Curators and reperformances
Autor: Carolina Falcão | Publicado: 2012-05-11T15:23:00+01:00


&nbsp;on: http://curatorsintl.org/journal/performance_and_reperformance

&nbsp;

Performance and Reperformance


 
   By Mariana Azevedo, Sakina Namazi, Shannon Ryan, Keeli Shaw
   on November 1, 2011
 
 
   
     Posted in Dispatch
   
 


Marina Abramovic, The House with the Ocean View (2002), Sean Kelly Gallery.


 As an artistic classification, the 
term ‘performance art’ is fairly contentious within the contemporary art
 world. Over the past 40 years, the artistic practice has evolved to 
encompass myriad forms and titles in an attempt to adequately categorize
 the genre. Artists, curators and scholars readily agree there are 
historical sub-movements within the genre, such as body art, live art, 
etc., but the term ‘performance art’ has been largely accepted as the 
definitive term and subsequently integrated within both art historical 
and popular discourse.&nbsp; Some argue the classification of ‘performative’ 
is misleading and antithetical to the conceptual basis of most works 
done in the 1960’s and 70’s.&nbsp; The term portends theatricality and 
therefore misconstrues or alters the intentions of the work because of 
the association with entertainment.&nbsp; 


So it is easy to imagine the contention and debate brought to the 
forefront of the art world when performance artworks made in the 1960’s 
and 70’s - when performance art really took off as an artistic practice -
 was featured within the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Museum of 
Modern Art in 2005 and 2010, respectively. The Guggenheim’s “Seven Easy 
Pieces” (2005) featured works by artists such as Joseph Beuys, Gina Pane
 and Vito Acconci.&nbsp; Intriguingly, these seminal works did not feature 
the original artist but rather were performed by another, an artistic 
contemporary who has proclaimed her intentions to take control of the 
genre: Marina Abramovic.&nbsp; She is responsible for coining the phrase 
‘reperformance’ and much debate has occurred over the validity of the 
term, especially considering the debate regarding the antecedent term 
‘performance.’ 
After MoMA’s “The Artist is Present” (2010), 
discourse surrounding the classification, considerations and contextual 
underpinnings of performance art received greater attention and the 
controversy intensified.&nbsp; The issue, then, becomes whether implications 
arise when the same artist performs a work outside of its original 
context, or an artist performs the work of another. Are there acceptable
 situations or contexts with which the re-performance can be considered?


We believe that Re-performance is a pertinent subject that warrants 
further discussion; artists, institutions, curators and media are 
frequently bringing this theme to light, and debating about how to 
address this issue, especially how to re-create work without wounding 
the essence of the masterpiece. 


Instead of having just one guest addressing the subject-matter, we 
concluded that it would be interesting to have different voices talking 
about this. We then decided to publish an open call on the ICI website 
asking people to submit their essays, articles and ideas around the 
Re-performance theme. The three submissions included offer diverse and 
relevant points of view on Re-performance.



Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Imponderabilia (1977).



Marina Abramovic, Imponderabilia Re-performance at Museum of Modern Art (2010).