In regard to Klemm's article, I have made the point before that performance rides in the same metaphorical vehicle as other art; some raw material is rearranged on a scene to create some sort of new representation/environment/message. Anything can be art, by this metaphor, but we personally use our preferences to distinguish between "good" and "bad" and "weird" artworks.
Performance art specifically has a wide range of "raw" medium. It can come in almost any form, and be attached to time in almost any way; it can last for ever as a monument, last for a period and be documented eternally by video, or it can be completely ephemeral, here and gone in a second.
Some of my favorite performances are below:
Marina Abramavic, or the grandmother of performance art: Balkan Baroque at the Venice Bienalle 1997
Here is an explanation and video of the performance:
It was a very emotional piece for her, as she was trying to scrub away the blood from the bones, a greater mess ensued, staining her hands and her clothes. I think she even had to leave early.
Next is perhaps a …an odd one… Vito Acconci received much acclaim for his piece Seedbed.
Yes. He masturbated underneath the floorboards of the gallery when people were walking around over him.
Next is one of my favorites, and a good example of how performance can use any performer, be on any scale, and take place any where at any time.
NL architects' "Moving Forests"
They gave people the ability to create a forest environment anywhere they wanted, even in very urban places (where it is most important)
A very politically inspired artist, Alfredo Jaar, did two works that I like very much. His first, "Let There Be Light: the Rwanda Project 1994-1998"
I couldn't find video of this so here's a link to a bunch of examples.
As a witness to the Rwandan genocide, Jaar wanted to help give the victims a voice, and make account of not those who had died, but those who were still alive, and still needed help. So he bought up a bunch of postcards and gave them to people who had family and friends elsewhere. Their message to the rest of the world: "We are still alive."
His second piece, "Lights in the City" makes another statement about the helpless.
Jaar found places that the homeless of Montreal typically take refuge, and added light switches for them to light up monuments and important buildings of the city (such as Cupola of the Marche) when they stayed there. This was meant to call attention to people who are homeless in areas where they are far from the mind.
Another one that is politically motivated is "Conflict Kitchen"
Manned by many artists and workers, it is a take out restaurant in Pittsburgh that only serves food from restaurants that the USA is currently in conflict with. Their current menu: Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (or North Korea)
They have done other countries such as Cuba, Afghanistan, Iran, and Venezuela.
Here is a video of their work.
Lastly, one of my favorite performance artists who uses his art as a constant struggle to reform issues in his home country, China, is Ai WeiWei. There is currently a documentary on netflix about him called "Never Sorry" and it is very good, I recommend it. He is often the victim of of aggression from chinese authorities due to his political statements and protests. His most frequent work typically includes defacing some sort of antique or valued items. For example, dropping and smashing a $1 million Han Dynasty vase and painting over/defacing others:
Here is a video of his exhibit. (there are ads, sorry)
His statement is that we destroy valued aspects of our culture every day and these events go unnoticed, and he was drawing attention to that with this drastic action. Of course he received a lot of grief from it all over the place, but this is the kind of work he does. He also updates his twitter regularly. Here is a link
No comments:
Post a Comment