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Fieldnotes: From Artistic Gesture to Philosophical Thought 

 
 

Sophie Chappel 
 
 

Abstract: Within the field of emerging philosophical practices, this publication introduces a distinctive 
methodology in which creative artistic processes—both vocal and corporeal – intertwine with the play of thought.  
 

“Art does not think any less than philosophy, but it thinks through affects and percepts” (Deleuze G., 
Guattari F., 1991, p. 198). 
 

hrough this “field note,” I wish to present the methodology I have developed as a 
practitioner of “Art-Philo” workshops in Bezons (greater Paris region), while also 
providing a more theoretical perspective so that readers may perceive the unique nature 

of my approach, bringing art and philosophy together within a single vital impulse. The originality of 
this method is first rooted in my personal life experience. From an early age —and later as a singer, 
actress, poet, and dancer— my search for meaning and my grasp of reality have always been inseparably 
bound to my sensations, perceptions, and emotions. 
 

The originality of the method also stems from my training in art therapy and my professional 
experience. While philosophical practice aims to teach children to think for themselves, for over thirty 
years I have observed that creative artistic practice holds a transformative and emancipatory power that 
strengthens children’s psychological, emotional, and cognitive development. And finally, the originality 
of the method is also drawn from  authors whose work supported my research hypothesis for my 
university thesis and also G. Deleuze and F. Guattari, H. Bergson, F. Nietzsche, V. Jankélévitch, C. 
Fleury, and D. W. Winnicott. 
 

My pedagogical proposal may come as a surprise, and I readily acknowledge this. Yet, as Jean 
Jaurès wrote, “One teaches, and can only teach, what one is” (Jaurès J., 1910, p. 1). Shaped by my family 
history, my difficult school years, my university studies, and my experience as both an artist and teacher, 
it became evident to me that creative artistic practice needed to be integrated into the practice of 
philosophy.  
 

The thinking skills traditionally developed through philosophical practice (conceptualization, 
problematization, argumentation) appeared too limited to adequately reflect the complexity of reality. 
Remembering my earlier readings of G. Deleuze and Jankélévitch, I searched for that “je ne sais quoi,” 
that  ineffable I know not what,”  to propose a methodology in which sensitivity, creativity, musicality, 
and vitality hold a central role in acquiring the abilities to “think”, “be,” and “live together.” 
 
I will now describe my methodology  according to the structure of a typical session. Before doing so, it 
is essential to emphasize the importance and consistency of the pedagogical framework,  articulated in 
three phases: 
 

T 



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• The workshop begins with an opening ritual. 
• Then comes a time of philosophical and creative experimentation: depending on the 
week and the theme, the collective reflective time and the creative experimentation time 
may alternate or overlap. The practitioner, drawing on their dual training as artist and 
philosopher, must be able to perceive what is unfolding so that the existential and 
philosophical journey retains its meaning. 
 
• The session ends with a circle of sharing—or for the youngest children, a drawing 
period. 
 

The solidity of the framework is ensured by the importance accorded to silence     which ensures respect 
for all and promotes compassionate listening—and through the practitioner’s posture, whose caring 
authority and empathic availability uphold the values of justice, equality, fraternity, kindness, and 
tolerance. 
 

I. The Opening Ritual 

 

The children sit up in a circle. At the center, I place a globe and ask a ritual question: “What have I put 
a globe here?” The immediate and predictable answer comes without delay: “To think like all the inhabitants 
of the planet, from the North Pole to the South Pole!” The phrasing of this sentence is put to music to 
emphasize the universal nature of thinking shared by ALL mankind. This idea is simultaneously 
conveyed in a broad outward movement of the arms. 
 
At the start of the year, I teach newcomers a song which, over the years, has become a “hymn to 
philosophy”: 

- Couplet: J’sais pas si j’suis normal/ mais dans ma tête à moi/ il y a des tas questions/ qui tournent, 
tournent en rond/ T’inquiète pas, c’est comme moi/ C’est tout à fait normal/ de s’poser des 
questions/ même si y a pas d’réponses/ Argumenter, penser, partager ses idées avec tous ses 
copains/ reprendre ce refrain : 

- Refrain: C’est chouette et c’est génial/ et tout à fait normal/ de s’poser des questions/ qui tournent, 
tournent en rond/ de s’poser des questions/ même si y a pas d’réponse. 

 
While the verse takes the form of a gestured discussion, the chorus invites the children to dance freely, 
in a joyful outpouring. 
 

This ritual marks a break from the chronological time of everyday occupations and introduces 
the extraordinary time of the workshop, perceived “in a certain thickness of duration composed of two parts: 
our immediate past and our imminent future” (Bergson H., 1911, p. 5). It becomes flowing time —the living 
time of change and metamorphosis, the time that distances, carries away, or brings closer; the almost 
perceptible, vibratory time that makes the workshop a space of experimentation, exploration, wonder, 
and astonishment—a place for encountering oneself, others, and the world. 

 
 

 



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II. The Time of Experimentation 

 
This is the heart of the workshop. Depending on the themes explored, I adapt the pedagogical 

proposals each week to nurture children’s curiosity and enthusiasm. Each session is lived as a “new 
existential adventure”: “What will happen today?” 
 

I may begin with a song, the reading of a picture book, the announcement of a key word, a 
harvesting of questions, or the viewing of film excerpts. Thanks to its flexibility, the framework also 
allows me to open with a philosophical dialogue. If the proposals vary, the key is to remain attentive so 
as not to separate artistic practice from reflective practice. At times I deliberately blur the boundaries by 
interrupting the philosophical discussion to experiment sensorily or metaphorically with the ideas or 
concepts being explored. 

 

1. Creative Artistic Practice 

 

Artistic practice mobilizes a wide range of competencies: cognitive (attention, concentration, 
memory), motor, sensory, emotional, and creative capacities that —whether consciously or not— enrich 
reflective thought. The goal is not abstract philosophizing, but to practice philosophy through 
engagement of body and voice. 

 
This recalls the original spirit of philosophy in ancient Greece, when it still embodied an organic 

unity, later fragmented through its evolution into an academic discipline. I see creative artistic 
experience resonating with what Pierre Hadot describes as spiritual exercises. By seeking an alliance 
between body and mind, sensitivity and concept, the pedagogical aim is to develop not only reasoning 
skills in children (philosophy as a search for truth), but also to open them to philosophy as an art of 
living oriented toward the good life. 

 
In this artistic process, the goal is not to impose predetermined vocal or physical technique but 

to encourage children to discover gestures, sounds, and forms intimately linked to their own subjectivity. 
To support this, I offer numerous examples of vocal and bodily games opening a wide range of 
possibilities. The practitioner’s involvement is essential: beyond guaranteeing the framework, they act 
as a guide—an “enchanter”—who invites children into the adventure. Through creative freedom, humor, 
and playfulness, they may even reshape how children perceive adults, who often remark “You’re not like 
our parents!”  

 
After these examples, children experiment with various vocal techniques and aesthetics that may 

unsettle them—challenging their listening habits—yet also open their minds to strangeness and 
difference. 

 
Through creative play, I aim to cultivate humor and a sense of freedom. Humor, for me, is a 

virtue, as it allows children to gain distance from themselves and from the gaze of others while shared 
laughter strengthens and unites the group. The sense of freedom generated by play can trigger profound 
change, as illustrated by my own personal experience: when I was sixteen, my contemporary dance 
teacher asked us to imagine we were horses. I began to gallop and neigh with an unsuspected existential 



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energy. The significance of this experience did not lie in a desire to resemble a horse, but in the capacity 
to create images from sensations and emotions —to think less abstractly about the concept of freedom. 
This vivid memory nourished the spirit of my methodology. 
 

The aim is to invite children to seize what emerges in the present moment so that play becomes 
embodied experience. This requires attentiveness (to oneself and others) along with concentration and 
memory, enabling them afterward to reflect on the sensations, perceptions, and emotions they felt. 

 
This demand for “full presence” carries its own challenge; children must free themselves from 

stereotypical, conventional representations. For example, rather than forming a heart with their fingers 
to express love, they are encouraged to seek a unique bodily and vocal image to express what love inspires 
in them or makes them think. 
 

Modalities of Creative Play:  

 

• Individual and collective vocal and bodily improvisation 

 
I typically begin with a “mise en jeu”: children stand together in a circle. Each child improvises 

around a word connected to the theme of the session. 
 
The practitioner welcomes each improvisation benevolently while offering an “aesthetic 

reformulation” to intensify the expressive traits proposed by the child. The goal is to help children 
discover themselves—surprised by their own ability to go beyond what they thought they could do or 
say.  
 

After this optional reformulation, the group echoes the child’s proposal. This collective reprise 
fosters a sense of efficacy and strengthens self-confidence, as it validates each individual proposal 
without comparison. 
 

This individual exploration culminates in a polyphonic moment  where children learn to attune 
themselves to others—not by covering their ears to hear only themselves, but by locating markers in the 
voices around them in order to affirm their own. This mirrors the philosophical community of inquiry, 
where one thinks collectively while maintaining one's own voice. 
 

• Collective Artistic Creation 
 

Collective creation also mirrors the philosophical community of inquiry: thinking/doing 
together in the search for co-constructed meaning and form. 
 

In small groups, children compose short musical and physical phrases inspired by the workshop 
theme. They may reuse ideas from earlier improvisations. The goal is to create a shared “sound and 
visual image” filled with meaning, sensations, and emotions.  
 



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The challenge resembles that of problematizing how to arrange, clarify, and deepen artistic 
proposals so that they are meaningful to both “thinking performers” and “thinking spectators”? 
After creating, children present their work to the group. Spectators provide feedback focused on 
technical mastery and coherence with the session’s theme. Criticism must be reasoned and expressed in 
the first person (“I think that… because…”). Accepting negative feedback requires emotional distance 
and a certain degree of psychological maturity. 
 

A successful collective creation presupposes that children have mobilized both individual and 
collective resources to overcome the trials and doubts inherent to any creative process. Collective 
creative work requires many virtues: courage, perseverance, humility, sincerity, temperance, tolerance, 
and kindness. 

 
Conversely, an unfinished piece reveals a failure that must be examined: was there a lack of 

cooperation? Difficulty tolerating frustration? A lapse in concentration? Excessive excitement? 
Inhibition? The resulting shame or powerlessness often manifests physically (lowered gaze, slack posture, 
heavy silence). In such cases, it is best to invite the group to immediately try again so that they may leave 
with a sense of accomplishment, concluding with: “We did manage in the end!” 
 

Given the deep personal engagement required, moments of “letting go” (free dance, vocal 
improvisation inspired by free jazz) are essential, with no pedagogical expectation attached. 
 

The entire process is demanding and requires an authentic form of “initiation,” almost spiritual, 
as it compels us to renounce the illusion of purely rational mastery and to touch the limits of verbal 
language. Childhood, fortunately, is a fertile time to explore such poetic and sensitive relationships to 
the world. 
 

2. The Philosophical Community of Inquiry 

 
After experimenting with different approaches—including AGSAS-inspired workshops (J. 

Lévine) and M. Tozzi’s structured philosophical dialogue—I chose to draw on aspects of Brila’s 
methodology (N. Fletcher), due to its inventiveness and playful forms of philosophical dialogue, which 
echo the spirit of my own pedagogical approach. The use of “chattering hands,” for example, which 
allows the group to interact silently through coded hand movements, has greatly enriched my practice. 
 

However, I differentiate my approach by considering that the creative process itself initiates and 
activates thinking skills —through a deep intertwining of artistic sensitivity/creativity and philosophical 
questioning/conceptualization. 

 
• Conceptualization 

 

Artistic practice becomes philosophical in the following way: if conceptualization is an expected 
skill of philosophical dialogue, it is already prepared by the vocal and physical play, which lends it a new 
playful, poetic, and sensory dimension. The goal is to make the concept vibrate, to embody it, to play 



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with its phonemes, its sound, its meaning—so that it may be rediscovered, marveled at, and approached 
with astonishment. Playing with the signifier prepares the mind to question the signified.      
 

• Problematization 

 

Similarly, if problematization entails a complicating of the initial question by introducing 
comparisons, oppositions, or hypotheses that invite doubt, the artistic creative process follows the same 
trajectory of trial and error: What should be done, and how? Which ideas should be selected? How 
should they be articulated, arranged, and imbued with meaning? The questioning inherent in the 
creative process already places the children on the path toward problematization. 

 
• Argumentation 

 

Developing a collective creation requires the group to accept evaluating each other’s ideas 
through argumentation: “I think we could do this or that because…”. The pedagogical value of the final 
product lies in its capacity to mobilize the group’s collective intelligence to make choices, organize the 
“musical and bodily discourse,” and engage critical thinking through a shared commitment to cooperation. 

 
To conclude this section, I wish to emphasize that this creative and philosophical pedagogical 

approach may destabilize children (and adults), even provoking anxiety. The creative process confronts 
them directly with the vertigo of the unknown and the uncertain. Yet it is precisely by accepting this 
letting go of what we think we know or can do that thought becomes more complex and reinvigorated. 
Some children grasp this intuitively far from being unsettled, they exult in the experience. 
 

III. The Sharing Circle 

 

At the end of the workshop, a speaking round invites children to share their experience with 
sincerity. Although this introspective immersion is open-ended, it is guided by general questions such 
as: “What did I feel through my body, my voice? What did I think? What emotions did I experience?” 
Its purpose is to foster self-knowledge and self-awareness, while also cultivating curiosity and 
attentiveness toward others. It opens a path to alterity, allowing children to compare differences and 
similarities to reflect on what unites us and on the universality of the human condition. 

 
However, this sharing circle can feel risky or threatening to insecure children. The practitioner 

must remain attentive to the quality of listening within the group because sincerity makes one vulnerable 
by exposing the child’s inner truth. Valuing “sincere speech” is therefore a fundamental ethical concern 
since, when shared within a reciprocal relationship, it promotes understanding of others, empathy, and 
love. 
 

One may draw an analogy with artistic performance. A genuine interpretation arises from the 
sincerity of the artist’s expression. It invites the audience to share that “je ne sais quoi,” that “ineffable” 
element that surprises, touches, and inspires wonder. False speech, by contrast, resembles a missed 
encounter between the artist and their audience confining the artist to solitude, in a presentation devoid 
of emotional resonance. 



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I do not propose a sharing circle for the youngest children. Instead, the end of the workshop is 

devoted to drawing and noting the workshop’s concept. The use of a dedicated notebook each week 
provides coherence to the pedagogical process. At the end of the year, I invite children to return to the 
first pages to revisit their journey and select their favorite drawing, explaining the reasons for their 
choice. 
 

IV. The “Art-Philo” Celebration 

 

At the end of each year, I organize the “Art-Philo” celebration, which brings together all groups 
(children, adolescents, adults, seniors, intergenerational participants) to present the year’s work in an 
atmosphere of joy and shared experience, with the audience invited to participate. 

 
The annual theme (“Humans and Nature,” “Humans and Animals,” “Life,” “Self and Others,” 

etc.,) ensures coherence in the presentations, with each group offering a creation, song, or dance related 
to the various questions explored throughout the year. 

 
The celebration has three primary objectives. First, it seeks to counter the notion that art and 

philosophy are reserved for an elite or that intellectual practice is necessarily off-putting. The celebration 
becomes an opportunity to reconcile everyday life, intellectual inquiry, and the world of art. Second, it 
encourages participants to free themselves from fear of judgment, fostering a joyful and emancipatory 
momentum. Finally, it has a more political and spiritual dimension: to contribute, patiently and 
humbly, to reinfusing the spirit of fraternity into our divided societies. 

 
To illustrate my entire pedagogical approach, I will now present the workshop I led on the 

concept of fraternity during the Idéation colloquium organized by Brila at the University of Montréal 
on August 9, 2025. 
 

V. Example of a Workshop: Toward an Embodied Fraternity 

 

Given the time constraints, I chose to prioritize the creative dimension. 
 

As an introduction to the workshop, I presented a short video created by Christian Mrasilevici 
to give participants an overview of my pedagogical approach. 

 
To begin the workshop itself, I invited participants to sit in a circle and each to say a word 

associated with the concept of fraternity. All the words were written on a board. 
 
After this first speaking round—drawing on the AGSAS methodology—participants were invited 

to stand and walk without paying attention to their neighbors. Then, at my signal, they were asked 
successively to: 

 
• Approach another participant and look deep into their eyes. 



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• Move toward a person of their choice and touch them. The instruction allowed any form of 
contact, from the most discreet to the most expressive. 

• Converse without using verbal language while paying attention to the quality of the interaction 
(intonation, facial expressions, bodily attitudes). 
 
It was certainly a joyful cacophony! Cacophony often has its virtues, for it allows emotional 

release and fosters freeing, emancipatory vocal expression. After this first large-group exploration, I 
invited participants to form small groups to create a short conceptual scene consisting of organizing 
vocal and bodily phrases based on three words chosen from the list on the board. 

 
After a lively research phase each group was invited to present their work twice in the same way. 

This requirement of identical repetition is essential because it compels participants to structure ideas 
and artistic proposals according to both meaning and sensation, and to pay sustained attention to 
themselves and to the group to take responsibility for their role. For some groups, this was easy, for others, 
more difficult. 

 
Each of the four creations was radically different, offering a unique perspective on the concept 

of fraternity. Creativity and joy were undeniably present. One group emphasized the duality of fraternity 
and sorority, while another highlighted solidarity. If the diversity of viewpoints contributes to collective 
intelligence within the community of inquiry, it also reflects the forces of subjectivation that must be 
strengthened—a crucial issue for democracy. Indeed, as Cynthia Fleury writes, there can be no living 
democracy without powerful subjectivities: “Attempting the subjective experience for what it is simply what it 
is means stepping outside the alienating circulation of power, discovering the spirit of adventure” (Fleury, 2015, p. 
175) 
 

The workshop concluded with a completely open speaking round. Many expressed joys at having 
explored a concept as abstract as fraternity in such an embodied way; others emphasized the lively and 
dynamic nature of the pedagogical method. Two participants shared how difficult it had been for them 
to embrace this kind of process. This type of workshop is as much an encounter with oneself as it is 
with others. 
 

Opening 

 

As  Dr. C. Guéguen explains “sadness can profoundly slow down the flow of our thoughts, whereas joy 
increases that flow and enhances our creativity (2015, p. 146).” 

 
This is why I pay particular attention to the atmosphere within the workshop, ensuring that a 

playful and creative spirit is maintained in order to stimulate the children’s desire for life and 
knowledge. Joy is an ethic that invites us to care for ourselves, for others, and for the world; it nourishes 
and sustains the vital impulse so essential in childhood. It is particularly precious for children growing 
up in a world marked by fear, withdrawal, and intolerance. 

 
This is why we must “sow,” as Edwige Chirouter says… The soil is dry, and very few local 

authorities truly professionalize this practice  at least in France! This is what led me to make my 



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professional commitment known by asking Christian Mrasilevici to create a documentary capable of 
faithfully and sensitively conveying this civic, existential, and poetic practice, along with its benefits. 

 
I now need to think about how to transmit this methodology so that it can endure over time. 

While the dual expertise of the practitioner in both art and philosophy is the strength of this approach, 
it is also its fragility. Indeed, this work can only be carried out by professionals sufficiently engaged in 
vocal or bodily creative practices to be able to lead these workshops over several years, since they follow 
a progressive approach. It is a practice that requires time, a long time necessary for the maturation of 
gesture and thought, much like learning a musical instrument. These conditions of appropriation can 
constitute a limitation in transmitting and implementing my methodology. 

 
However, through the training courses offered to the teachers I have been working with for 

several years, I have seen that it is possible to continue this practice sustainably within a school setting. 
I hope that the recent creation of my website, https://www.lart-de-sophiem.com/ will allow me to share 
and train future practitioners in schools as well as in various cultural institutions. 

 
I would like to conclude with this quotation from Vladimir Jankélévitch, who gives music a 

special place in human life. Music, he writes, is “an experience lived within life itself […] we have refused to 
grant music the power of discursive development, but we have not denied it the experience of lived time” (1983, p. 
118). 

 
This is, without any doubt, what makes my methodology innovative: it invites us to think within 

the experience of lived time. * 
 
*I would like to thank Hervé Boillot for his attentive proofreading 

 

References 

 

Bergson, H. La conscience et la vie (1911). Frédéric Worms (éd.). 2013. Presses universitaires de France. 
Deleuze, G and F. Guattari, Qu’est- ce que la philosophie ? 1991. Les éditions de Minuit. 
Fleury, C. Les Irremplaçables. 2015. Gallimard. 
Guegen. Pour une enfance heureuse, Repenser l’éducation à la lumière des dernières découvertes sur le cerveau. 

2015. Pocket. 
Jankélévitch, V.  La musique et l’ineffable, 1983, Editions du Seuil. 
Jaurès, J. « Discours des 10 et 24 janvier 1910 à la Chambre des Députés », Pour la laïque. 

https://www.meirieu.com/PATRIMOINE/JeanJaures-
PourlaLaique1910_1_ENSEIGNEMENT.pdf 

Msrasilevici, C. « Extrait de rushs sur le projet de documentaire sur les ateliers art philo, proposés par 
Sophie Chappel à Bezons, dans le Val d’Oise en lle-de-France », https://youtu.be/0h-SLakoFFA 

 
Address Correspondances to:  
Sophie Chappel, Project Manager, Art-Philo Workshops,  
Department of Cultural Affairs for the City of Bezons (Ile de France) 
Business email: s.chappel@mairie-bezons.fr / Home email: clanama3@gmail.com  

https://www.lart-de-sophiem.com/
mailto:s.chappel@mairie-bezons.fr
mailto:clanama3@gmail.com

