Performing art- Women in performance art

“Performance is not a difficult concept to us [women]. We’re on stage every moment of our lives. Acting like women. Performance is a declaration of self – who one is…And in performance we found an art from that was young, without the tradition of painting or sculpture. Without the traditions governed by men. The shoe fit, and so, like Cinderella, we ran with it.” –Cheri Gaulke (Fox)

Performance art covers a wide range of actions, however, feminist performance art seems to be aimed at identity and exploration of self much like previous forms of art already discussed. Performance art includes dance to one-woman monologues and interactive art pieces to audio based showings. It creates an immediate connection between the artist and audience.

Meret Oppenheim, Feast

Feminist performance art has become a significant and important part of feminist art. Beginning in the 1950s, public performance art continues throughout today’s society. In 1950, Meret Oppenheim gave a spring feast for a group of friends and “served a banquet on a woman’s nude body. The artist described the piece as follows: ‘it was not just men, not a naked woman for men only, but a fertility rite for women and men” (Fox). The 1970s, during the feminist art movement, brought about some of the most significant performance art pieces of the century. Marina Abramovic was a major contributor during this time period with performances such her Freeing the Voice where she laid on her back with her head tilted back screaming for three hours until she lost her voice and her and Ulay’s Relation in Time where they tied their hair together and sat motionless for 16 hours.

Marina Abramovic, Freeing the Voice

One of the most significant aspects about performance art is the immediate connection the viewer makes with the artist and the emotional impact the viewer often feels. Often times, performances evoke some kind of emotion, which the artist can use as a form of conscious raising and awareness. As with feminist performance art, the artists’ identity in relation to gender, society, and patriarchy are often the main theme of the piece.

Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Relation in Time

Personally, I feel performance art is incredibly effective in feminism primarily because of the reason already stated, that it connects the viewer and artist in a very emotional way. The performance can easily make the viewer feel sad, confused, angry, happy, and an array of other feelings, which will ultimately impact the way the viewer understands and further relates to the artist. Performance is also an important representation of the artist’s identity in the context of society.

Performance art also speaks to the everyday performances we enact in society to follow culturally sanctioned norms and traditions. Performance art is simply a premeditated conscious act while performing gender norms are engrained into us and we enact them in an unconscious form. With that said, Performance art, and in particular feminist performance, has the ability to consciously bend and twist society’s perception of acceptable behavior. By doing performing actions one would not ‘normally’ see, the viewer often feels uncomfortable and uneasy. Nevertheless, this adds the effectiveness of the art because it grabs their attentions and forces them to think about situations of conditions not previously understood.

How does feminist performance art fit into the feminist movement? And how can it be understood in terms of identity?

Fox, Oriana, “body tracks.” N.P. 2010. Web..

Images from:

http://bodytracks.org