ABSTRACT

The thing you want to portray is not just the parts of the body, but how the parts of the body function together. A gesture is just that — various parts of the body in some intricate combination of attitudes. Each of the parts, due to their individual characteristics, plays a role peculiar to themselves alone; that is, an arm can be made to do such things as plead, point, and clap with joy. An orchestra conductor can impart all kinds of emotional and rhythmical signals to the musicians through his gesticulations. In the meantime the legs go along with the moves, but mostly for stability or mobility, foundations on which the rest of the body depends.