What is a gesture? By definition, a gesture is a movement of a part of the body, in particular the hand or head, which is intended to express an idea or convey meaning. In Latin the verb gestare refers to the management of the body or how to carry oneself and the body. In modern Italian gestire means “to manage.” Gestures include a wide spectrum of codified behaviors and communication—from the simple and unintentional to the complex and mimetic—which might seem universal but are always embedded within specific social, institutional, and temporal histories.

Together with a body of students from various institutions and over a period of one week in May 2017, the School of Gesture introduces particular histories of the body and examines how power is inscribed. During this process participants engage in a series of gestural exercises, read texts, and take part in both intimate and more public conversations with contributors to documenta 14 and guests about the archeology of gestures—with a view to coproducing a lexicon of the body and putting it into practice.