Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Performance Art at the Whitney Museum

                Visiting the exhibition called, "Rituals of Rented Island" in the Whitney Museum was definitely a new way that I have experienced artwork before. Each piece of artwork took place in the place, as a temporal art form, performance art can only be recorded through photographs, film, props, and other ephemera from the actual performance. Since the intended object that is presented to the viewer as art not longer exists as the artist fully intended, I felt that the pieces that included a film of the actual performance or a mimicking of the actions in the performance, were the most substantial and impactful to me and relayed the artist's message most faithfully.
                The first piece that had an impact on me was Michael Smith's "Baby Ikki". This piece is a television screen featuring a collection of videos with Smith dressed up as if he was a toddler, quite an interesting contradiction of size and body features. Smith would seemingly transform into a toddler, reenacting many things a typical child would do. Using exaggerated hand and arm motions, hitting, stomping, and grunting or yelling; Smith would take on the role of this toddler and never break character. He performed this on the streets on New York City, in front of skyscrapers, and in a park, any place that was seemingly public and/or well established as a business place where many serious adults would gather or travel through. This is seemingly a commentary on the social structure of the city, and by positioning a large man behaving like a toddler in these public areas where many other adults are, I believe he is creating a satirical work on the definition of being an adult in New York City.
                I next moved on to the Kipper Kids comedic routine called "The Kitchen". This performance piece was much like a play, performed many times with almost identical scripts, so that each showing of this title was very similar to the last. The Kipper Kids were a comedic duo who dressed up with quite interesting costumes. They wore half-face masks with exaggerated noses, a lot of makeup, and drawn on beards. The performance was quite wacky, and had scenes of utter obnoxiousness and vulgar behavior. This is reminiscent of "The Three Stooges" show, with each man playing pranks on the other, but in carefree and comedic way. The ephemera of this performance was substantial, including the actual boxing ring they performed in, with many props and clothing from their shows set on the table beside the large ring. The photographs and one film of such performances actually brought me into that audience, as if I was watching it for the first time.
                The last projects that resonated with me was Vito Acconci's "Proximity Piece" collection of personal space violation performance art. This collection included still photographs of Acconci performing his act, which was his intentional violation of a stranger's personal space in a rather formal and public setting such as the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I felt that there was not enough pictorial evidence of the actual event[s], but the purpose of the project resonated with me. I enjoyed the concept of the intentional invasion of personal space, and was intrigued to find out what kind of reaction this performance would garner from its 'victims'. I feel that Acconci was attempting to comment on the almost silly idea of personal space, it is not something purely definable. One person might not pay any mind to someone standing shoulder to shoulder with you, and another will be uncomfortable if you stand even one foot away. The notion of personal space is extremely subjective and I believe Acconci was attempting to emphasize that.
                Each piece said something different to me, and I believe I was indeed more affected by the pieces that included film along with other ephemera that had the most impact on me. It is obvious to me now, that I would have enjoyed to see these pieces live and in person in order to more fully appreciate them. Just like the difference between seeing a photograph of a painting and viewing the actual paint and canvas, the film or ephemera cannot compare to the 'real thing', the actually experience of the artwork as the artist intended it to be seen.


Michael Smith
"Baby Ikki"
Video
1979

Kipper Kids 
(Martin Rochus Sebastian von Haselberg and Brian Routh)
"The Kitchen"
Video
1979

Vito Aconcci
"Proximity Piece" 
Photographs 
1970

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