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?
notes for myself incase I forget when it comes time to blogg
ReplyDeletePhelen has an ideal of perfromance that it would not be copied documented and turned into a commodity, (feminist ideal is to not be objectified and treated like a commodity)
b/c it is an ideal and doesn't exist, sh as to find pieces of performance in other mediums
ex. lorna simpson what every she had to do and perform to insight the tone of the photo