysis, Phenomenology, Touch, Material Culture.