Seminal (or Germinal) Performance Pieces

by   Posted on February 22, 2010 in Contemporary Art Issues & Images  and tagged , , , , ,

“I assume the senses crave sources of maximum information,” wrote Carolee Schneeman in “The Notebooks (1962-63)” in More Than Meat Joy.  The carnal richness and frenzy of Meat Joy (which we watched at the beginning of our last class) offers a counterpoint to the formal concerns of minimalist artists and the cerebral concerns of conceptual artists, who equally contributed to the artistic climate of the 1960’s and 1970’s. meatjoy

Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch conceived of an art of Dionysian fervor seven years before the Schneeman piece; he founded the Orgies Mysteries Theater in 1957. This film clip, an excerpt from Das Orgien Mysterien Theater. Day 3: Day of Dionysus, is from his 100th performance which took place in 1998.  Nitsch intends the work to be life affirming, ecstatic, all-embracing festival of life. In this piece, all are to be intoxicated and to partake of the slaughter of a pig.  Nitsch describes in detail, “GRAPES, FRUIT and TOMATOES, ANIMAL LUNGS, FLESH and INTESTINES are trampled on in ecstasy. People trample in SLAUGHTERED ANIMAL CARCASSES FILLED WITH INTESTINES, in troughs full of blood and wine.  He wanted to excite the senses into metaphysical ecstasy, drawing on themes from Greek tragedy.[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/BK_0ONL17SE" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /] nitsch

Less orgiastic,but no less sensual, are the works of Vito Acconci and Karen Finley. vito_acconci_seedbed_1972FinleyWeKeepOurVictimsReadyIn Acconci’s 1972 piece, Seedbed, he maturbated for 8 hours every day under the floor of the gallery with visitors to the gallery able to talk to him from an opening in the floor. Seedbed (the ultimate “seminal” performance piece), can be viewed on ubuweb.com; simply follow the link above.

Karen Finley’s work focuses on feminist issues with her portrayals of violence against and objectification of women. Following is Finley performing “Enter Entrepreneur” on Mondo New York in 1988. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ck89kh2vht8" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

The substance – beyond the sensational and shocking aspects of these works – lies in the multi-sensory experience these artists create. The idea that visual art can engage more than the single sense of sight divorced from the other senses (namely touch) is something Mark Rothko discusses in The Artist’s Reality.  Across all media, this is a common artistic concern – whether the work should be purely visual or involve the tactile, auditory, etc.

No discussion of performance art would be complete without a look at the work of Marina Abramović.  She briefly discusses her work in the following clip. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/UODaRxt8Zuw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /] “Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present,” a retrospective of nearly 50 of her works will open at the Museum of Modern Art next month (March 14 - May 31, 2010).



One Response

  1. These performances pieces seem somewhat depraved for my taste, and I’m curious to know how animal rights activists felt about Nitsch’s piece. It was hard to not show a face of disgust when watching the excerpt, and that, to me, causes a failure in reaching a metaphysical ectasy because I associate ectasy with joy.
    I only see depravity in “Seedbed”. While Acconci is certainly in touch with himself, what’s so novel about knowing that who you’re talking about through a peephole is jacking off?

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