Final answer:
The skillful art of touching and exploring the body in the context of the arts is called tactile imagery, which engages sensory experience and can powerfully evoke emotions and narratives in visual and performance arts.
Step-by-step explanation:
When discussing the skillful art of touching and exploring the body, we refer to a form of sensory experience known as tactile imagery. This term encapsulates the ability to feel and express through the medium of touch, encompassing a variety of sensations such as pressure, vibration, and temperature. In the arts, particularly in visual arts and performance, tactile imagery is used to engage viewers on a sensory level, as can be seen in the evocative descriptions of Robert Evory in the poem "Garlic", where the tactile experience is rendered in a vivid and sensuous manner.
The literal and metaphorical exploration of the body also extends to the realm of acting, as actors with high levels of kinesthetic awareness are able to convey complex emotions and narratives through their physicality. Training methods like those of Jerzy Grotowski or Tadashi Suzuki emphasize the importance of physical conditioning to enhance the actor's connection to their body and emotional intentions. Such training may alter unconscious patterns of tension, promoting authenticity and adaptability in performance.
In visual arts, tactile imagery is also prevalent. Paintings like Joan Semmel's "Touch" offer a direct, tactile-driven perspective and create a potent emotional response through the use of warm colors and intimate compositions that communicate moments of touch and eroticism. These artistic expressions are powerful because they evoke the somatosensory experience without any physical contact, illustrating the profound impact that tactile imagery can have in the arts.