The Formulation of Performance Art (Or How to Take Apart Reality)

In this article I attempt to trace the path of my artistic research, which began from the application of schizoanalysis in performance and which now explores the possible limits of thought in order to regard how performance thinks in specifically different ways from discursive forms of thought, such as philosophy. The main argument starts from the notion – borrowed from French thinker, François Laruelle - that philosophical thought does not tell us more about the Real than any other gestures of thought. I begin from a speculative relationship between the apparatus of cognitive capitalism. I conclude by superpositioning the post-humanist thought of Laruelle and Karen Barad with the concept of ‘non-standard’ performance as fictioning. As a whole, the article aims to propose a performative approach to artistic research in these terms.

Tarih Kültür ve Sanat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2018

The 20th century is marked by colossal progress not only in science and technology, but also in art. Since the first half of 20th century there has been a gap observed between traditional and modern art. Modern art includes a variety of forums, biennale, museums of contemporary art, art space, etc. To date, performance is called all sorts of shows taking part in front of viewers. This can include the newfangled music shows, and various installations in museums, DJs sets in clubs and music festivals. Today, this art does not lag behind the rapidly developing communication industry, and at the same time resists the impact of technologies that help to distance people from each other. Performance, in spite of insufficient knowledge, is a popular type of contemporary art. Thus, the performance is introduced into the modern society, leaving behind itself food for reflection. The paper is of interest to researchers of contemporary art and the evolution of cultural phenomena in the 20th century. The work is based on a combination of historical methods, including historical-genetic and historical-comparative.

This dissertation investigates the element of Ritual, apparent in a wide variety of performance pieces, dating back to the earliest forms of performance art, and essentially its relationship to the performative process. Significant sociopolitical, cultural and scholarly developments, since the 19th century, are outlined, with emphasis on their influence on perceptions towards the ceremonial/behavioural aspect of religion and the revived interest in ritual and anthropology, leading up to contemporary scholarship and work. Ritual and performance is, hence, explored, in relation to social change, emergent from contexts of societal crisis, as well as personal growth and the pursuit of spirituality. Significant elements such as time and space, as well as the use of the body, is further considered, both in terms of ritual and artistic process, revealing correlations between art and religion. Finally, this dissertation looks at ritual and performance as transformative processes and enquires into where the line is drawn between the two and the extents to which there is in fact a distinction.

2020

This research explores the conflicts that emerge when applying recording and registration practices to performance art. Although the ephemerality of the actions is perceived as essential for this art genre, museum professionals and artists are often not in favor of the disappearance of all aspects of these artworks. The case studies in this article demonstrate that the ephemerality of the original performance artwork becomes even more considered when the performativity of the action is preserved through specific forms of fragmented documentation. This enables the survival and continuation of a performance artwork’s activating character, the embodied experience evoked, the work’s contingent meanings, and its continuous reinterpretations, such as through re-enactments. Keywords: Performance art. Documentation. Ephemerality. Performativity. Re-enactment.

Art Inqiuiry, 2019

The article attempts to discuss some aspects of the impact of performance on the conceptual distinctions concerning art. This issue is very broad, which is why the starting point is the achievements of performers from the 1970s, when the concern with the theoretical context was particularly visible. At the beginning, the views of the participants of the international conference I am organized in Warsaw in 1978 are analyzed, and later texts by Rosalind Krauss and Anne M. Wagner, referring to various activities of Vito Acconci. The article concludes with an attempt to confront the theoretical consequences of sculptures and performances by Robert Morris. Contemporary attempts at confronting artistic fields may evoke associations with the Renaissance concept of art competition (paragon), but they have a different purpose. The current situation of art is characterized by its indeterminacy. It escapes generalized approaches. However, I believe that an analysis of partial analogies and differences may prove to be an important justification for maintaining the concept of 'art'.

Theatrical Colloquia, 2019

This article examines the relationship between performing arts, the multidisciplinary aspect of them, thereafter seeking to address a few similarities and differences in approaching a live performance. The confluence between ballet, theatre and opera is obvious and a brief overview of the main interlaced stages in the development of performing arts will also prove that they have always been related and dependant on one another. Every performing art crosses its boundaries and not only does it explore issues or topics specific to the other arts, but it also uses their tools. Thus, this article integrates a few contemporary tendencies of intersection in performing arts, mainly the pervasive presence of ballet and theatre. Subsequently, in considering live performance, the impact on the audience is also assessed, as well as the harmony of perception created between the performer and the public. Further on, the paradigm development in performing arts is determined due to the augmenting o...

AVANT. The Journal of the Philosophical-Interdisciplinary Vanguard, 2014

David Davies's Philosophy of the Performing Arts is a great and informative book, written in a remarkably clear style, definitely worth recommending this to both professionals and graduate students, since reading it requires background knowledge. Accordingly, in his book, following the recent interests of philosophical aesthetics in the philosophy arts, Davies provides the reader with a throughout discussion of artistic performances that are considered as artworks in their own right. Such approach is thus distinctive from the framework of so-called "Classical Paradigm" (discussed in Part I of the book, see below), based on the assumption that classical music provides us with a model for performing arts as a whole. The author establishes the framework for further explorations (Part II), while bringing our disanalogies between performances of classical music and various other kinds of artistic performances. Thus, in his book Davies aims to identify, explore, clarify and account on the range of philosophical questions arising when one reflects on the nature of performing arts and our involvement with it. Chapter 1 focuses on the nature of artistic performance as such, while aimimg to distinguish performance from mere action. Here Davies draws on the classical works of Beardsley (1982) or Dickie (1974) and others, while

What exactly do we mean when, in the contemporary performing arts, the word ritual is pronounced? I argue that, although one main concept of theatrical ritualism is currently activated, the history of twentieth-century theatre offers at least two alternative notions that were less succesful at establishing themselves. The dominant notion may be termed 'hot' ritual, and is chie y inspired by the writings of Antonin Artaud. The rst alternative notion will be termed 'minimalist' ritual (strongly related to the Fluxus movement and happening art), the second 'liturgical.' Conspicuously, the theatrical-liturgical efforts of the interbellum period transmitted no legacy to post-war European theatre.