˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ Performance Intervention Final - Bell ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

 ✧˚ ༘ 𝜗ৎ ⋆｡˚ Performance Intervention Final ˚｡⋆ 𝜗ৎ ༘ ˚✧

ᯓᡣ𐭩.ᐟ ⊹ The Authors of Our Future is an art intervention meant to center around the voices and perspectives of young students and artists as a blueprint for hope and a brighter future. The intervention unfolds in two phases: performed outside of VA B25 as it takes place within the classroom of a public school engaging K-8 students for varied responses and perspectives, and then both in and outdoors as their responses will become a collectively authored zine to be distributed throughout the campus and community. The overall idea is grounded on some of the important focuses of art activism such as participation, social imagination and critical inquiry while also allowing for play and nonsensicalness as it pushes us to think: what could a could a utopia look, feel, or be like when defined by those will grow into it?

The first phase of the intervention was to set up an object that could be viewed and have questions written on it that could be interacted with, similar to how my midterm implemented a QR code to open to a website to fill in anonymous responses. Being that this would take place in a K-8 classroom, I thought it would be perfect that their white board would serve as the "installation" as they see it everyday and sit besides it. The installation and it's open-ended questions - "What advice would you give to your future self?", "What keeps you creating?", "What does hope feel like?" - were meant to be simple yet intentional as it was meant to be accessible to not only the older students and artists, but to the even younger ones and the students with learning disabilities. The questions on the white board remained for about a week accompanied with a jar where students could anonymously submit their writings, or drawings. This extended amount of time allowed for reflection as much as accessibility but ensure that each grade and their respective students would be able to contribute something. Engagement developed over time as the white board remained accessible, allowing them to return to contribute multiple responses while observing their peers in doing so. Anonymity encouraged honesty as much as creativity. This project draws on the idea highlighted by Dr. Virginia B. Spivey in her article, Performance Art, an Introduction, that performance art "...at its best, it taps into our most basic shared instincts; our individual fears and self consciousness; our concerns about life, the future, and the world we live in." (The Art Assignment and Spivey, 2015). By giving young students and artists a space to respond freely, their words and art become intimate and collective pieces that strengthen their community, encourages self-discovery and inspire those who digest it.

The second phase of the intervention would be to collect the jar (which at the end of the week would be overflowing and require another to hold the responses) and sift through the many pieces of written wisdoms and endearing scrawls in order to compile them into a visual narrative in the form of a zine. 

(Student's Vision Board)

The zine would be distributed physically throughout the community like the classroom and shared spaces throughout the campus, extending the life of the performance. The message of the project is also guided by the biblical passage that "your young shall see visions, and your old shall dream dreams," (Acts 2:17, quoted by Lambert and Duncombe, p. 312), meant to position these young students as more than passive heirs to a bleak future but rather as creative visionaries. Though often overlooked, their voices hold the key a possible utopia of hope. Amplifying their perspectives allows us to reconsider and challenge the assumptions of how the future is imagined, or how we think and feel towards it. As Maura Reilly asks, "how can we each do our parts as curators, artists, teachers, scholars,...and so on?" (Reilly). This question becomes the groundwork for the zine and its contents as it becomes a shared entity that pushes its audience to reconsider their roles and perspectives of how they view these questions separately from the students and how they think about other aspects of hope and the future. Additionally, Reilly's claim that "we must reexamine cultural objects and social practices to understand the pattern of everyday life that shape the past and inevitably imprint the future" (Reilly) reframes the student's responses as meaningful cultural expressions, shaped by both their cultures and Cultures, rather than fleeting expressions. 

Much of the influence for this final intervention can be attributed to Yoko Ono among other artists. Ono's "first" piece where she would prompt her younger brother to imagine dinner to alleviate his mood (Menand), along with her instructional pieces, helped to inspire the prompt based system meant to connect art with thought. Marina Abramovic's work, like that of her Rhythm 0 and The Artist is Present, inspired the introspective nature of the project when students can sit and reflect with the piece, and engage with the prompts in whichever way they chose. The intervention, similar to my midterm project, aligns with my professional aspirations to combine art in its many forms and accessibility with the silent thoughts and emotions we have, as well as cultivate the representation that may not be seen. Shaun Leonardo has even addressed a similar feeling when he stated, "I have witnessed young people be easily derailed when they don't see themselves in the representation of who is creating," (Soto). So the project reflects a desire to create spaces where people of all ages can see themselves be represented and heard, as well as expressed themselves in any way they choose to. Whether to fight an imaginary opponent like Leonardo does, to write or answer prompts, to reflect and let others join them, or even to use their whole being as artist Xie Rong does. Rong's work is participatory like the others and this project, and emphasizes the transformative potential of art. "For me, art is more than just a medium of self-expression, it is a way of life...through my art, I hope to inspire others to find their own voice, to create their own path, and to live life to the fullest" (Innovative Artists Grants). Together, these artists and their inspirations on the project as well as its execution are meant to reinforce the goal of empowering young voices through creative expression and ultimately, the future.

Inspirational Artists:

1. Yoko Ono: Instructional Pieces and her use of imagination as a means to "create a performance" for her brother, demonstrating how the power of thought, movement and art can connect.

2. Marina Abramovic: Her ability to create pieces that forces the audience to sit in introspection, to reflect, and to take/interpret prompts in whatever ways they will.

3. Shaun Leonardo: With a focus on representation within art, allowing for play and highlighting the important of young people participating in art.

4. Xie Rong: Though much of her work is endurance-based and involving of her own body, her ideology of connecting vulnerability, lived experiences and one's own voice in their art as well as allowing for participatory action are essential.

Resources:

The Art Assignment, and Dr. Virginia B. Spivey. “Performance Art: An Introduction – Smarthistory.” Smarthistory.org, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/performance-art-an-introduction/.

“Interview With Xie Rong.” Innovate Artist Grants, innovateartistgrants.org/interview-xie-rong-gesture-body-voice.

Lambert, Steve , and Stephen Duncombe. The Art of Activism. 2021.

Menand, Louis. “Yoko Ono’s Art of Defiance.” The New Yorker, 13 June 2022, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/yoko-onos-art-of-defiance.

Reilly, Maura. Toward a Curatorial Activism. www.maurareilly.com/pdf/essays/CIAFessay.pdf. 

Soto, Edra. “Performance, Pedagogy, and Philosophy.” Hispanic Executive, 1 July 2022, hispanicexecutive.com/shaun-leonardo. 

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