Semiotics of Clowns and Clowning

Paul Bouissac is Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto (Victoria College), Canada. He is a world renowned figure in semiotics and a pioneer of circus studies. He runs the SemiotiX Bulletin [www.semioticon.com/semiotix] which has a global readership.

• Introduction1. The Faces of the ClownAppearance and identityThe making of a faceKinds and scales of facial transformations in clownsThe crafting of a clown’s make-upThe face of dominanceInterpreting the face of a clownThe modern face of the clownWhen clowns go post-modern2. The Costumes of the ClownsThe clowns’ trunksSplendor and sophistication of the whitefaceThe auguste’s misfits and tattersSociosemiotics and biosemiotics of clown costumesClowns in drag: cross-dressing and transvestism3. The Clown’s WorkshopThe semiotics of artifactsA visit to Charlie Cairoli’s workshopWhen clowns play magicClowns as craftsmen and engineersThe clown’s barnyard4. The Semiotics of GagsWhat is a gag?Gags in contextRob Torres: a solo clown act in New YorkThe semiotic anatomy of gagsThe physics of gags5. The Game of the RulesThe language of clowningThe straight, the tight, and the looseIdentity: one in two, two in one6. Clown and Trickster Master of tricksToo good to be trueTransgression and consequencesMaster of fireThe trickster and his avatarsUnderstanding tricksters and clownsPeering in the cultural past: a reasoned speculation7. Clowns and Gender Play: Politics and Economy of SexBeyond sex and genderImages of desireAn odd coupleA “normal” coupleA bird taleGender play8. Clowns, Death, and LaughterDeath at the circusDeath of the augusteRealm of the macabre: ghosts, corpses, and skeletonsClowns and death in the arts: laughter at the edge9. Profaning the Sacred The avatars of ClownA grand narrative and its fractal performancesThe sacred and the profanePutting things inside out and upside down10. Clowns without BordersMapping clowns on the worldClowns without borders?Clowning beyond the cultural fencesClowning in JavaThe gentrification of clownsClowns with a missionConclusion: Contribution to the Theory of LaughterWhat is laughter?The meaning of laughterSenseless laughingLaughter as addiction: a hypothesis and an agendaReferences

One of the major contributions of the book is that, after reading it, watching clown performances can never be the same: the author guides us through the semiotics of clowning in such detail that every move and feature of clown acts will be overloaded with meaning(s) for the readers ... [A] reader-friendly book and an invaluable ethnographic approach to an area of study that has been most neglected by (humour and other) scholars ... particularly interesting for humour researchers, especially those who investigate clown performances in or, mostly nowadays, outside circuses.