oa Learning Trumpet with Quesalid. A study on skill and transformation

Skill acquisition entails a slow but permanent metamorphosis of the body and the self. In the arts, these transformations emerge during and through the act of performance, which can obscure the material and corporeal qualities of enskilment. By investigating the autobiography of the Kwakiutl shaman Quesalid and its interpretations from anthropology to critical performance theory, this paper will examine the relationships between performance and identity while showing how Quesalid’s model can inform contemporary artistic practice.