Post 6 - Performance Art - Nicole Corvi

 PERFORMANCE ART 

What is performance art?

Performance art is a non-tangible art form that utilizes physical presence and time. Video recording and pictures are the only way to truly archive these artistic events. It also connects deeply to human experience, as it “taps into our most basic shared instincts: our physical and psychological needs for food, shelter, sex, and human interaction; our individual fears and self-consciousness; our concerns about life, the future, and the world we live in," (Spivey 2015). 

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

• "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."

• Performance art is so different from most regular art forms we usually see in the world. It can be random, unpredictable, and even uncomfortable. I think that’s interesting because it makes the audience more involved and sometimes even uncomfortable. It feels less about telling a story and more about creating a real, emotional experience.

• "Following World War II, performance emerged as a useful way for artists to explore philosophical and psychological questions about human existence. For this generation, who had witnessed destruction caused by the Holocaust and atomic bomb, the body offered a powerful medium to communicate shared physical and emotional experience."

• Performance art seems to have became a way for artists to process trauma after World War II. Instead of just making traditional art, they used their own bodies to express what it means to be human, directly from our vessels. This art from highlights how the body can directly show emotion and experience in a way words sometimes cannot.

2. Yoko Ono’s Art of Defiance | The New Yorker

• "It’s easy to feel that there is an amateurish, 'anyone can do this' quality to her art and her music."

• Yoko Ono’s work can seem unpolished to most onlookers. It might feel like anyone could produce what she can, but in some ways I think that’s kind of the point. Her art challenges traditional ideas of skill and focuses more on concept and expression. What looks amateur is actually intentional, pushing people to rethink what counts as art.

• "'She left after two semesters. She said the university made her feel 'like a domesticated animal being fed information.' This proved to be a lifelong allergy to anything organized or institutional. 'I don’t believe in collectivism in art nor in having one direction in anything,' she later wrote. A classmate offered a different perspective: 'She never felt happy unless she was treated like a queen.'"

• Yoko's stance can come off a bit extreme in my opinion. While she values total independence, rejecting all structure can feel unrealistic since some guidance or shared direction can really help an artist grow. The classmate’s comment also makes it seem less about pure artistic freedom and more about her attitude toward authority. It shows that her rejection of institutions might be less philosophical and more personal.

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

•  "If we want to reach out to people beyond our own small circles then we need to speak in a language that is widely understood, finding inspiration in the figures that inspire others."

• If artists want a bigger audience, they have to communicate in ways others can understand and connect with. Iff something is too abstract or personal, it can be hard for people to engage with it. Using familiar ideas and influences can help make the work more accessible without losing meaning.

• "We open act as if people are encyclopedias in the making, waiting to be filled up with facts and figures. They aren’t. People need to make meaning out of ideas, and one of the ways they do this is through stories."

• People do not learn just by being given information. They understand things by connecting them to meaning, especially through stories. Stories make ideas feel more real and relatable  instead of just a bunch of facts that are easy to forget.