In Terrell s case, the counter-expression to the Plastic Body came from Salvador Dali s portrayal of flesh in surreal works. In Brusberg s hands, both poem and narrative point out the ways in which we remain separate from nature. The cave is the natural setting of the human isolate, the painted head burdened by consciousness. Often they insert further genres and media from different disciplines and cultures, and from various historical periods. For example, Tracy Terrell, in the project mentioned above, finds and analyzes Shakespearean sonnets that speak of the urge to perfection of the body.
Students also begin to use refraction.
Just as light bends in water, the ideas and images of the body projects often morph in interesting ways into new ideas or messages that supplement or parallel what is already there. The rhetorical purpose of the fourth stage is not only to assess what has been learned, but to notice what remains mysterious or even unknowable. This may be the ground for further research, or the time to build further mystery into the project. After these stages, the projects are fields of meaning, diverse compositions with various genres of writing and additional media. As an optional, additional stage, we sometimes ask students to present or perform their projects to the class.