Reenactment

As humans, we have a strange relationship with something called reenacting. We feel the need to repeat, or make a response to things that already happened. This is something that happens ALL THE TIME. Its not just something like, civil war reenactments, or a response to an art piece... there are also responses to songs and movies and usually they are pretty bad or hilarious. There is this website, thatguywiththeglasses.com, he calls himself a critic. HOWEVER, he also sometimes does reenactments from movies... but puts his own twist on it. So, I recently saw him do a reenactment of The Joker, from the latest batman movie The Joker's Origin Story. I really don't know what to think of it... sometimes its funny, sometimes it just seems terrible and then it makes me sad because the Joker was the only good part in that film (in my opinion).

Vox

This is a late entry...
I actually went to see Bivouac right around when it came out. Bivouac includes video, photography, drawings and sculpture that all related to the human body. All of the pieces also relate to the term bivouac. There are several pieces from Bivouac that I enjoyed, the first was Sung Hwan Kim's "In The Room 3" piece. It was a clip, not the full video, and this clip was about dogs. There was a comparison between two homes, one in Amsterdam and the other in Seoul. There were costumes and props, the whole thing seemed really sad. Mostly, because what is being shown is true. The way people (and animals), train and teach each other is absurd... even more so when you watch someone trying to teach a dog. I didn't really think of that until now how weird that actually is. The next piece I looked at was Anna Molska's "Tanagram". Two men wearing helmets and pads are shown arranging blocks into different shapes. All of this is very geometric, almost as graceful as a ballet... probably because of the music. The blocks reminded me of when in elementary school they had those colorful blocks that you could make into different shapes and patterns JUST like what their doing in Tanagram.. obviously not as big though. My favorite out of all the things shown is what was in the screening room. Kelly Richardson's "Twilight Avenger" was quite beautiful. At first it first appeared to look like just a big bright photograph but then you notice its slightly moving... and there is peaceful nature sounds. So, I sat down and watched its whole duration (or what I thought was its whole duration... it seemed to loop). Its a dreamy piece and definitely catches the eye. It made me think about nature, and I think that's what the piece wanted you to think about. Showing something like this in the city makes more of an impact than it probably would someone in the woods. As someone who grew up in the Poconos (aka: middle of nowhere), this made me quite nostalgic.

Photograph as Performance

I am posting two photos for Photograph as Performance from our assignment along time ago. Somehow I slipped onto YouTube and caught clips of guys working out.  (Luckily I wasn't eating at the time)  They are clearly on steroids and what they think is good looking is doubtful to me. Then I happened upon a girl's response and I liked her performance better.

The top photo is the viewpoint of the body builder from his waist looking along his body.  The bumps nearly blocking out his face are his enormous pec muscles that he is exercising to build up even bigger.  

The second photo is a girl's response to the need to have great abs.  She has drawn lines with a marker on her torso to represent a six-pack and then she dusts the lines with blusher makeup to soften the marker lines.  She has also drawn a line on her chest to represent cleavage.  She is enacting the whole thing with sarcasm.

The very moment you said that we could discuss a song cover, a particular one immediately came to mind because I had actually had a discussion about it’s success days before. The song is I will survive. Originally performed by Gloria Gaynor and then remastered decades later by the band Cake, this song had managed to keep its status as a “hit” in the music industry through two different interpretations.

Originally, this song was so easy to fall in love with in the 70’s. It served both as a great contribution to the disco era, as well as being one of the first really outstanding songs that had been all about a woman calling the shots and declaring her triumphant survival through an unsatisfactory relationship. Not to bring up feminism but I can’t think of a song before this that was ever as poignant in expressing the superiority of a woman and I find it kind of revolutionary. It’s a song that everyone knows and loves unless they’ve been living under a boulder their whole life. I know this song from my mom leaving it on the radio EVERY time it was on when I was younger. She always sang along.

Then all of the sudden, one day in the 90’s this song came on in the car with my mother once again. However, this time it was a man. This time it was with a guitar and trumpets and not flashy disco sounds. It was refreshing. And now, as I have become a pretty avid cake fan, I listen to this on somewhat of a regular basis and the changes that have been made are awesome. In relation to performance, one point I’m trying to highlight is the successful transformation from this revolutionary feminist triumph that is remade successfully by a man. In remaking this, John McCrea (vocalist/songwriter) shows his obvious respect for the song and Gloria Gaynor and makes it his own, adding some changes that simply modernize the song in what is probably the best way. He must have also felt triumphant in a similar situation and could relate well to the original song; so much that he had to do his own interpretation of it and make it his own. Performing a song like this that had already been so well known and well done requires a certain degree of passion in order to make it successful. My favorite of these changes is using the word Fucking instead of stupid in the line about changing the lock. Another great change is simply the guitar solos.

http://www.phillymummers.com/fancybrigades.htm

The image above shows the Downtowners division of the Fancy Brigade Division.  They are described on the site as "a central theme dominates music, costumes and presentation of the groups of 35 or more performers.  The brigades themselves are the youngest division in the parade.  Prior to the late 1970's the brigades were seen marching as groups among the Fancy Division.  Then in 1998 with the elaborate props that each brigade had, forced this portion of the parade to be moved to indoors for their jud(g)ing."

The Mummers Parade in Philadelphia occurs on January 1, following the centuries old traditions from Europe of welcoming in the New Year by bands of masked men.  Variations of the traditions included masked men moving from house to house, performing songs, a particular dancing style or playing a game of dice.  Records of the songs, laws banning mummers, records of royalty taking part and historical accounts of the tradition exist in England, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and other European countries.  

Traditionally a leader was appointed by Swedish Mummers and he performed a traditional dance whilst reciting this traditional rhyme.

"Here we stand before your door, 

As we stood the year before;

Give us whiskey; give us gin,

Open the door and let us in.

Or give us something nice and hot

Like a steaming hot bowl of pepper pot!"

From such humble and pagan rites around celebration of community and the meeting of contrasting groups, such as townsfolk and farmers, royalty and commoners, through masked rituals, the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia has roughly continued the history.  There are roughly 10,000 Mummers each year, who are organized into groups and have their costumes and performances judged for a title.  Some of the parade groups don't even have to face the elements of Winter and parade outside, but compete completely inside in a controlled atmosphere.

This is a performance based ritual involving a whole city.  Philadelphians and tourists come to Philadelphia to watch and the roads around the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the Town Hall are closed off for the parade.  There is a museum dedicated to the Mummers at 1000 South 2nd street.  The parade allows for the continuation of nostalgia through a historical reenactment.  

References: www.phillymummers.com and www.wikipedia.com

Beyonce, OUR BELOVED BEYONCE, performed Etta James' song "At Last" at the Presidential Inauguration in January. She was invited to sing the song during the Obama’s first dance. Once Etta James found out that she was not asked to sing the song for the President and first lady, she backlashed by saying “I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song, she gonna get her ass whupped. The great Beyonce. I can’t stand Beyonce… she had no business singing my song that I been singing forever.” Then she went on to bad talk the president, “You know your President, right? You know the one with the big ears? He ain’t my President.”*

The classic song has been used numerous times for movies, advertisements, special events, etc. It is a song we would probably be able to sing it word for word, it is that well known. Plenty of people have covered this song and Etta James has probably made quite a sum of money off of the people who have bought the rights to use it. The moment that Beyonce was invited to cover her song, James develops an attitude towards her. News reports stated that James was unable to attend the inauguration for health reasons. These are consequences of getting old (physical ailments, most importantly vocal loss) and Americans are going to want to see a younger, healthier Beyonce, perform the wonderfully romantic classic.

By insulting Beyonce, James caused up a stir that she did not realize would result in a bad outlook on her personality and ego. Beyonce did not lash out at James, which made her took like the innocent victim in this situation. Performance within performance? I think so.

*http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/05/etta-james-slams-beyonce_n_164177.html

"First and Last" Rephotographed and Scanned

In 1936 Walker Evans photographed people during the Depression in Alabama. In 1979 Sherrie Levine rephotographed Walker Evans' works from the exhibition catalog "First and Last." In 2001 Michael Mandiberg scanned Evans' photographs and made AfterWalkerEvans.com and AfterSherrieLevine.com to make these photographs available to whoever would like to download, print, and frame them to put up in their homes or where ever else they would like.

On Mandiberg's website AfterSherrieLevine.com there are images with links to the high-resolution exhibition-quality images. People can also download a "certificate of authenticity" for the photograph they choose.

Mandiberg seems to be trying to let the viewer have the physical work that has value to them and for the new owner of Evans' famous photographs to be able to say that they own an "authentic" reproduction of the works. What I don't understand is why Mandiberg doesn't create his own work and make it avalible to the public instead of using a famous photographer's work that may or may not draw more attention than his own.

Levine has made a career out of ripping off famous works of art by male artists from the early 20th century. Levine claims that she is trying to show that it is relevant that women artists were absent at this time, I cannot see how she has accomplished this. For example, without having someone take a photograph of her taking a photograph of Evans' photographs how do we know that this is her point unless we research and read interviews. She has failed. Levine is nothing but a wannabe artist copying other artists' original ideas and coming up with some ridiculous concept to put herself in a cozy, money-making place in the art world. Mandiberg is no better than Levine, do they both honestly think that these artists would be okay with people taking their work and putting their names on it?


This is one of Mandiberg's scanned images of Walker Evans' photograph in the catalog from "First and Last."

This is an image of the certificate of authenticity that you can print out, date, and sign to prove you have an original Mandiberg rip-off.

The First Cut is The Deepest

The First Cut is The Deepest is a very famous song, I think mostly everyone knows of it. The first person to write and sing the song was Cat Stevens in 1967. The song has since been recreated four times. I think that it is a big deal when a song gets recognition like this because it should be flattering to the original creator. The first person to sing Cat Stevens original song was P.P. Arnold in 1967, the same here it came out. The second was Keith Hampshire in 1973, third, Rod Stewart and fourth was Sheryl Crow. All five of the artists made the song a hit single and there have been about a dozen other artists that have re created this song as well.

I love Rod Stewart and he re created the song ten years later in 1977 and for a very long time I always thought he was the originator, but as I listened to more and more music growing up I realized that artists were allowed to re create one anothers work. I think that artists just decide that the song can be done in a different way.

When Sheryl Crow re created the song in 2003 I was upset at first because I was so in love with Rod Stewart's version of the song. But I think that artists re create songs because they know it will initially be a hit and people will love it. I also think that they create them based on what they think the listener will like, so they know it will be an instant hit.

I think that it helps an artist grow when they re create work, whether it be a song, photograph or painting. It has been like this since the 1800's when painters would try to surpass their mentor and be better. So it goes hand in hand with music, they find a new way to possibly make it better and see if they can create something to make it slightly different. I sometimes think of how the originator would feel about this. If it were me I would be flattered but it would also be a shame if people did not know who the originator was in cases like this, just like I didn't know at first. They still need recognition. But lets think about it this way, Cat Stevens will get paid everytime his song is played on the radio and get paid everytime someone else records his song.

To Be or not to Be, thats My Prerogative

     Bobby Brown the Whitney Houston proclaimed king of R&B performed the song “My Prerogative” first in 1988. “ They say I’m crazy” is the first line, followed by a whole description of how he gets girls and spreads his self around, but he doesn’t give a damn because it his prerogative he’ll make his own decisions.
      Britney Spears did a cover of the song in 2004, and while musicians cover each other’s music all the time this reproduction was a big deal. Critics were concerned because the thought Britney was not only going to copy his song, but also Bobby Brown’s bad boy antics.
    The song “My prerogative” sends the message its my life and I’ll do what I please, because it’s my right! Its singers were also performing this song’s statement in their lives.
    Britney released this song towards the beginnings of her crazy life stints. She went to Vegas and married a friend then had it annulled quickly. Afterwards she turned around and married her background dancer Kevin Frederline. All the while she is performing these antics, the public is watching and judging her for what they considered thoughtless life choices. This song was a statement to all those who thought their opinion’s mattered in her life, declaring she doesn’t care about their judgments.
     Bobby brown similarly does the same thing but the tone is different. He was always known for his bad boy image, so his professions of being bad in his song didn’t surprise people. His off stage actions clearly matched his songs and on stage performances. He was voted out of his boy band and replaced by Johnny Gill, and was known for constantly being late to appointments, with a little bit of drugs and drinking thrown in, all the actions of a ‘bad boy’. He made it clear he knew of people’s disapproval and he didn’t care because it was his choice to act this way.
     A bad boy image was the norm for Bobby but not for America’s pop star princess. Britney took on the persona of a ‘bad boy’ from his song lyrics but also in her life, a drastic change in her image. The expectations of her were to sing, dance, sell out concerts and do what she told. These new bad girl actions of being sexual off stage, partying, and drinking were not typical of her off stage sweet southern girl persona.
  As she was coming of age she wanted to take control of her life, and she was demonstrating it in destructive ways. Her cover and imitation a bad boy of the 80s was a conflict of interest for her pop star image.

Kelly Richardson - Twilight Avenger

I think that this piece was awesome! I found it very visual appealing and really enjoyed watching it. The colors were exquisite and she seems as if she has mastered her craft. I also found it very relaxing to sit through. She seems like a very down to earth artist and is very in touch with the tools she is using. I think that she likes things simple, but done well and effectively. The sci-fi aesthetic is a good one; it gives it a contemporary twist.

At first I felt like I was in the middle of the forest myself. I love how she illuminates the deer and he keeps making the same movements, because that is exactly what deer look like, they just stare. I really am not too sure what her ultimate goal was for this piece, but if for nothing else it is beautiful. Very beautiful. I think that something being beautiful is a fine reason to make artwork. This may have been a serene place she visited in her life or even in her mind that she wanted to reinvent and make her own. I think that having a strong relationship to nature makes for a better image, in my opinion. When I see beautiful places, such as this forest she filmed I get this feeling of happiness and comfort. It makes me believe so much in the power of beauty and why things look like this. I also begin to believe that places like this were made for a special reason.

She seems to be in touch with nature and obviously has a love for it, as do I, so I think that is why I immediately fell in love with this piece. The name of the piece, “Twilight Avenger” raises some questions in my mind. I wonder if she is talking about the deer? I think she is. I love this video and how involved she got even though it is very simple. Some things are just better the simpler they are. I hope that she makes more videos or photographs like this video because it was so visual appealing and wonderful it made me want to see more of it. It reminded me of the machines that make forest or rain noises, and they could go hand in hand, like a bed time video, but I do think it is much more developed than that. But it could be used for many things, since it is so mellow and beautiful.

Thanks Bre.  Is interesting.

Tyler School of Art Performance?

Everyone is all a fuss over Tyler's declaration of war against all art schools, I think its funny.

Check out Dana's Response to Tyler School of Art on Facebook

Is it a performance or just a stupid prank? 

Bivouac Show @ Vox

My favorite piece from the Bivouac show at Vox was Steve Roden’s video anything else &/or nothing at all (drawing circles for jackson mac low) from 2006. At first I knew nothing about the background of the piece and was just pleased by its aesthetic value. After talking to Andrew and reading the catalog description the work interested me even more. It is performance art, but the actual objects that are the outcome of his private performances are the artistic work.

Steve Roden’s theme is to create works that are abstract and random-looking with complex formulas that he comes up with. For anything else &/or nothing at all Roden created a formula that “transposed each letter, number, and symbol of Mac Low’s score into an equivalent color, mark, and duration for altering the found film” he used as a basis for the piece. For example, on letter can mean yellow paint, the number could mean he has to do it for 6 frames of the video, and the symbol could tell him what shape the yellow paint must be in, such as circles or squares. The found film was a 1950’s educational film that was used to teach children how to draw circles.

Roden’s drawings are created in the same way that anything else &/or nothing at all was, with the exception that he is forced to make decisions on where specifically he has to put the materials and shapes or lines on the paper. Roden took words from two different found text sources for each drawing that is in the show. For someone else to follow the directions he created for these drawings would create a totally different piece, they are directions, but the artist himself had to make the major decision of deciding “Yes, I will put that big yellow block there,” or maybe “No, it must be moved three inches down and one half inch to the left.” Roden’s drawings remind me of children’s scribbles, if it were not for the straight lines and the story behind the works, I would have guessed that they were made by a child.

Roden creates tension in his works by creating abstract forms by using a systematic set of specifically followed directions. The viewer must learn about the background of the artist’s systematic performances to create these works, otherwise they may also believe it is more like children’s art.

Roden’s work relates to the reading, Live Performance in a Mediatized Culture, from this week in that Philip Auslander talks about how television is “a hybrid of existing forms.” Roden has also created a hybrid of forms by combining an old film, with new abstract art, and mathematical formulas. Television is the new relationship between artists and the viewer, the artist can now get his work seen by more people because it is easier to access if he creates a video of it.

Auslander also talks about how drama on television is comparable to seeing drama on stage in a theatre; if this is true, than is it not true that seeing an artist’s work on television is not the same as going to a gallery to view it? Is a person not more comfortable in their own home than in a stark white-walled gallery, a person is outside of their comfort zone in a gallery, causing them to miss things. If a person could watch the work, such as Roden’s video anything else &/or nothing at all, at home in their comfort level, who is to say that they would not study it for hours as opposed to the five to fifteen minutes they would be comfortable watching it for in a gallery. I know that sometimes when I have to go to a gallery for class and it’s really cold or raining, I would rather see the artwork from the comfort of my home. I would probably spend more time with the pieces if I could view them at home, at least I would have time enough to see them and study them as much as I want. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy going to galleries, but I feel that with all the things people have to get done on a daily basis combined with the strange hours that galleries are normally open, it would be nice to view art at your own pace and time, just like I would have liked to spend more time with Roden’s anything else &/or nothing at all.

In conclusion, I feel that Steve Roden has discovered a new genre of art; mathematical art or maybe I should call it abstract mathematical performance art. I’m not sure if this kind of mathematical system exists in any other kind of art, except for maybe architecture or other three-dimensional works, but it is the first time I have seen anything like it and I have started to enjoy it.

When I first walked up to see this piece, one thing that I could not stop focusing on was the flawless use of color. That aspect alone, I found to be completely engaging. However, that aspect is not one that composes the whole piece, not even close actually. Other formal elements that make this so easy to keep watching are the vast variety of objects, the documentation of how the objects are arranged and collaged together and why. The cuts are choppy, yet smooth flowing and each different clip is like just watching someone make a mess that turns out to be beautiful in the end. Also on that note, aside from being a beautiful mess, we watch something in the making. The viewer is forced to watch as these things get pieced together and become their own unique, finite creation. Finite in how it is limited in it’s own existence as we continue to watch, only to see these creations be destroyed. This directly relates to the idea of performance art in the way that it happened just then, just once and it will never happen in the same way again and that experience of doing this for the artist is genuinely one of a kind. However, as it has been documented via video, the viewer is able to experience this viewing of someone elses experience more than once.

 Something else I took from watching this is the utilization of experimentation. While watching this I was reminded of my pre-college days when I was obsessed with the idea of making art with ANY objects I wanted. The idea of using objects that had been intended to fulfill a purpose other than creativity, for the sake of just that has always been really interesting and innovative to me. This whole experimentation then becomes also, a performance, therefore experimentation as a performance. This comes back to the idea of this act being a one-time thing. Because when an experiment takes place, it is really only for the instant that it happens. Using the word play is actually a great way to describe it because with an actual experimentation, one follows very specific steps to acquire a very specific result that they hope to achieve. In this, Hubbard just flows with his actions and seems to instinctively place the objects and move his hands to pour the paint in a way that does not require that specific result. The result is what it is and is what it becomes as a result of him just doing what he’s doing with the materials he has. I’m sure he does have an idea of what he wants the end result to look like. It shows again, in his great use of color as well as the objects and materials he uses and how well they all seem to work with eachother.

Auslander Reading

Philip Auslander has many great points about how live performance will change in the future. When he spoke about The Doors doing a live performance and wanting a television on stage on with a live feed, this started a huge movement. I think that they had something going when they thought about this. He also talks about how television has a certain drama involved in it that in which is close to theater. Television is known to me more than theater is, but I do have to respect that there would not be television without theater. I think that the idea that The Doors had added to the drama of a concert made it an even better experience than what it would have been without it. I think that it took creative people, such as The Doors to think outside the box, and think about what else the television could be used for, and how people could interact and enjoy themselves more.
Phelan says, “Performance’s independence from mass reproduction, technologically, economically, and linguistically, is its greatest strength.” I think that she makes a great point, but for example, if there is live feed or a performance it is not being reproduced. It is being reproduced only if it is filmed and distributed, then it is being reproduced. She thinks that performance is independent and the liveness of it is what makes it so special, but I think that in our day in age and with our technology that anything that is live should be greatly appreciated. I think that a concert or spoken word is just as special as a performance. I do not think that if someone is having their clothes ripped off in a public setting, etc should be set aside from other things that are performances as well, such as a rock show, theater or even someone just reading a poem. In my eyes they are all one in the same.
Phelan also says that, “Performance cannot be saved, recorded, documented, or otherwise participate in the circulation of representations of representations, once it does, so it becomes something other than a performance.” I do not agree with this. There is something that is powerful and intimate about a one-time performance because it is never the same twice. I do think that things now are a lot different and the recording of a performance is there to only benefit the performance. A line in the reading that says, “Despite the recognition by critics such as Pavis of what he calls the inevitable “technological and aesthetic contamination” of live performance in the economy of repetition, there remains a strong tendency in performance theory to place live performance and mediatized or technological forms in direct opposition to one another.” I believe that he and Phelan have a similar feeling on what a performance is and what should not be involved, that being a recording or live feed. I am very confused as to why Phelan or Pavis would not like the fact that we have so many wonderful technological advancements, and why they wouldn’t want to use them to their benefit or even still consider them part of someone’s performance. I think that the world has changed so much that everyone should take advantage of our booming technology. I do agree that in our time that it be fine if a performance is reproduced because some people may not be able to see a one time performance and it is good to have especially with a class like this so we can see it and study it.
We are no longer in such a traditional world and there is so much around us that changes and we need to change with it. I think that in the end of the reading when Auslander is speaking about chatterbots as being live performers he is right, it is still something that is set up and performed live. Again, times change and we need to change with them, that also being out thought process along with technology.

Meiro Koizumi

This is a video piece. A man covered in face paint is sitting at a table in front of a slab of clay and a black-glazed sculpture of an odd shape. There is a man behind the camera instructing him. He wants the man at the table to recreate the sculpture out of the slab of clay. While he is molding the clay, the man behind the camera asks the other guy some questions. Before starting, he asks the molder is he wants some water. The molder refuses. The man behind the camera proceeds to ask about where he’s from, when he moved, his parents’ divorce, and his relationship with his father. The man molding the clay begins to get frustrated with some of the questions. As the frustration levels rise, the man behind the camera says that they are going to start over. They start over and the man at the table asks for water. The man behind the camera says that he cannot have water until he makes the form. The guy gets more frustrated and says that the figure is too hard to finish. Eventually, he starts again and his hands begin to cramp. The man behind the camera instructs him to finish faster. Then he says that they are going to start again, from the beginning. After the third time starting over, the man at the table looked exhausted. The man behind the camera began again with the questions. At one point, the man at the table wasn’t even making the form of the sculpture. He was talking about the last time he saw his father and how angry he was at him. He just squeezed the clay with anguish. The man behind the camera tells him to stop when the clay looked a certain way, mangled and manipulated with depression, bitterness and resentfulness.
When I started my notes, I labeled this piece “Cruel and unusual punishment.” It felt like the artist was really playing with this man’s emotions to get a certain reaction out of him. Not only was the man instructed to recreate a highly conceptual sculpture, he was asked many details about his life, including very personal and painful ones, like his parents’ divorce and his last memory of his father. At one point, in the middle of talking about the last memory of his father, he punches the clay a few times to vent his anger. It was a very emotional piece and I felt angry after I finished watching it.
I really don’t have a lot to say about this work or the rest of the show. Maybe it’s because I’m not as much of an artist as the others in my class or school, so I don’t really “appreciate” the show as much as my teacher and my classmates.

Craft Night Meiro Koizumi

In Craft Night Meiro Koizumi really pushes this man to go deeper into the traumatic experience of losing is father in his life. The clay is just a distraction masked as a craft to keep his hands busy and allow his mind to wonder while the voice pokes and prods the man with questions about his father leaving.

The performance was broken into stages of intensity it starts of mild and grows. At first the man seems to play along, he is relaxing while he molds the clay and answers the man’s questions. He is working with the clay and clearly has no idea what he is doing with the clay but he keeps trying. His lack of artistic ability is quite comical, and you begin to wonder if he is even trying or paying attention to what he is doing.
The scene would not be so odd if the man’s lip was not bleeding and the room wasn’t so dark, all inferring that this cannot be just a simple craft night as the title implies.

The good thing about this performance being a video is that the viewer can track the physical changes the man goes through as he gets further irritated with this craft night.
The first time the voice says he wants to start over the man is not happy about it but goes along. The difference this time is he is moving faster and more clumsily trying to make the session end faster. It is clear he is irritated and distracted, while trying to be polite.

The man complains that his hands hurt and he just wants water. It is unclear if he wants the water to drink or to make the clay easier to mold. Water usually makes it easier for people to talk when they are upset. They drink the water and their mouth is no longer dry and uncomfortable its easier to speak. Drinking water would also give the man a moment to pause and collect his thoughts, something the voice doesn’t not want. He wants him to work through the tough spots and continue on until he successfully makes the sculpture or has and emotional break through. The voice does not want this process to be easy.

He is asked why his parents divorced he answers them snippily “non of your business”. He demands water and begins to yell when he is denied and seemly ignored. At this point he is looking directly into the camera and it’s hard to tell if he is yelling at the audience or the voice behind the camera.

This part is significant of this interrogation because the viewer becomes a participant in the performance at a tense moment in the film. The man clearly doesn’t want to continue, he is tired and under duress and is simple asking for water. As a bystander is the audience supposed to get involved and bring this man water or even make the questioning stop allowing the man to leave. But as a viewer I just sat there and let it continue.

He yells at the voice that is simple patronizing him with calm refusals to his demands for water. Then there is a jump in the film; it cuts off but only for a quick moment. When the film comes back on the man is still at the table working the clay, and it appears a little less hard. It is unclear whether he received water or not during the unscheduled break.

The man begins to complain more so about how his hands hurt and he just wants some water. As the clay gets harder so does the man’s ability to rehash his past feelings about his father. He is really struggling with the clay and with reliving his bad memories about his father.

The end scene is very traumatic as the man recalls the memories of his father for the last time. His hands are working this clay but he is not even looking at it anymore. It is clear his mind is somewhere else. He relives how his father wasn’t there for him after the divorce; in the first story he makes excuses for his dad. He was a doctor he was very busy and lived far away, but not this time he simple accepts that his dad wasn’t there for him, he didn’t call or visit. His face is tense and saddened as he tells the story, then he remembers the last time his dad came to visit him with exact detail, August 26 and he was in the 6th grade. His dad was trying to be nice and he lost his temper and broke the toy he brought for him and his dad died to months later.

The ending was shocking and unexpected; it was completely unknown that his father was trying to make amends. It becomes clear why the man was avoiding sharing this memory with the voice behind the camera because of his deep regret for mistreating his dad before his death and never being able not fix the relationship. Suddenly the voice begins to shout “Stop Stop” he runs toward the man and physically removes his hands from the clay, which is now mush because he had been squeezing it so tightly he forgot it was in his hands. The voice from behind the camera brings him some water even though he had not finished his sculpture it was clear the man could go no further, and the voice got the emotional break down he was seeking.

BIVOUAC

I believe that the three pieces I have written about below are good examples of how the exhibit as a whole coincides very well with each other. They each brought about the idea of playing with their medium and letting their guard down, which allows for a free form to appear as the final product.

The pieces were intriguing and once Andrew told me the background behind most of the works, it made me like them even more. For example, Steve Roden's work's "my doubt, a mass of ancient night, concludes in many a subtle branch" and "so I loved a dream? aimai-je un reve?" looked like any contemporary 20 something artist working with the standard bright colors that is "hip" today, but Andrew explained that there was a process of mathematical equation, which was how he made the piece. I guess it is a little sad that I could not appreciate this work fully until I knew the background behind it. I'm excited to see Angela take this approach because I feel like it would be really interesting to see this all happen in person. I actually feel like I did this process a bit when I was younger. I used to come up with my own alphabet and tried to make them combine with the numbers they were associated with (A would be with 1, B with 2, etc, etc.).

Meiro Koizumi's piece "Craftnight" was intriguing as well. I caught the video in between and had no idea what was going on, but as I watched a little more I assumed he was talking about his father and the troubles in the past he’s had. I believe that the actor was partially acting and partially bringing out some deep personal emotion, but I guess that’s what good actors have to do. I felt like the premise of the video was to connect these sad memories we all have as children to the way we turn out as adults. Everyone has their stories of heartbreak from their parents and some are way worse than others, but some people should realize they have it a lot better than some people. Maybe Koizumi was trying to connect the actor to everyone who has had these bad memories of their parents but chose the actor as a symbol for the people who really don’t have it that bad and are seeking someone to listen to them bitch and moan. So many people are great at acting out their emotions and getting people to feel sorry for them. I love the title when I think about the piece in this way because its as if people use their hands so much in order to relieve stress and what a better way to relieve it with clay. The title “craftnight” makes it seem as if these are daily meetings like AA or Bingo night which has people socialize and work together in some instances. Other than that, I thought the lighting was very appropriate and made the entire situation seem a little grimmer.

Alex Hubbard’s “Cineopolis”, “Untitled Red Herring”, and “Dos Nacionales”, were all really great films. I wish I had a room where I could play it all day in my home. The premise of the work was what attracted me because at first I thought that Hubbard had everything magnetized, but then I realized that he was filming a table from a bird’s eye view. The piece seemed to be slightly planned, but also had a bit of random placements added to it. I took it in as an experience that solely paid attention to sound and visuals. I did not question myself to figure out what concept was behind the video, I just took it as it was. Seeing the video as one single form brought about more emotion in me than any of the pieces in the exhibit. I thought of it as Hubbard testing the senses, almost making us feel like we have Synesthesia. The constant change in colors and form made me feel different emotions. I assume if I were high it would be quite a potent sensory experience. I wasn’t sure if the sounds were made on location or if they found different samples because the sounds were so clear and crisp.

The piece that I found the most interesting/engaging was the body videos. I liked that they were all put together to be an installation of their own because they all work well and compliment each other. He seems to be really into the utilization of the body for performance and it is evident throughout the majority of his work. His work and these ones in particular force the viewer to look at and think about the body in a way the otherwise probably would not have. In this the viewer takes with them new thoughts on something they think they have already known so well and probably analyze what they have seen whether or not they were trying to. Will they be faced with these new ideas when dealing with their own bodies? I liked EYE TEXT.

I chose to look at Peter Weibel's "Tap and Touchcinema" and "From the Map of Dogginess", both 1968.  The play between the two movies cannot go unnoticed.  First one of Weibel on a leash being led on all fours through streets led by Export.  This piece leads to ideas of empowerment and submission and for a role reversal from the perceived society norm of males having the power over females.  Export saunters as though she is very comfortable as she is undertaking a normal everyday act.  Weibel has his head down the whole time and being in dark colors as well looks submissive.  Export wears light colored clothing and looks happy and carefree.  There are few instances of public interaction and they seem to not notice anything astray until those people are actually up close to Weibel and Export as they bump into them.  There are no major reactions or interruptions from observers they think there is anything wrong with the act.  All stays calm around the duo.

My initial reaction upon hearing the voice of Weibel through a megaphone was comparison to footage of Nazi Germany and the propoganda rallies.  Megaphone sounds demanding and increases in urgency by noise level and speed of talking.  A huge crowd gathers around to wathc the scene and to see what is going on.  Some of the crowd are giggling, some are watching amazed, some walk hurriedly past, others stand watching for a long time.  The crowd varies in age.  Three men are filmed walking up to Export and putting their hands through the opening of the box she has strapped onto her chest.  Export greets them by looking into their eyes and then begins to watch a stop watch.  Export times them for around five seconds and their turn is finished.  There are no confrontations, Weibel does not stop his loud use of the megaphone and no-one in the crowd steps forward to intervene.  Two of the men are captured by the camera as they finish with Export and they look very satisfied and look to say thank you to Export and then Weibel.  They appear to be nodding and smiling as though giving their approval for what they have just experienced.  Export looks unflustered and unfazed.  We could assume that the males are touching her breasts but we can't see it except for one part where the camera captures one side panel of the box moving.  The piece plays on male mastery and domination of a female, her willingness to interact and be violated or offer her body for pleasure.  The tension created from Weibel offering Export up for consumption and Export seeming to not mind and be willing to be a consumable and the crowd interaction or non-participation in this act.  The scene plays on sex for consumption, violation, dignity, male domination and female willing or non-willing participation.  Crowd reactions include: (what could be read as suggestive) sucking an ice cream, incredulity, partaking in the scene, giggling and disbelief.

The comparison between the two movies shows the contrast between male and female roles and the acceptance of domination in a public domain.  There was little reaction to seeing a male dominated by being led around on all fours on a leash compared to the reaction of a woman's breasts being offered up for any takers in a public domain.  They were disturbing and interesting social experiments.  I think the question is whether either party, with Weibel on the leash and Export with the box, lose their dignity or power over themselves or were they willing participants and therefore lost nothing.

To me, it seems similar to the power play in William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew", when at the end of the story, the question is posed that has the wife gained control over the man, now that they love each other and realize they are under the spell of each other.  Was the wife the shrew when she was so angry and resisted all attempts at affection or was the husband the shrew and he was tamed by the wife.  It poses the question of either one losing their dignity and strength because they relent to the wishes of the other.

Peter Weibel - Tap in Touch Cinema

So I think everyone knows already how I feel about Performance Art. This piece is ridiculous. I do think that having a woman with a box attached to her breasts and letting random people touch them is relevant to anything in life, unless she wants to go work as a hooker. I have no idea why he would have such an idea. So this is how I feel about it and I really do not favor any of his work. He calls his work conceptual, so what is so conceptual about this? He is exploiting this woman. I really just think that he couldn't think of anything better to do.

Peter Weibel

So, I forgot to write down the name of the piece I like.
Weibel is sitting on a corner at a table and has some kind of recording machine with a tape inside. He says "On" and presses the play button on the machine. The tape says back "Off" and he turns off the machine. This process repeats as the camera slowly zooms out after each cycle.
I don't understand why I liked this one so much. It was simple, non-invasive, and made any passerby wonder what he was doing. Eventually, a few people walk by and one guy stops and watches him. He stands there for a few moments, longer than I expected him to stand there.
There isn't much else to say about this piece. I enjoyed it because of its simplicity and it invoked people's curiosity.

Photograph as Performance

The photograph I chose is a Light Art Performance Photography (LAPP) piece. LAAP is a one-shot long time bulb exposure photography technique, performed additionally with movement of light. It was developed by two German artists, Jan Leonardo Wollert and Jorg Miedza.

In this project the photograph is the actual artwork and not the performance itself. The men created it by moving lights around. I like the idea of this kind of performance because it reminds me of traditional film photography. It's similar because with film photography you don't know what your photographs will look like until you develop the film, and with this performance photograph the artists do not know what the photograph will look like until the performance is over. I never thought of performance art this way and I fell like it has opened new doors for what I can do with photography.

Peter Weibel

The piece from the show at Slought that I chose was the "Tap- and Touchcinema" from 1968 performed by Peter Weibel and his lover at the time. The basic idea of this performance was that passerbys had to reach into a box that was attached to the woman's chest and touch her breasts. Weibel is speaking into a megaphone to a large crowd of people, he is reading off of a piece of paper, but he's not speaking a language I can understand so I feel like I didn't get to experience the full effect of the piece. I wish it had subtitles! The most surprising part of this performance was that the woman didn't look uncomfortabe, but most of the audiance does. I didn't understand the purpose of this performance, I feel like it has something to do with feminism or maybe sexism.

So I did a little research on the video and found out that the name of the piece relates very much to what it means. On Media Art Net is says that:

"the film is ‘shown’ in the dark. But the cinema has shrunk somewhat – only two hands fit inside it. To see (i.e. feel, touch) the film, the viewer (user) has to stretch his hands through the entrance to the cinema. At last, the curtain which formerly rose only for the eyes now rises for both hands."

It also explains that the performance is about the sexual freedom of the woman:

"The tactile reception is the opposite of the deceit of voyeurism. For as long as the citizen is satisfied with the reproduced copy of sexual freedom, the state is spared the sexual revolution. ‘Tap and Touch Cinema’ is an example of how re-interpretation can activate the public'."

Peter Weibel

I watched Peter Weibel's 1967 video Tramping on the Law with Feet. The camera is pointed at the pavement, and on the ground is the word Recht written in white sidewalk chalk. It was written multiple times overlapping scribbled and in all kinds of ways and directions. 

     Weibel video taped people walking across the area with Recht written on it. The only part you can see of the people is from the knee area down.  But you can somewhat judge what type of people they were from what they were wearing, which also makes you consider the type of area it may have been done. For example there was a couple people with dress shoes and brief cases, so they were probably professionals, and they may have been traveling to or from the office. But then there was a couple people also wearing casual shoes and pants, which leads me to think it was a public area not only open to business professionals, maybe a walk way by a train or bus.

     you could also pick up people reaction from the speed the were walking. Some people slowed down as if they were trying to read it and didn't have time to stop, while others barely stopped as if they had seen it before. There was a couple people that stopped but not for a long period of time.

    The element of performance could be the act of Weibel actually taking the time to write all over the sidewalk, and how his actions were perceived by on lookers. Also how the passer beyers reacted to being filmed on camera. What about after he finished filming did the word just stay there, or was it washed away and did he get in trouble for putting graffiti in the public space.  

Peter Weibel- Vulcanology of Emotions

Vulcanology of Emotions, is one of Peter Weibel's six body videos that were shown at the Slought Foundation. It was made in 1971, so it was the earliest of his body videos that was shown. Vulcanology is the study of volcanoes, so one can come to the assumption that what Weibel could be relating to is an "explosion" of emotions, that similar to a volcano. The way the video is filmed is almost voyeuristic. There is a bold vignetting that makes you focus on what Weibel is doing. The camera is focused on a corner of a room with white walls and white floors. Weibel is in the room, naked, in different positions. He first starts out by lying down on the floor, his face away from the camera. However, each position is a clip of about 10 seconds at first. In between each clip the screen turns black and the sound of whales is then played. Having the sound of whales in my opinion was a good choice because they make somewhat sad sounds and the clips that show Weibel are depressing in a way. As the video progesses the camera moves closer, some of the images are now video and others still. Also, the images move faster so instead of being on the screen for 10 seconds its 6 seconds. Weibels positions also change and don't involve him just lying down on the floor and he is now allowing his face to be shown. As the video speeds up the camera moves further away and this brings us to the end.
I found this video to be one of two that I could actually stand to sit down and watch all the way through other than his tele-action videos... which some were in fact quite entertaining even though the tv-aquarium made me feel very uncomfortable

Photograph as Performance

I chose Mary Ellen Mark's photograph of these 2 children because it expresses a lot and it could be interpreted as a performance. I think that the little girl smoking the cigarette was obviously set up and that is much of what makes this a performitive photograph. Also, with the little girl seated in the pool the way she is, just looking at the viewer and probably wondering what the other girl is doing. They are very different children, or at least it seems that way. Even though Mark Ellen Mark typically documents people, circus performers, street performers, etc, she still makes her something other than a documentation of a performance. I feel as though she makes it a bit personal to the viewer. I love her work, and this photo especially. She took what may have been your average 8-10 year old girl and turned her into a different character, just by what she is wearing, or the lack therof, and giving her a cigarette. Also, the fact that the other little girl sitting down is wearing a tee shirt while the other little girl is in a bikini.

Peter Weibel "Tap and Touchcinema" 1968

This piece stood out the most to me and probably for a lot of the other students as well. I consider it absolutely degrading. I do not really care if it is for "art's sake." How come Peter Weibel didn't make show his sexual freedom by putting his own genitals in a box for everyone to feel? I guess it would look like he was crazy and he would probably get arrested immediately, but still, I do not understand what statement he is trying to make unless he was doing a tap and touchcinema for both sexes. It was disgusting to look at the faces of the men who were touching the woman. It was as if they did not even think about how this was making the woman feel or how they were being perceived as males. Although, Valie Export is considering her performance art, I do not believe that this shows some sort of sexual freedom, even for that period of time. I am trying to wrap my head around it and be open, but it just seems like too much. If she wanted to express sexual freedom then it would not just be contained in a box where your boobs could be felt up. I think sexual freedom is goes way beyond that. And I understand that it is open to the public, which takes away this idea of voyeurism, but it does not feel right to me. Maybe I will be able to discuss this better in class when we are all bringing up our opinions.

Performance from a photo

This is like a freeze frame of an action. There is a lot of emotion expressed by the actresses in this photo. It is filled with drama, making any who haven't already seen this photo think about what happened before it or what happened after. This isn't something that someone walking by with a camera normally sees. It is a staged event. In some elements, you can tell that these women aren't really in this position.
There are some things that completely emphasize a certain meaning or cause and the idea of performance to get the point across helps with this photo. You can definitely tell that the photographer was friends with most, if not all of the participants in this photo, due to the laughing faces. The overall tone of the photo is pretty serious and effective

Performance in a Photo

I decided to choose this photograph by Angela Pursell. The whole process of trying to photograph a baby is a performance in itself. You have to make sure the baby is happy and is clean along with the other aspects that one goes through when taking a photograph. Then, there is the idea of documenting someone when they are this age, they don't know what is going on... the whole idea is something the parents want to do. Some parents later on in life want to show off how adorable and innocent their child once was... when you grow up do you appreciate these photos that were taken of you when you were a baby? However, Angela Pursell was hired to take this photograph so can it be considered artwork or is it just her doing her job to make a living? Personally, I don't like being photographed now so why would I like it then? Recently when I was at my parents house I was looking through old photo albums and I found a photo of me, I have to be about 4 years old and it was taken right after I had been crying. The look on my face, its this look of "oh thanks your taking a picture of me after im done crying? thanks mom... ugh" I then asked my mom about it and she said "I wasn't trying to be mean I just really wanted to get a photograph of you in that outfit..." I'm not trying to bash baby photographs or anything but the whole process and concept of it is pretty silly if you think about it.

Rachael's performance

For the record, this is the most unusual and awkward thing I've ever done...

This is a performance photograph or should I say MY performance photograph. I went to a going away party last Friday knowing I would probably be inebriated and also knowing that many people would be doing just the same. My friend Alex said that we should play the game "chicken" with the other people who were putting each other on their shoulders. I agreed and of course, Rachael, being the party photographer that she is, caught every single thing that would make a great, drunken photograph. Everyone knew that she was going to be taking EPIC photographs of us and we also knew that they were probably going to be accessible online for our social networking buddies to see so ridiculous events such as this probably came about because we had known this and because we wanted to have fun. Its funny because I feel like so many people would not admit that but how many people pose or "perform" for a photograph these days knowing that it will eventually be online? Its as if its a sin, but everyone does it.

And in response to the reading I think underground art is bs. So many people can try to justify what underground art is and how only true underground art is produced by someone who doesn't receive money for it. I think people who are living in this society are desperate enough at some point to make sure that they are getting money for their work because they are unable to live without it. I understand that there is a fine line between making some money and a lot of money, but there will never be true underground art.

video performance

http://frankzadlo.com/project/three-revolutions/

I chose the video three revolutions, by Frank Zaldo. I chose this because I think I prefer the more minimal performances that address the little things that are usually carried out by most people in every day life. Certain things that we all do are never considered to be a performance until an artist decides to make it one. It is pieces like this that really hone in on the whole idea and issue of performance and the question of what makes it one, if it actually is one, and what about it is considered to be artistic enough to actually be considered art. 

I'm not questioning this videos artistic merit. Because for one,  I just like it and i also like how it is documented and composed. Also, the act of forcing channel surfing into being a piece of art personally brings to mind the age old idea of the couch potato. It sucks when there's nothing on TV and you just have to flip through a bunch of seemingly meaningless and mind- numbing crap. That's what this piece makes me think of; some couch potato lard sitting in the dark with the windows closed flipping through bad daytime TV. 

I suppose there is a number of performative qualities that have taken place with this piece. Starting with the act of planning to make this into a piece, then acting it out as a performance to be documented. Also, just the act of documentation of this is a performace.

Performance in a Photo

I picked a red carpet picture, because the whole thing is a performance, basically a media circus all to get a picture for the magazine or web site.
I picked Halle Berry at the NAACP awards.
Her performance would go like this:
She just had a baby so working out for months to get that figure back, watching what she eats all while being a mom. But the week before a red carpet event is even more crucial. She probably Stepped up the work out routine, her trainer was probably kicking her butt. The night of the awards hours before the event she had a personal make up artist and hair stylist come to her home. Her personal stylist picked up this dress for her. Then even after all that exercising she still had to put on spanx and control tops to suck and tuck for a flawless silhouette. You cant see her shoes but, heels are a must 3 inches at the minimum. Walking on the balls of your feet all night feels amazing, and if they are open toes she needs to get a pedicure.
Finally she hits the red carpet there is yelling over here look at me,multiple photographers and interviews vying for her attention. All the while she has to be aware of her face always smiling giving off that perfect glamorous red carpet image worthy of a Hollywood star.

diane's performance by rachael

Stumped for Ideas

If anyone is having a hard time thinking of things for their big project check out Philly Fringe festival website they had some cool performance pieces going in 2008 like urban bodies in public spaces ect. 

Philly Fringe

Blue

"What color do you feel like today? Pick/create an object or atmosphere using the color, that shows what you feel like." from Kelly

Erin's Performance Piece

Erin's directions were "The space you fill up is a black hole that means what."

Angela's performance piece

Angela I'm sorry I did not get a whole hoagie. I was being really cheap (of course) and I took a quarter of my friend's hoagie and THREW IT ALL OVER THE PLACE (well just around sartain and outside of Moore because that was kinda the specifics). 

I started off by throwing pieces, not hard throws, in the streets and the sidewalk. Since it was rush hour there were more people in their car rather than people on the sidewalk.

Once I hit the street I was scattering pieces on the crosswalk and I didn't get any comments about what I was doing.

When I hit the sidewalk outside of Moore, there was a lady behind me and she kinda gave me a look like I was being crazy. So that's it. The end.

Performance Piece

My assignment was to perform Bailey's piece where I had to go to a public place, preferably with 10 people, select a word to scream out loud if they hear a stranger say that word...like PeeWee basically. So, my first attempt was at Olive Garden.

It was Ashlie's birthday so it was perfect. We selected the word "like"... one of the waiters said it and we all went "LIKE!!!" and then we felt we were too loud in the restaurant and kept quite, however, their were a couple more instances where we made noises whenever we heard the word. Also...

Then, today I made another attempt, this time it was just with me and my boyfriend. We were in marketeast station... around 5pm and we selected the word "track". An announcement came on and he yelled "track" really loud and I just laughed... alot... it was hard to document so here is just a silly picture of me after the moment. It wasn't exactly on peewee's level, but it was okay.

Erin - From Breanna

"Take the persons paper to your right and claim this project as your own, present it or change it.

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

My performance piece script written by Stephanie:

 An egg on the sidewalk on a sunny day!

Unmarked Remarks

     One trait of performance art that keeps reoccurring is that it should not under any circumstance be recorded or documented. If it is documented then it becomes something other then performance art. The fact that it can disappear is apart of performance art. 

     Phelan argues that to preserve performance art is to alter it. Here is one point that I am struggling within performance, photography is all about preserving. Thats what camera do they capture the moment and document. So how can a photographer be a performance artist? Performance and photography are the complete opposite of one another.  You could perform with the camera and not take pictures but that would render the camera obsolete and purposeless. 

    Performance is also independent from mass reproduction in any form that could be copied and sold. Phelan argues this is apart of its strength as an art form. But in this current day of youtube, camera/ video phones everything is subjected to being documented. It is almost impossible to have something NOT be documented, because when ever someone see something weird, strange or remotely interesting they pull out their phone send it to everyone they know, post it on youtube, and in a week its on every info-tainment show and the news. 

    Does performance art in its early undocumented form have a place in contemporary world where everything is documented? 

Adrian Piper's performances

Adrian Piper's performances were reliant on camera for presentation.  The written accounts of her walking with a rag hanging out of her mouth or with a sign of "wet paint" do not get transmitted to the art world without the visual proof that the photos from a camera provide.  The verbal accounts of her productions or the written accounts do no justice to the actual pieces.  The photos provide real proof that she actually followed through with the actions and was out in public. 

The camera shows the viewer the true audacity of the piece.  No verbal or written account can provide an accurate understanding of what she looked like, where she was or the visual accuracy of how she looked.  The photos provide the proof that, for example, the rag in her mouth, whilst out in public, was not just a little sliver of a piece of fabric.  The size of the fabric is shown that she really did fill her mouth to the swollen cheek stage and that she would be obvious in the public arena.  The photos provide proof that she really did look weird in the context of every day life.  

If there were no photos of her performances, the public who happened upon her at those times would have just thought she was a person of imbalanced mind who needed to be avoided.  No account, except to family members, friends or acquaintances of the day would have found out about her performance and it would not be recorded in any artistic light.  Her performance would have not been successful as an art piece because those in the art world would not have found out about it.  It would have been passed off by those who saw her as another quirky thing in daily life, experienced but thankfully avoided except for the fleeting moment.  Piper needed the camera to record her acts for the future and for the acts to be remembered by anyone who can attach a label as artistic to her work and not just another freakish encounter.  Therefore Piper's performance was not for the camera, but its success relied on the camera capturing the moments.

Bruce Nauman pinch neck

It is clear that Pinch Neck by Bruce Nauman relies heavily on video. Video is an extremely important part of this piece because one aspect that contributes to the concept is the way the subject is framed.  The viewer is only able to see the neck and lower facial features and those things are forced into being the focal point of the piece and the only thing that the viewer is able to see. The video makes it so that the viewer must examine the framed area as Nauman seems to have intended.

Having video as the media does indeed lend itself to being a video piece. This is the type of performance that is better carried out on video because it is the kind that is an experience that we otherwise would not see; at least not in the way it is framed, which serves as an important circumstance that makes the piece what it is. If this were a photo instead of a video, it would be more of something staged, done only for the sake of taking a photo rather than being a performance. Could it still be considered a performance if it was a photo?

Overall, video was the best choice of media for this performance.  This is because it is the only media capable of capturing the pulls and pinches and movement of the skin and that in itself is the basis of the performance. This concept could not be executed as well, and maybe not at all if it were done in another way. 

Meat Joy

"Meat Joy" is a performance piece by Carolee Schneemann. It was first performed at the First Festival of Expression at the American Center in Paris. When viewing this piece one can tell that it is a "celebration" of flesh and material. The materials used were fish, chickens, sausages, wet paint, transparent plastic, rope brushes and scraps of paper. Film is the main documentation. Still photographs could have been used to document this event but it wouldn't have the same effect as if you saw it in person or in a film. This type of media functions well for the documentation of "Meat Joy". It functions so well that maybe it doesn't even matter if it was viewed by a live audience or not.
It doesn't appear to have any scheduled occurrences, its all pretty chaotic and random. However, performances don't have to always be intricately planned. It all depends on the statement the artist is trying to express. If the artist feels that they need chaos in order to make an audience understand what they are doing then that is okay. It is an act because it only occurred a couple of times (twice?). It is not an everyday thing, you don't see people dancing or rolling around in meat products normally. If we saw the acts like "Meat Joy" frequently it probably wouldn't get the same message across.
This piece isn't necessarily a favorite, but I consider it far more entertaining than Bruce Nauman's "Stamping in the Studio". However, there are many different things that are more entertaining than that. We can't like everything.

One of the performances we have seen so far that incorporated video is from Alex Bag. The video "Untitled Fall '95" portrays her as the typical art student from SVA. Her ability to use video in her piece makes it obtainable for people in a variety of lacations to see her work. Because she is addressing many points that students, as well as artists associate with, connects her with a larger audience. 

If I had not known that this video was made in 1995, I would have thought that it belonged on YouTube and had a million hits by now. The fact that I cannot find it on YouTube is very surprising since her character portrayal seems universal in the art world. Even though video can be compact and easy to transport to many places, it does not necessarily mean that it will be shown to a wide audience. Only people who know about UBU will be able to see this work online or one might be able to obtain it if they know Alex Bag herself or her closest associates. 

So the question is, why isn't her work shown everywhere?

Bruce Nauman's Terrible Stomping Performance

I think that Bruce Nauman could have successfully done his stomping piece without recording it, which is alone, with absolutely no one watching. I think that the video does benefit the performance, but it is way too long and very boring. If a viewer came to a performance and he was just stomping I do not think it would have had as much as an impact as this boring video did. As much as I do not like the performance, I think that there is something that we as artists can relate to. Just think, when we are in our studio trying to think of something to do or cannot come up with a good idea, we may pace back and forth. I think that the frustration of him stomping shows us just how frustrated he may be. I have no clue what made him want to videotape himself doing something like this, something so awful. But I definitely could relate this to something contemporary, or at least that is what the artist may call it. This would be Jim’s “Break” why didn’t he film it? Because it’s boring and irrelevant?

Alex Bag's "Untitled Fall '95"

Bag has created "Untitled Fall '95" as a piece specifically to be viewed through video. This performance piece was created in the Fall of 1995, but has been created as the story and rantings of a female student over a course of eight semesters at art school.
Bag's only choice to create this performance piece was to use video. Bag connects made-up time with her stories and feelings about her made-up experiences. Video was the only way for Bag to believably make it seem like the viewer was watching a woman over the course of four years. If this piece had been performed in front of a live audience it would be obvious to the viewer that it was created in a shorter period of time instead of being made over the course of four years.
Bag also speaks directly to the camera, making the viewer feel like she is speaking solely to them, instead of an entire room of people. If bag had performed this live it would not feel as intimate to the viewer and the viewer may get bored. It feels more like a friend telling a story or a one sided conversation than a performance piece. The only practical medium for this project is video.
In this case I feel that the video as a whole is the artwork as opposed to the multiple performances being the piece. The work would not make sense to be performed without video, Bag would have to take frequent breaks to change her costumes and her short video creations in between her speaking would have to be shown to the audience using video.

How Stomping in the Studio relates to video

     Bruce Nauman's stomping in the studio was a private performance pieces that was record on video to show an audience. I find this piece incredibly long and drawn out which you cant do in other mediums; you can't make a photo or a painting drag on for hours.  A part of video that is different from other mediums is the length. I think Nauman is really testing the audience's attention span with this piece. He is posing the question how long can I get people to watch me do arbitrary and repetitive tasks? People will do repetitive task all day long at work and at home but they don't make a performance piece out of these tasks, maybe if they did they wouldn't seem so repetitive. 

    I am always trying to figure out why he made this video. Did someone ask his process and he said stomping in the studio and they refused to believe him, in turn he made a video and they had to believe his tactics. Or is stomping in the studio the way he releases stress and so he thought it would be soothing for others to watch too. 

     The way it is shot makes it look like a surveillance camera, which makes me wonder is he trying to make the viewer feel like a snoop. The camera is an aerial view, in black and white, not the best quality picture and Nauman never acknowledges the camera. These factors make it seem like its a surveillance camera looking in on what artist really do during their studio time. And if this is a artist in his studio does stomping qualify as "work"? Is this a process leading up to something more, and resulting in a tangible art work?

Definition

Performance art is: the deliberate interaction between a person and object and/or other people.  The event/s can be not recorded or recorded by still or movie cameras or by written or verbal recounting by people who saw the event or heard about the event/s.

Performance art is how the artist chooses to physically involve themselves in the exhibition space and how they choose to interact with the audience and how they interact with any other media that contributes to the overall piece. 

Performance Art...

In my opinion, performance art is an act that involves the min, the body, and space. These pieces can be filmed, to document they happened, however, this is only evidence that it actually did happen. Most performance acts are very well planned out by the artist, this is where the mind comes into play. What do they want to do, why are they doing it, what is the message, how will people respond...etc, all of these things come into play. Its like painting and sculpture but your body becomes more involved with it, so sometimes if there are multiple performances they might be different (even if it is just subtle). It is all an act.

Performance Art

I think performance art is putting oneself into their art, turning themselves into a subject for art, interacting with the installation around them, occupying a space in a unique and possibly relatable way.

My Definition of Performance Art

 I think performance art is done with the body in some method. The act that is done by the artist is done with an audience in mind. It can be taped, or live. It can follow a script, be completely random, or have no speech at all just action. 

     But mostly I think performance art tries to convey a message that you can only be done with the body and action. A message that the artists feels cannot be conveyed through painting, drawing, sculpture or a photograph 

Performance Art

Performance art is the actions of an artist viewed by other people. It is when an artist creates art through a set of rules she has made for herself involving physical actions of some kind that may or may not physically involve her. What I mean by this is that the viewer may or may not see her, the viewer may unknowingly or knowingly become the artwork, and/or the piece may only include the artist and the viewer may be just that, the viewer, instead of a participant. In most cases the artist uses her body and voice to create her performance piece and includes a participant of some kind. Props, such as disguises, are also used a lot.

Performance art is expression through the usage of a particular act, whether it be physical or not. 

Definition of Performance Art

My definition of Performance Art is when the artist is the work. The artist constitutes the work. The artist comes up with the space and conceptualizes how to make everything work together. It is the viewers opinion and up to the artist as to what works with what, and why. The artist could strictly be the art piece alone or interact with objects, etc.

Defining Performance Art

You will read Kristine Stiles' introduction to performance art this week, where she catalogs a history and impetus for artists' performances. She offers the following, which outlines the genre in some respects:

The artists who began to use their bodies as the material of visual art repeatedly expressed their goal to bring art practice closer to life in order to increase the experiential immediacy of their work. Their powerful declaration of the body as form and content insisted on the primacy of human subjects over objects.

[Stiles, Kristine. "Performance Art." Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art. Eds. Stiles and Selz. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1996. 679-694.]

Consider the works we have seen so far, the readings for this week, and post your personal working definition of "performance art." Some questions you may have in mind:
-What designates performance art from live theater?
-What role, if any, does mediation play in a definition of performance? Is performance predicated on "liveness"?
-What is the relationship between "originality" and performance? Is each performance unique?
-Does a distinction between public and private have its place in a definition of performance?