Madison Padilla - PERFORMANCE ART POST 6

PERFORMANCE ART

Short description: Performance art is when an artist uses their body and actions as a medium of expression.

Example: An example from the readings is Yoko Ono's "Cut Piece" performance. The audience is invited to come up to the stage and cut off pieces of her clothing with scissors. It is somewhat disturbing and deeply psychological.

Quotes and Responses:

Performance art, an introduction by The Art Assignment and Dr. Virginia B. Spivey

1. "Performance art differs from traditional theater in its rejection of a clear narrative, use of random or chance-based structures, and direct appeal to the audience."

I feel that performance art can operate without a clear script. In many cases, performance art actually ropes the audience into the action and portrays a story directly to them with chances of interaction.

2. "Shifting attention from the art object to the artist’s action further suggested that art existed in real space and real time."

A lot of the time, art may be viewed as something stagnant, like an object to only be looked at once and forgotten. With performance art, the artist is able to focus on the act of the scene itself and have it exist in the moment.

Yoko Ono’s Art of Defiance | The New Yorker

1. "Ono’s pieces cannot be performed. They are instructions for imaginary acts."

This quote shows how art exists differently in the minds of viewers. The performance comes from thought itself. People will understand instructions in different ways.

2. "The ones who participate can rationalize their actions by telling themselves that stripping a passive woman is not “really” what they’re doing, because it’s a work of art. But, of course, it really is what they’re doing."

I feel this particular quote really portrays the uncomfortable truth in Yoko Ono's "Cut Piece" performance. People who view it simply as "art" fail to realize the true meaning behind her choice to put herself in such invasive and embarrassing acts. People feel they can act in intrusive ways because it's not "real." The audience makes up the performance. It made me uncomfortable, which I'm sure was part of the message.

Chapter 3: HISTORY, from The Art of Activism: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible by Steve Duncombe and Steve Lambert

1. "Pictures help give a form to abstract theories, causes, and grievances."

This quote describes how pictures help to visualize ideas and create a reality for concepts. It can be harder to try and form something in your head compared to seeing it firsthand, which allows for people to feel and remember certain events.

2. "In addition to this, however, performance is useful for dramatizing what already exists."

I interpreted this quote as how performing something is significantly more effective in trying to get a message across. Performance acts don't need to invent anything new but rather play off of real events and allow people to watch and come up with their own thoughts.