Visual Performance 29-31.10

Teching Hsieh and his works get me so deep into the previously mentioned subject of what-is-art. There is no doubt that his one year performances should be included in the definition.

He’s done six major performance projects that make me feel difficult feelings:

1) Staying in a cage for one year without any entertainment or communication with the rest of the world
2) Stamping a timeclock and taking a photo of himself in his studio every hour for one year
3) Staying outdoors in New York for one year, not entering any indoor space or vehicle
4) Being tied to another artist with a 2m rope and not touching each other for one year
5) Not doing, watching, talking about art for one year
6) Doing art for 13 years but never presenting the results to any public audience

The two questions these things raise in me:

a) does a performance need an audience?
A good example is his 13-year plan. Nobody knows what he’s doing. He claims he is doing art but he’s not going to show it to anybody. Nobody is going to witness anything done, but the mere sentence that claims art being born makes the FACT about creating (maybe unexisting) art interesting and therefore art itself. Okay, if nobody knew even this fact, it wouldn’t be a performance. So yes, somebody has to know about it.

b) isn’t any everyday routine or action, when claimed art, simply a very bad performance?
If I state that I shall take a walk in a park today, it will be a really lousy one because nobody is interested in me walking in a park. But if I were to hop on one leg in the park for a week with no rest, some would take interest because of the bizarre movement and a long period of time. Just to see if I can do it.

In his case, the thing is not staying indoors or staying outdoors or being tied to another human being. The catch is the gigantic time lapse that it takes to get to the end of the process. The act of repetition gives a simple gesture great importance. Everybody can do stupid things. But to stay stubborn in the madness is what makes an artist special. To be able to sleep, walk and go shopping for only 45 minutes because then you need to take another photo of yourself. The surrealism of this continuity makes the act of taking a photo bigger and more significant. And interesting, yes.

Art is art when somebody claims it art and somebody takes interest in it?

OK, most of the Visual Performance class was jumping around and feeling the freedom. Fun, but not very educating. Adrian Heathfield is a writer, curator and teacher of performance art. He’s so much into his subject that it makes one envious. But it seemed that the designers weren’t that vain to enjoy the freedom of performing and got tired of playing after the first day.
In the preliminary information we were promised discussion and viewing of the work of (follows a long list of intriguing names). But we ended up mostly analyzing our own feelings when occupying the studio space in one way or another. It felt good, of course. I haven’t spoken to people much lately and saying what comes into my mind is really refreshing once in a while. Feels like the free art classes of the first year. With the difference that I had nothing to say back then.