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27 October 2019

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I started preparing for my thesis and am very exci

I started preparing for my thesis and am very excited about the subject: documenting and preserving performance art and how this material can be 'reactivated'. Reactivation in the sense of re-experiencing the documentation. Such as exhibiting/presenting in a physical or online space, through reenactment or (art-historical) research.

It's a great subject because it has all kinds of sides and angles. The artist deciding what to use to create the performance, how it is documented, and what is saved. Museums acquiring, archiving and conserving performance work. The different audiences, such as one audience seeing the performance live and another knowing only the documentation. Then, last but not least, art historical research into the documentation of performance art is also subject to all kinds of discussions.

Interestingly, the line between performance and its documentation is quite vague, while it is often pretended to be two different things. Besides, the subject touches upon questions about presenting/exhibiting other ephemeral art forms or artistic research.

In the coming period, I will mainly focus on making a research outline. Which is, of course, the necessary first step to define my research question. I still have a lot of reading to do… Wish me luck!

#thesis #performance #performanceart #documentation #reactivation #reexperiencing #exhibiting #presenting #ephemeral #art #reenactment #arthistorical #research #artist #museum #museums #conservation #archive #artaudience #artisticresearch #arthistory #curatorialstudies #peggyphelan #anidayoeuali #taniabruguera #pussyriot #ArtMustGrow

📸 1) Peggy Phelan, Unmarked: The Politics of Performance (ed. Psychology Press, 1993) 2) Anida Yoeu Ali, White Mother #1, Concourse, 2014. Courtesy Studio Revolt and Gajah Gallery. 3) Tania Bruguera, Tatlin’s Whisper #5 2008. Performed as part of UBS Openings: Live – The Living Currency, Tate Modern, 26–7 January 2008. Photo © Tate © Tania Bruguera. 4) Pussy Riot performing in Red Square, Moscow, in 2012. The feminist protest group’s new song is a shot at Russia’s prosecutor-general. © Denis Sinyakov/REUTERS.

Recently, I wrote a paper based on this work by Is

Recently, I wrote a paper based on this work by Isa Genzken (Bad Oldesloe, 1948) to talk about various topics, like the concept of materiality, representation and identity. I’m intrigued by the way she also incorporates herself in her work. At one point, she even describes how she is part of the work herself, reaching out to the viewer. It is when I realized that sculpture, too, can be performative.

The figures in the ‘Schauspieler’ series also regularly wear the clothes of the artist herself. Jeffrey Grove calls it a ‘powerful act of autobiography’ and affirms that Genzken ‘continues to dissolve the boundaries between the artist’s practice and her body.’ Leaving us with questions like: ‘Who is the author, and who is the subject? Who is the artist, and who is the model?’

#IsaGenzken #Schauspieler #Actors #materiality #representation #identity #performative #sculpture #installation #performativesculpture #contemporaryart #autobiography #artisticpractice #body #author #subject #artist #model #greatwomenartists #greatwomanartist #ArtMustGrow

📸 1 and 2) Isa Genzken, Schauspieler (Actors), 2016. Installation: 9 mannequins, mixed media, fabric, leather, wigs, lacquer, tape, wooden stool, glass. Dimensions variable. © Isa Genzken. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Nick Ash. 3) Portrait: Isa Genzken in her studio in Berlin, 2003 by Albrecht Fuchs.

Students and alumni regularly admit that they know

Students and alumni regularly admit that they know little of art by women, LGBTQ+ people, or artists of colour. Are our education system and how Western art history has been formed to blame? And, more importantly, that the canon is followed indiscriminately? Anyway, I still feel this gaping hole in my knowledge and am working hard to close it.

Why?

Never have there been such a diverse crowd studying art––as makers and theorists. As a teacher, I try to ask myself whether the examples I give in class or during a studio visit can also be another, more inclusive, one. Asking myself if the students’ needs are reflected in what I offer. I also realise that what I understand as “good art” is formed by my frame of reference. My aim is to create a learning environment where every student feels included, valued, and encouraged––this also means educating myself all the time (and learning from my mistakes).

Because representation matters.

Read Linda Nochlin's essay 'Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?', Judith Butler's 'Gender Trouble' and 'The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators' by bell hooks.

This is is just a small selection… Do you have tips on what to read? Love to hear them!

#LindaNochlin #JudithButler #bellhooks #GuerrillaGirls #ZaneleMuholi #NanGoldin #womensart #lgbtart #lgbtq+ #queerart #artstudent #artteacher #gender #inclusion #representation #inclusion #arteducation #decanonising #arthistory #visualarts #urgentmatters #ArtMustGrow

📸 1) Guerrilla Girls © www.guerrillagirls.com 2) Cover of the 50th anniversary re-issue of Linda Nochlin's seminal essay 3) Zanele Muholi's Busi Sigasa, Braamfontein, Johannesburg (2006) © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist and Stevenson and Yancey Richardson. 4) Nan Goldin, Jimmy Paulette and Tabboo! in the bathroom, NYC (1991) © Nan Goldin.

The art that currently impresses me most is undoub

The art that currently impresses me most is undoubtedly by Otobong Nkanga–I am a huge fan. It is layered, spiritual, intelligent and as contemporary as you can get.

Otobong Nkanga is a visual artist and performance artist with an artistic practice spanning nearly two decades. Her multidisciplinary approach encompasses drawing, photography, installation, video and performance, and focuses on the relationship between environment, architecture and history.

Nkanga asks questions about the historical structure of a place, both physical and metaphysical. She often refers to the various objects and elements in her work as constellations. Constellations are imaginary patterns or diagrams to map the intersections of nature, politics, colonialist economies and diverse geographies and histories. (This text is partly from her website.)

Also check out Nkanga's performance at the Performance Room of BMW Tate Live (search for it, it's incredible.)

Otobong Nkanga is born in 1974 in Kano, Nigeria and lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.

📸 1) Otobong Nkanga, Diaoptasia, 2015, film still. Courtesy: the artist 2) Otobong Nkanga, Taste of a Stone I–II, 2010, installation view, Nottingham Contemporary. Courtesy: the artist.

#OtobongNkanga #ContemporaryArt #Art #VisualArt #PerformanceArt #Drawing #Photography #InstallationArt #VideoArt #Environment #Architecture #History #Place #Colonialism #ArtMustGrow #CuratorialStudies #ArtHistory

Cindy Nemser, advocate for women artists, died on

Cindy Nemser, advocate for women artists, died on Jan. 26 at her home in Brooklyn. Without her work (and that of many other women writers and art historians) there would be no basis for my academic research. But her continuous commitment also meant a lot for women artists. She once said: “I felt I had to help win back for women artists their rightful place at the forefront of art history.”

Nemser was one of the founders of The Feminist Art Journal in 1972. Another important work was ‘Art Talk’, a 1975 book with interviews with a dozen female artists, including Alice Neel, Lee Krasner, Barbara Hepworth, Louise Nevelson and Eva Hesse. The book was reissued in 1996. “Cindy Nemser has added to our understanding of how, why and under what circumstances women make art.” (Marcia Tucker, founder of the New Museum).

Nemser wrote on her website: “Since ‘Art Talk’ was published, I am gratified to see that attitudes toward the accomplishments of women artists (...) have altered drastically for the better. However, the statistics still reveal that women artists are not exhibited in equal numbers to their male colleagues nor are their opportunities for career advancement nearly as plentiful as those for men. Moreover, women artists have not as yet been fully integrated into twentieth-century art historical texts.”

I agree that especially within art history, there is still a lot to do. Thank you, Cindy Nemser, for your commitment and hard work.

http://www.cindynemser.com

#CindyNemser #Nemser #ArtTalk #FeministArtJournal #Feminism #ArtHistory #Research #WomenArtists #WomenArtHistorians #AliceNeel #LeeKrasner #BarbaraHepworth #LouiseNevelson #EvaHesse #ArtMustGrow

A good friend (@boekencurator) pointed me to the D

A good friend (@boekencurator) pointed me to the Dutch translation (and the offer on Boekenkraam) of this book. The introduction also seems to be very good, but I started with the story.

Leonora Carrington wrote, painted and sculpted and is now considered one of the greatest surrealist artists. As a 19-year-old art student, she met artist Max Ernst in 1937. They fell in love, and Carrington followed Ernst to Paris. Not much later they settled in the Provence. In May 1940, the Nazi's occupied France, and Ernst was arrested and imprisoned in a concentration camp. This event shattered her life. Friends helped her flee to Spain, where she was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric institution after her family's intervention. In 'Beneden' ('Down Below') Carrington takes you into her world where the boundaries between madness and reality are repeatedly crossed – a candid, painful and personal account. It offers us a chilling glimpse into psychosis and how people dealt with mental illness and the cruel treatment thereof.

For those interested: the documentary Leonora Carrington - The Lost Surrealist can be found on Youtube. Book and documentary highly recommended.

#LeonoraCarrington #Surrealist #artist #writer #novel #Beneden #DownBelow #mentalillnes #psychosis #greatwomenartists #womanartist #art #modernart #surrealism #MaxErnst #ArtMustGrow

For the next few weeks, I will be conquering the f

For the next few weeks, I will be conquering the fear of missing out and spending my time connecting differently with the world. Wishing you a warm holiday season and may your new year be filled with peace, good health and happiness. Keep shining y’all!

#Weltinnenraum #YokoOno #RainerMariaRilke #Rilke #Grapefruit #Instructions #Piece #1964 #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #ContemporaryArt #SocialMediaBreak #Peace #Love #Health #Happiness #KeepShining #SeeYouLater #ArtMustGrow

At the moment, you can watch the documentary film

At the moment, you can watch the documentary film Body of Truth on the Dutch channel Doc2.nl. This film by Evelyn Schels is about how art relates to violence, war, pain and oppression. Based on the life and work of four artists: Marina Abramovic, Sigalit Landau, Shirin Neshat and Katharina Sieverding. What does using their own body in their work mean to them?

#documentary #film #EvelynSchels #MarinaAbramovic #SigalitLandau #ShirinNeshat #KatharinaSieverding #contemporaryart #art #body #violence #politicalart #thebodyispolitical #bodyoftruth #femalebody #artmustgrow #curatorialstudies #arthistory #herstory #feminist #womenartists #womanartist

📸 1) Sigalit Landau, DeadSea, 2005. (Purchase, Dov and Rachel Gottesman Fund, Tel Aviv and Geneva, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Photo © Sigalit Landau, courtesy of the artist) 2) Shirin Neshat, Untitled, from the series Women of Allah, 1996. (Photo ©Shirin Neshat, courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels) 3) Katharina Sieverding, Testcut 11, 2012. 4) Marina Abramovic Star (from the portfolio ‘Dear Stieglitz’) 1994. (© Marina Abramovic. Courtesy of Marina Abramovic and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. DACS 2018.)

Finally acquired my own copy of this interesting b

Finally acquired my own copy of this interesting book. It definitely made me look at performance documentation differently. Philip Auslander not only investigates what documentation is but also convinced me that the boundary between live performance and documentation is not as straightforward as we usually think. But mostly his ideas about how we reactivate a live event through its documentation are fascinating. He sees the documentation not merely as a secondary iteration of the original event, but as a way of giving us meaningful access to the performance itself as an artistic work. Moreover, it takes into account that most people experience a performance from its documentation. It includes some great examples too, which makes the book even more accessible.

#PhilipAuslander #WalterBenjamin #CaroleeSchneemann #VitoAcconci #YvesKlein #performance #performanceart #art #contemporaryart #performancedocumentation #documentation #Reactivations #studying #worthreading #curatorialstudies #MAarthistory #artmustgrow

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