Performance Art

For my video project, I decided to show how easy technology has made it for us to communicate with another person in public without actually talking. In the video my brother and I went into Mcdonald's on a Sunday morning when it was really crowded. We arranged it look like we were on a date and everyone around us thought everything was perfectly normal until we started communicating using the computer programs Microsoft Sam (my brothers voice) and Microsoft Anna( my voice). This almost reminded me of online dating in a way. I was really pleased with this project and how it turned out because at first I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. The only thing I was disappointed about was that because of all of the background noice, it is difficult to hear my computer talking throughout  the film. I posted the script that my brother and I used below. I hope you enjoy it!

Taylor: Hi Ryan it’s so good to see you! I have missed you so much!

Ryan: Hi Taylor. I missed you too. How do you like going to school in Tampa?

Taylor: I like it a lot, I just wish that I was going to school a little bit closer to home.

Ryan: Yes. I know what you mean. Me mom and dad miss you around the house.

Taylor: Anyways. How is eighth grade going for you?

Ryan: It is good. It is a lot of work though. But I have a ton of friends.

Taylor: That is so good to hear. What are your plans for the rest of the day?

Ryan: I wanted to go to the movies to see the new movie Due Date with the guy that’s in the movie the hangover.

Taylor: Oh that’s great! I wanted to see that too. Maybe we could go together.

Ryan: Yes. I would love that. I will look up the times and we can figure something out.

Taylor: Perfect.

Ryan: Did you want to get some breakfast?

Taylor: No thank you. I already ate. I just came here to meet with you. You can get some food if you want.

Ryan: I’m okay. I’m so glad that you decided to meet me here. We need to plan another date like this the next time you are home on break.

Taylor: Yes definitely. The next time I’m coming home is December sixteenth and I will be home for a whole month. Isn’t that great

Ryan: Yes that will give us plenty of time to catch up and spend some time together.

Taylor: I know. I can’t wait!

Ryan: Well I have to get going. I will call you later about the movie times.

Taylor: Alright. Take care. I will talk to you soon.

Ryan: Bye.

Taylor: Bye Ryan.

MUSIQUEconcrète:

After learning about concrete music in class, I had a new understanding of the type of music I listen to. Whenever I think of music I think of instruments making the sounds. In this case, concrete music deals with sound, but the sounds are not necessarily made by musical instuments. In concrete music, musicians will make music from just about anything that makes a sound. They do this by producing the sound with an object, recording it, repeating it, and sometimes even playing it backwards. This is how beats are made in most of the music I listen to today.

Concrete music was first developed in the 1940's by Pierre Schaeffer when refering to concrete music he refers to the word jeu, from the verb jouer, which in english means "to play" aka "to enjoy oneself by interacting with one's surroundings", as well as "to operate a musical instrument".

This style of music created by Schaeffer has influenced a series of different artists such as Stockhausen who is known as one of the most important, but controversial electronic musicians. His style is a lot different than the style of other musicians. He recently passed away in 2007.

Leigh Bowery: the male Lady Gaga 1961-1994

Leigh Bowery, walking art, Lady Gaga's inspiration, fashion designer, performance artist..you name it, he's it!

I would have to say that Leigh Bowery is one of my favorite performance artists. He literally does whatever he feels and I like that about him. He has outrageous costumes that he wears just about anywhere and he doesn't care who sees him.

Bowery and two other men Guy Barnes and David Walls were an inseparable trio. They were referred to as "the three kings" and they would all wear outfits designed by Bowery.
After the trio split, Bowery worked as a club promoter at a club called Taboo. Taboo was radical and intense just like Studio54.

Bowery blames his radical sense of style on his insecurities. He would wear large, flashy costumes to exaggerate his size and he would sometime use the costumes to hide behind. Bowery was considered gay, but he did have multiple relationships with women.

"I want to be the Andy Warhol of London"- Leigh Bowery

Interesting Article: Bowery Vs. Gaga http://www.artandculture.com/feature/1842

Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson is a performance artists who uses a combination of her improvised story telling and autotuned music. I really like her single "O Superman". When we first listened to it in class I knew that I was going to like pretty much anything Laurie Anderson created.

When she did her live performance art pieces she used intruments that she created herself to suit her style. For example one of the instruments she created was a tape bow violin that used magnetic tape instead of horse hair. She also created a talking stick that resembled a baton but could  imitate and record a variety of different noises.
Anderson was really great for combining technology and art; electronic music.

Klaus Nomi

Klaus Nomi was born in Germany in 1944. In his early life he worked as an usher at the Deutsche Oper (maybe this later inspired his tuxedo costumes?) After his was done working he would perform opera pieces on stage for the other ushers.

After moving to NY in 1971 Nomi worked as a pastry chef in order to make money while taking singing lessons. His first performance that he came public with in New York was the "New Wave Vaudeville" (1978) which excited the audience to an extent where they were left with  the goosebumps.

Later on, Nomi was known for his unique , "circus" looking style with his pale face, dramatic makeup, and receding hairline. Besides his appearance, he was also known for having the voice of a castrato.

Klaus Nomi was instantly hired by David Bowie to perform as a background singer for Bowie's performance on Saturday Night Live 1979.

Nomi has an interesting style of music. Other than being known for his incredible opera voice that reached unbelievable ranges, he also did various covers of pop art in the 80's.

Nomi unfortunately suffered from AIDs and died due to AIDs complications at the age of 39.
He was one of the first gay celebrities to die of AIDS.

Joseph Beuys 1921-1986

Joseph Beuys grew up during the difficult years of the Nazi era. He witnessed things and took part in others yet his passion and talent in the art field was undeniable. His teachers always complemented on his talent for drawing as well as his musical talents with the piano and cello. Beuys always knew that he had an interest in natural studies and considered a profession in the medical field, but his influence from Wilhelm Lehmbruck's sculptures convinced Beuys to become a sculptor. After returning from war he enrolled himself in the "Monumental Sculpture" program offered at Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. His focuses were balanced between his love of art and his love of nature.

In the 60's Beuys decided to come public with one of his art performances at an art festival that coincided with the 20th anniversary of an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. Beuys was attacked by a group of students and was punched in the face. The picture of Beuy's bleeding face circled the public. In response to this festival, Beuys created “Life Course/ Work Course" which was an idiosyncratic CV. Life Course/ Work Course was a writing that was based on a self-consciously fictionalized document on his life where historical events mingled with metaphorical and mythical speech. As Joseph Beuys may have found himself slightly influenced by the Fluxus movement in his later years, he swiftly moved away from the influences around the time of the late 60's.

I find Joseph Beuys really interesting. I like that he explains his reasoning behind some of his art work; whether it is the covering of objects in felt or his performance art pieces. For example "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare", was known to be one of his most famous performance art pieces. He sat in a gallery with his head covered in honey and gold leaf while whispering information about the pictures on the walls to a dead hare that he cradled in his arms. He is explaining his passion to a dead animal that doesn't understand it. I love his explanation for this piece. It really shows how he combines natural sciences and art. 

“In putting honey on my head I am clearly doing something that has to do with thinking. Human ability is not to produce honey, but to think, to produce ideas. In this way the deathlike character of thinking becomes lifelike again. For honey is undoubtedly a living substance. Human thinking can be lively too. But it can also be intellectualized to a deadly degree, and remain dead, and express its deadliness in, say, the political or pedagogic fields. “Gold and honey indicate a transformation of the head, and therefore, naturally and logically, the brain and our understanding of thought, consciousness and all the other levels necessary to explain pictures to a hare: the warm stool insulated with felt…and the iron sole with the magnet. I had to walk on this sole when I carried the hare round from picture to picture, so along with the strange limp came the clank of iron on the hard stone floor—that was all that broke the silence, since my explanations were mute… “This seems to have been the action that most captured people’s imaginations. On one level this must be because everyone consciously or unconsciously recognizes the problem of explaining things, particularly where art and creative work are concerned, or anything that involves a certain mystery or question. The idea of explaining to an animal conveys a sense of the secrecy of the world and of existence that appeals to the imagination. Then, as I said, even a dead animal preserves more powers of intuition than some human beings with their stubborn rationality. “The problem lies in the word ‘understanding’ and its many levels which cannot be restricted to rational analysis. Imagination, inspiration, and longing all lead people to sense that these other levels also play a part in understanding. This must be the root of reactions to this action, and is why my technique has been to try and seek out the energy points in the human power field, rather than demanding specific knowledge or reactions on then part of the public. I try to bring to light the complexity of creative areas.”

XEROX: Xpress Yourself

Prying

In this 20 minute film, Aconcci fights to try and "pry" open Kathy Dillon's eyes. She puts up one hell of a fight as he tries to restrain her and gain control over her body so he can steadily pull her eyelids apart. In the midst of all this, Kathy appears to be disturbed by whatever Aconcci is trying to show her; whatever it is she clearly does not want to see it. While watching this, the word torture came to mind. I felt like during the performance Acconci was trying to torture Dillon by showing her something terrifying. Putting myself in her shoes, I couldn't imagine having that amount of endurance unless I was being forced to see something that was absolutely going to terrify me. Thinking back on my own experiences, the only time I have shut my eyes that tight, was when I was petrified of seeing something that was going to scare me.

Once Acconci gets her eye lids open, Dillion fixes her eyes in a way where only the whites of her eyes are showing (rolling her pupils in the back of her head, eliminating the part of her eyes that she sees out of). I doubt my idea is even close to the real reason why Acconci was trying to pry her eyes open, but that is what I interpreted from the performance.

Le Tiers Instruit

 "Ecocritics are, in fact, well equipped to play the role of the engaged, global thinker that Serres asserts is needed given today's global environmental crisis. In Le Tiers Instruit (1991), he details the identity of a person who is both scientifically learned ("savant") and well-cultured ("littéraire"). Bridging the gap between the sciences and the humanities, the hybrid intellectual ("le tiers instruit") applies abstract knowledge to real - social and environmental, or more precisely socio-environmental - problems " (Reconstruction 7.2 2007).


In Le Tiers Instuit, Serres discusses people's identities and how they exist within society. It basically destroys the quote "What you see is what you get" because in today’s society people's appearances don't always match what is on the inside. I can see why Orlan chose to read this during her performance. She was altering her appearance to match who she was on the inside. I don't think she’s weird for doing what she did, or what she did was wrong, if it’s a style that you want then you should embrace it! I feel bad that people perceived Orlan as crazy because we live in a society that is judgmental and biased. I hate that in today’s day if one person does something out of the ordinary, then they are considered weird. I find it interesting that Orlan chose to read Le Tiers Instuit as if it were a meditation to help her get through the surgeries.

Links&Art

Today in class we were shown examples of Vienese Aktionists...boy was that bizzare. I don't see why the artists chose to create their performance art in such a vulgar way, but I do understand why it is considered art. These aktionist artists portrayed the necessities of life (eating, drinking, reproducing, and going to the bathroom) in their films and pictures. Not my cup of tea.

On the other hand I happened to find the buttho dances very interesting. They were performed by a group of Japanese men. These men had shaved heads and were painted in ash. All together these men were dressed to take on a deadly appearance and as they performed their dances resembled their memories of what the dying people of Japan looked like after the atomic bomb was dropped. These performances were kind of difficult to watch because I can only image the real images that are left imprinted in the minds of these performers. In the performances their movements are so exact and so realistic that their goal of portraying pain is clearly accomplished.


Kazuo Ohno:
Kazuo Ohno was doing performances at age 93. He had a frail and delicate appearance, yet he wore extreme makeup and a wig when he dressed up as an Onagata. In his performances he moves very sharply with intricate flicks of the wrists and twirls of his hands, both of which are beautiful. I find his facial expressions to be interesting and entertaining. Besides his performances, his pictures are great! Some are simple and elegant, while others are very detailed and leave your eyes wandering to every corner. I really like pictures he is photographed in and I like how in some photos he poses with props. I posted some of my favorites below.

Ko Murobushi:

Ko Murobushi is another choreographer/performer that has interested me. He is known as a recreator of buttoh, with the same idea of a slender body that straddles the line of life in death during his performances. When he moved to Europe in 1974 he started two buttoh companies. The female company was called "Ariadone" with Carlotta Ikeda and the male company was called "Sebi". He shocked audiences with his performances worldwide. I posted one of his performances called "quicksilver" below.  In this video his body is completely painted a metallic silver color. As he moves you can see his form of both muscle and bones. This performance is known to be both entertaining and therapeutic.

quick silver (excerpt)

Fluxus

Fluxus concepts were brought to people attention in the 1950's by John Cage's "experimental music". Cage's works of art later influenced George Maciunas who is known for naming and organizing Fluxus.

Dick Higgins was the man who recognized Fluxus as an actual movement in New York in the 1960s (was later spread to Japan). He also coined the word intermedia which means "between the media". The motifs of Fluxus art are to combined art principles and values while basing the art off of scientific, philosophical, or sociological ideas.  Fluxus artists today try to uproot social, political, and asthetic perceptions through their art.

Important artists that furthered the movement of fluxus were:  Charlotte Mooran, Yoko Ono, Joseph Beuys