Personal-Cultural-Physical.

During 6 hours of french lecture yesterday I found myself narrowing down my topic inch my bloody inch. I have to give up some ideas that really excite me, but this insures a clearer and more focused outline (due in 2 months). It also helps me in terms of research to narrow things down to just performance artists and cut out the Rock Gods and Spanish parts.

Instead I’m focusing on my curiosity in the research on the things that make the greatest contributions to my own plastic (as in plastician) works:

What compels an artist to use their body as a medium? What is that transition? Art Plasticians (as they are referred to here, in France) are not classically trained to use their bodies. There for the traditional response to a work where one views another doing something with their bodies is different. More on that later. For now the research has been narrowed down to 

Joseph Beuys, Matthew Barney, Oleg Kulik, I’ve added Sophie Calle (my french professeurs are going to kiss me for that one!) and I’m searching for others. I have specific yet general criteria, which is actually the beginnings of the outline:

The Personal Aesthetic Vernacular

Each artist mentioned has created a universe of personal symbols/actions most of which come from personal historical references. A sort of Contemporary Surrealism. There is a great sense of repitition and personal branding that comes in their work. It is not work that is easily personal in subject, but is extremely personal in symbol.

The Cultural Signifiers

These symbols and actions which come from personal historical references are (in these cases) linked to the culture of which the artist inhabits. The personal historical relationship allows the artist to both defend, honour, and reminisce the identity of the culture as well as criticise it and bring confrontation, questioning, or observations which trigger the deep values of said culture.

The Medium Relationships

No art plastician who uses their body, does not also use other mediums. This is one large signifier of how the Performance artist is not an actor, and what keeps them tied to their own plastician roots. Often times the actions of making works such as drawings, sculpture, and installation take on such large uses of action that they then become art in themselves. In the case of Joseph Beuys, his constant explanation of his works and conversations with others lead to the actions of lectures and teachings which in return were catalogued through photography, and installation of the remnants of his performances (his famous chalk boards), and very rarely video. However, the work of Matthew Barney uses the sculptures, drawings, and action to make in the end a video product.

CRUDE

Les Methods des artistes de performance cru – The Method of Crude Performance Artists

Below is a small snapshot of the direction of my thesis. It’s nothing cohesive yet, it’s just sort of a ball of raw data that intends to meld into something soon. If you have any thoughts – leave a comment. ;)

Les Questions

what are the motivations of an artist to intigrate the use of their body in their work when they have no training to do so?

 

what are the connections and dissimilarites between the performance artist and the actor?

• how does the relationship to the audience change/not change?

• how is the use of body different/same?
• how does the role of the director change/not change and what is that significance?

what are the cultural implications of the work of the artist and the audience?

• what elements of protest are there? (the male body in performance versus the female body.)

what significance do other forms of medium take on?

• questioning the prop
• questioning the performative elements of the production of solid forms of art

Les Dieux de Rock – The Rock Gods

 

David Bowie revolutionized the expectations of performance in rock music with the creation of character themed albums which allowed him to explore different “voices” at once, giving him the courage to perform and maintain simultaneous isolation, and challenge his creative process.

His method changed the possibilities of how pop music could be delivered on the stage and opened the door for many others.

 

At the same time, Iggy Pop (embued with the title Grandfather of Punk) began to challenge the audience and relationship to the performer by expressing the most raw of emotional responses to his music. His performance methods are not accidental, although that ascpect is an important part of his work.

He is very much an american artist responding to, and challenging  the cultural definitions of lifestyle of his youth. 

The work of Iggy Pop, and his prediscesors, not only gave new options to stage, but to lifestyle as well.  

Les artists de performance – The Performance Artists

The Grandfather of Performance art who redefined concepts of WHO an artist can be, WHAT an artist does, what art can BE, and what PURPOSE art can serve. 

 

Consistant in his identity as JOSEPH BEUYS he was able to redefine CULTURE to include the personal experience.

One of the most contriversial of performance artists is Russian artist Oleg Kulik. Although his work is varied in method and subject, he remains an icon for his performance art which challenges the understanding of humans as animals and systems of government.

One of the most well-known artist of this generation, Matthew Barney explores potential of the body in his work as well as cultural and personal references. His work uses the mixture of modern technologies such as film, while still continuing traditional art methods such as sculpture, drawing, and performance.