Group Two- Performance and Video

Our group read "Performance, Video, and Trouble in the Home" by Kathy O'Dell and "Untitled" by Joan Jonas. In addition to exploring some of the concepts that O'Dell talks about and using "Untitled" as a reference, we are also going to explore other kinds of performance, including group, individual, and gestural performance.

In "Performance, Video, and Trouble in the Home", there are four major concepts that O'Dell talks about: body function, the mirror stage, performative video versus traditional performance, and how the video relates to domestic spaces.

Body Function:
In performance, the body functions as a chief medium through which the audience identifies with the artist. This can be seen in Vito Acconci's, "Claim". In this piece, the audience first sees Acconci through a monitor, as he is blindfolded and swinging a bat, repeating phrases systematically.

The Mirror Stage:
In video, screens and mirrors act as a disjunctive element to the performer. That degree of separation keeps the viewer from being able to completely identify with the artist. In "Claim", the viewer sees the representation of Acconci first, then is able to be in the same room as him, but since he was already initially perceived on the screen, his actual body becomes the representation, whereas the screen is the presentation.

Performance video vs traditional performance:
Traditional is the presentation of a performance and video is the representation, meaning it can be shown exactly the same again and again while traditional has one run through and each other showing will differ.

Domestic Spaces:
Video art naturally tends towards domestic ideas. The creation of video work is usually done indoors and at home for most artists. This familiar location and inhabited space lends to the idea of domestic space. Domestic environments and video become intertwined when the video is displayed. The presence of a television creates a home environment. It calls ideas of rest, relaxation, and comfort. When televisions are located in a gallery then this concept can be confused. The space of a gallery is abstract and alternative to a home environment yet the video evokes these ideas.

Links and Artists to look at:

Vito Acconci
http://www.ubu.com/film/acconci.html
Claim excerpt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_8SMBSnoh8


Stelarc
http://www.stelarc.va.com.au/
The Body is Obsolete:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OKEfJRe4uys&feature=related
"Exoskeleton":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yuzGraK_ldI&feature=related


Miranda July
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DAUx8-UJ3fE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JAb4kGDhyVo


Paul McCarthy
http://www.ubu.com/film/mccarthy.html


Chris Burden
http://www.ubu.com/film/burden.html

Pipilotti Rist
http://www.ubu.com/film/rist.html

Dan Graham
Mirror Stage example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl4QBpR9vfI&feature=related
Sound from Performer/Audience/Mirror
http://ubu.artmob.ca/sound/graham_dan/Graham-Dan_Performer-Audience-Mirror.mp3
http://www.ubu.com/sound/graham.html


Performance Collectives

Type Explosion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27HnzOI4NWk

Vegetable Orchestra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpfYt7vRHuY

Flux Factory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_oi_qLlTcE

Forcefield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zexzRKCTVU



Lindsay Knauff, Lauren D'Apuzzo, Karen Cipes, Ben Ketnick

Group One-The Medium Is The Message Presentation

Our group read both Understanding Media by Martha McLuchan and Video: Shedding the Utopian Moment by Martha Rosler here is a brief summery of some of the ideas that were mentioned in the essays.

*video was not completely accepted by the art establishment because of it's use of technology
*The masses did not consider video to be an art form because associated it with TV which they saw only as a means of transferring information.
*Video art was then welcomed into the fine art world which in the process destroyed the movement
*Eventually the people creating 'anti-art' become just as much a part of art as actual artists.
*There is an inevitable assimilation between avant-garde movements and legitimate art
*Video art began to be excepted into the art world at the time that video artists began experimenting with the idea of capabilities of the camcorder, the form and use of the television set, and so on, rather then simply using the medium as a means of protest or mockery.
*The art establishment had also tried to shape the perceived history of video by elevating artist Nam Jun Paik
      *Nam Jan Paik was often affiliated with the Avant-Garde. As with many early video artists, he attempted to erase the distinction between fine art and everyday life.

*MuLuhan says that a "message" is the change of scale or pace or pattern that a new invention or innovation introduces into human affairs
*The medium is anything that is an extension of ourselves
*Anything that allows us to do more then our bodies could do alone
*Also anything from which change emerges
*The message of television could be the sudden burst of imformation easiy sent thoughout the world, it could be the need to constantly have a stimulus, as a result of being exposed to television. It could be a lack of communication within famlies as they now rely on television to keep them entertained while they are at home.
*The message of video could be the new ability of society to view themselves and the world through the lens of the camera, which changes there perception of the world.

Some important artists that relate to these essays:

Nam June Paik

Peter Campus

Richard Serra

Jan Dibbets