Chapter 3 and 4 Quotes
“We often think of performance as something that manifests in fiction. Here, it usefully allows us to visualize and to act out our dreams, to ‘demonstrate’ our convictions or prefigure our ideals.”
Performance is a beautiful way to demonstrate what something means to you. It allows you to turn what aspirations you value into visible acts. This makes you express your dreams in a way others can see and feel.
“We need symbols, they are a way of making groups, causes, messages, and ideals less abstract, more visible, and easier to convey.”
Symbols play a very important but really crucial role. It helps ease and shape complex ideas as it makes it easier to understand and share. It basically reduces abstract concepts and it creates a sense of unity within an audience.
“Culture is all around. It’s the system of meanings that allows us to understand our world and to communicate this understanding to others.”
Through culture, we develop the ability to show our experiences and communicate those experiences with others. Culture is both the guide and the medium for how we engage with and make sense of life. It's a shared system of meanings that allows us to connect with others on a deeper level.
“We’re taught to believe that artists create things that are new, unique, and absolutely their own. This is not true. Even sitting by themself, isolated in their garrett, the individual artist is never alone.”
Artists are often seen as isolated creators and that they craft their work from their own minds. In reality no artist creates in isolation. They are influenced by the world around them such as the culture, history, other artists, and shared experiences. Even when working alone, an artist carries with them the ideas and inspirations of the society they are part of.
Miss America Pageant Protest (1968)
The Miss America Pageant Protest was an influential piece of feminist protest art by the group New York Radical Women in Atlantic City. While it isn’t traditional artwork, this event is considered a powerful performance piece. The protest protested the objectification of women and the unrealistic beauty standards set up by the pageant. Protestors famously discarded items like bras and high heels into a "Freedom Trash Can" to symbolize separation from oppressive beauty norms. This event also drew attention to the lack of racial diversity within the pageant. It remains a crucial moment in feminist and activist art history.
Bed-In, Yuko Ono/John Lennon (1969)
The Bed-In for Peace by Yoko Ono and John Lennon was a performance art protest against war. It was done twice during their honeymoon in Amsterdam and later in Montreal. The couple spent a week in bed, inviting journalists and visitors to discuss peace instead of participating in traditional media interviews. Their message, “Give Peace a Chance,” was a call for nonviolent activism and global unity. This unusual protest used their celebrity status to challenge societal norms and draw widespread attention to the anti-war movement.
Performance Art Intervention
For my project I wanted to do something that was really personal to me. It includes my passion for the gym and my fitness journey that I am currently still in. 7 months ago, I was in the darkest moment of my life and I let myself go. Personally, I was disgusted by the person that was looking right back at me in the mirror. I went from a 4 year high school basketball player to a lazy person who had no drive or commitment in life. Sooner than later I realized that I had to get my life back on track. That’s when I started going to the gym and from there it became the biggest passion in my life as of right now. It took a lot of commitment, dedication, and discipline. So for my project, I had my friend/gym partner just record some clips of my usual workouts. After each workout, he was given the choice to write something positive or negative on the back of my t-shirt.
Instruction Art - “Words That Can’t Be Seen”
Reflect on who you were before your fitness journey. How does it make you feel?
Start your everyday workout routine
Let your gym partner write anything on the back of your t-shirt, it could be positive or negative. Make sure that you cannot see what's written on your shirt
You are not to be told nor see what’s on the back of your shirt. Keep yourself guessing and focus
After your workout, you may take of the shirt and reveal what was written on the shirt
Reflect on what was written.
Use words to describe the workout and your fitness journey as a whole.
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