Body Art on a Binge (Pre-thoughts on PERFORMA 07)

PERFORMA 07 is the latest of the biennials or international fairs to become part of the steady diet of art on a binge. Taking its moniker from Documenta perhaps, PERFORMA is different in that it’s tightly focused (or at least in jest) on performance art. As scholastic as this may sound, it could prove to be strictly insular and in being so, lose the ambition of the medium itself. For example, there is no strictly painting or sculpture biennial anymore and if there was: How many of us would really care? And if we did – could we find artistic integrity in its overall production, direction and relationship to the reality of contemporary art as an interdisciplinary function?

One can only guess that the idea for such a biennial could have spawned from the lack of full acceptance or integration of performance art in the mainstream contemporary gallery and museum scene. But then again, it was never supposed to be mainstream. As valid as the cause may be, to then charge more than a handful for entrance fees makes it more problematic to truly enjoy the “art” in performance. It puts us in a context of musicals, theater and dance recitals. Are visitors and audience members to judge the artistic worth of a work (that by its very nature is non-commercial) to the amount of money they paid to get in? And if it is treated like a rock show – Do the artists get half the door? I hope so...

In a time where contemporary art is so expensive to buy (in order to enjoy it for more than a few minutes), it’s comforting to know that you can at least visit a gallery without paying an entrance fee. The PERFORMA model seems to be working the other way. And I think that it has some of the artists participating in it thinking in the same way - two to three night performances of the same piece with a matinee for good measure.

I am curious to see if there will be any DIY and guerrilla performance artists taking claim of their medium and staging off-the-cuff works that combat the PERFORMA establishment in the next few weeks. This could be really exciting. If you are (even if you don’t know it yet), please let us know!

The next post will find performances that break the mold of the biennial host. Stay tuned.