Post 6: Performance Art

    Performance Art is a piece of art involving the usage of the human body, typically the artist themselves and possibly supporting performers. The audience is sometimes welcome to participate as well. The most well-known example of performance art is Yoko Ono's "Cut Piece", wherein she allowed the audience to cut her clothes off with a pair of scissors while she sat motionless in a public area. It was meant to unveil the underlying perversion and misogyny in male-dominated society.

Readings:

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

    1.) "Whereas painting and sculpture relied on expressive form and content to convey meaning, performance art forced viewers to engage with a real person who could feel cold and hunger, fear and pain, excitement and embarrassment—just like them."

        -When people

    2.) "It often forces us to think about issues in a way that can be disturbing and uncomfortable, but it can also make us laugh by calling attention to the absurdities in life and the idiosyncrasies of human behavior."

        -Seeing humans act in such an irrational and abnormal way makes it so that one cannot help but pay attention. Whether the audience learns something from the performance or just sees a silly dance is unfortunately a gamble.

Yoko Ono’s Art of Defiance | The New Yorker

    1.) "No matter what you think of the strength of the art, you can admire the strength of the person who made it."

        -I don't believe in separating the art from the artist, because the artist places a part of themselves into all their art. There are some artists who have made objectively impressive works of art whom I heavily dislike.

    2.) "A classmate offered a different perspective: “She never felt happy unless she was treated like a queen.”"

        -This perspective is interesting to me. One one hand, it's believable since Ono was raised in a wealthy household. On the other hand, her art and public demeanor tells of an intelligence and integrity behind her actions. 

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

    1.) "All great activism is artistic activism, and it always has been."

        -When it comes to getting the powers that be to pay attention to you, the best way to do it has always been a performance.

    2.) "Jesus knew how to kick off a protest."

        -I hope to follow in Jesus' name and fight for those who need help one day.