Art as Performative Enactment

Art as Performative Enactment

“Intermedia only exists or comes into beng as such through the interaction between objective elements and the subjectivity of the viewer.” The author claims in the passage that viewer is the one who responsible to interpret the elements in a piece for themselves. Base on this statement, the author asks, “What is art? And where does it come from?” in the later paragraph. I think this is such a huge question that won’t be able to just answer in one sentences. The author provide what is not necessary to be an art – the pleasure provoke by aesthetic consciousness. Personally, I describe art as blank and tasteless. Later the author provide the three concept that Gadamer build for the origins of the work of art- play, symbol, and festival.

Play:

According to Gadamer, movement is the key of play. It is interesting the author give out an example of how the relationship works between game and game players.  “The game is being played through our movements turns to the game play itself though our movement.”  The player was brought to a higher level of the game. And when the game play for the spectators, the spectators were also involve in the movement of play.

I think about the sleeper in MOMA.

http://youtu.be/VXkmI-8wLCE

Actress Tilda Swinton sleeps in a box in MOMA for art installation. Sleeping is defiantly not an art, but sleeping in a box in front of a lot of spectators becomes an behavior art in MOMA. I think sleeping is the “movement” in the play. And the spectators inevitably involved in the artwork, which makes sleeping an art.

Symbols:

Symbols are the flavors of an artwork, which provoke emotions and feelings of viewers.  I immediately think of Vivian Maier, a great female photographer. Her photographs are stunning art pieces. Her works are full of energy and delivering the massage and feeling of voyaging. Voyeurism is the symbol of her artworks to me.  The people in her photograph, not every photo, but a lot of them did not aware of the camera when the photo was taken. She caught the motion of the reality, and since then would the people who in the camera saw themselves in the most real and subjective way.

http://www.vivianmaier.com/portfolios/new-york-1/

Festival(fest):

Work of art works in the community just like the way a festival does. The work of art unites everyone in the community through its communicative function. I am totally agreed with the statement. This might explant the phenomenon of why there are so many garbage movies, which we clearly know they are intolerable to watch, but we still watch them. Because we are not care about if the movie we are watching is good at all. We care about can this movie help us provoke conversations with others. We consume the films, in stead of enjoy the film.