A better word than object manipulation

Well I am sure that this has been discussed before and many times as well. However, I could not find a post so here it is.

Because object manipulation is so new there seems to be a lack of good words to describe the art and its practice. Lets start with the word object manipulation itself. To put it bluntly I don't like it. First, object manipulation seems to be more applicable to some toys, objects, what have you, than others. Of course the term juggling is no better. But the main reason I don't like it is it just sounds lame, it must have been a very un-poetic geek that coined that term. Telling some cute girl (or guy) that you are a object manipulator is not going to get the same results as if you said you were a musician. So does anyone have any better ideas for a cover all term for someone who plays with a lot of toys? Player has already been suggested to me and, although I like it better, it has its problems as well.

As a second note this form could also expand to the creation of words for tricks. A discussion on the argot of "players" and the evolution of language on the vanguard of a new art form.

I tend to lean toward 'performance artist' but then again that can cover a wide range of things as well. At least it sounds a little more interesting.

I don't really have a problem with the term. I think it discribes the actions well with out excluding any practices. For example lots of people don't consider them selves performers so 'performance artist' would not be inclusive to them.

I'm a hooper but i also juggle and spin poi. At the training space i run we refer to the area for that sort of thing as the manipulations room. Sounds pretty rad to me.

what do you see it as applicable to more than other thing?

object manipulators is a good broad term in my books. its inclusive of everything from yoyos to seven clubs to contact staff and performers or hobbyists. at also allows for a varying range of abilties.

and quite frankly its a very precise description. we get an object, and manipulate it to look nice/skillful. i just spent a few days at work manipulating a cricketbat like a flairbottle/juggling club. you give me another term instead of 'object manipulation' that still covers so many forms of manipulation i'd be very impressed.

all the different props have their own names so if you're trying to impress someone why not just rattle them all off in a big list? as a collective term i think object manipulator suits the bill perfectly!

yay

Ok well I guess that I am alone in my dislike of the term object manipulation. To me it is just kind of a mouthful. I think the proof is that it will not translate into a verb that people will use often. It is like I know a Mr. Object manipulator but I quite like him wish he had a nick name or something less formal. If that makes any sense.

However I would be fighting an up hill battle trying to change the term it would be like trying to get CJers to switch to Dynamic Manipulation. Also you are right that I can’t think of a better term, hence the question.

I guess if you shorten it just to manipulation or manipulator it sounds cool but then people have even less of an idea or the wrong idea of what you are talking about.

For some reason when I think of manipulation I think more of something like a one ring routine with lots of isolations and stuff like that. More so than someone that is numbers juggling. However I realize there is nothing in the word that lends itself to one thing more than any others. But does anyone else think like that or is it just me.

I have never really got on with the term either, I have always thought it sounded a little pretentious. Unfortunatley, in the absence of a better term (and i have given this some thought) im sticking with it.
To lay people i usually describe what i do as juggling as people will automatically get at least a vague sense of what i mean even if its not completely accurate. Or "that fire thing" as many people have called it.
If people ask me my job i say "performer" then elaborate, most people assume im a musician if i dont.

If you can come up with a better description that covers all bases i will adopt it

Every time I see this thread I have to bite my tongue before saying something dirty.

If I was making small talk, asked your profession and you said player, I would laugh in your face.

Also to add a point i think the term object manipulation is great for talking to other circus/performance people as they will know exactly what you are talking about.

Out side of that i think most people would be accustomed with the term juggler or fire spinner that is what most people who are not involved call this kind of thing any way even if you aren't strictly 'juggling'.

It is a bit annoyingly vague.. I mean.. Origami is object manipulation, if you think about it.


That's fun as well, but it's hardly the same thing.. though I have heard of a performance form of origami..

You could use the term to describe being a mechanic, or a removals person, or anything else which involves moving any kind of object if you try hard enough..


I tend to go as a juggler. Calling yourself an object manipulator a) sounds silly, and b) confuses people, unless they already know what you're talking about, which defeats the purpose of using it as a handy name.

Well the technical term in my work is "manipulation and equilabristics"

thats even more confusing than object manipulator!

Fire Dancer while not complete description gives people a vague idea of what I do. However in a slightly more performance orientated crowd I would probably use the term Object Manipulation since it is the most accurate term and they are more likley to understand it.

you could abbreviate it to obman?

"I play with sticks and balls, on my own or with other people. Sometimes people give me money, but most of the time its just for fun"

LOL

I also think object manipulation sounds weird. Better than emotional manipulation I suppose. But the phrase is only really known/used by circussy types (to distinguish it from eg acrobatics). It also sounds dry - eg 'parrots are better at object manipulation than swallows' without any sense of fun.

I often use the phrase skill-toys. Eg "the aerials training is from 1-3pm, the rest of the afternoon is for skill toys'

Also on circussy terms:


Most of us don't do equilabristics (balancing stuff like slack rope and rola bola)

And anything that defines using the word 'fire' is describing the icing, not the cake...

As for 'dynamic manipulation' for contact juggling. That's just silly. CJ would be about the least dynamic of the lot!

I don't mind the term object manipulation... a friend of mine prefers 'Prop Manipulation'

I quite like the word manipulate... and I guess it describes it fairly well, albeit in a broad way.

As gabe said, the term is only really used amongst other circus types to help distinguish it. To anyone else I just say 'Circus Skills'.

The term is quite vague, but then so is the profession. I only do poi so I usually say glow/fire spinning, which usually requires further explanation; I swing burning balls of kevlar round on the end of chains - gets some funny looks.

I heard someone describe it as "mucking about with balls and sticks and string".

Pretty accurate, if not overly concise.

I tend towards juggler or spinner to complete new people.