Theory states that "performance art can encompass any situation involving four fundamental elements: time, space, the performer's body, and a relationship between the performer and the audience." The roots of performance art can often be traced back to the Dada movement, and it has remained a significant aspect of the twentieth century's artistic landscape. Looking back, one may perceive performance art as a response to the reduction of human existence to mechanical operations, as its primary focus has consistently revolved around the artist's interaction with fellow human beings rather than the objects in their surroundings.
An artist doesn't create another object, such as an art piece, in their situation; instead, they generate an idea or an expression to define their art. In this context, time, space, and the artist's body become essential elements of artistic expression. In contrast, installation art, as per theory, is defined as "the artistic creation in which the artist transforms an area, a situation, or a space using material objects to define the relationship between humans and objects."
In installation art, the artist often considers the viewer's sensory experience over elements like time, space, or the artist's body. To better understand this art form, we can view it in the context of the ongoing mechanization of human life, where the objects of mechanization or contextual interventions have deeply impacted personal human life. As the industrial revolution reduced human capabilities to mere operations, and with the emergence of nanotechnology, questions arise about the "presence of human existence" in a material world that's shrinking to zero size, with even operations becoming increasingly detached from human abilities. Simultaneously, technological innovations like TVs, cell phones, digital cameras, computers, and printing inundate us with countless self-imposing visual images, effectively becoming large installed objects in our human existence.
Given this backdrop, it becomes crucial for art to define its domain clearly. Monumental installations that blow up the microscopic world as a protest against the nano-culture, as currently practiced, are becoming irrelevant, as they are seen as part of the problem itself and do not depict or address the human condition. Additionally, within the complex landscape of human existence in the computer age, where mechanization itself has taken on a life of its own, as seen in the internet and computers, which have direct consequences for human life, relying solely on performing art may not be sufficient to represent or express art in its entirety.
Taking these ideas into consideration, it is time for art to explore new dimensions. One such effort is the fusion of performing art and installation art, known as "performing art installation."
Practice: Performing Art Installation
The challenge in this art form lies in defining, deriving, and expressing the human condition within life and context. Performance may occur in the "absentia" of the performer, symbolizing the elimination of the human race by technology, even at the "operator" level. Meanwhile, digital visual imaging gives the illusion of self-importance. For instance, techniques such as wrapping up the performer or deliberately eliminating the "visibility" of the performer's body have been explored in this art form. Silence serves as the sound, and natural shadows provide the lighting. With each installation, the artist retains the right to derive thematic, artistic, and aesthetic perspectives and meanings. The installation remains open-ended, allowing viewers to interpret it from their own perspectives, even if that means ridiculing the entire performing art installation. In other words, the entire creation should always remain an open-ended ideation, preserving the viewer's prerogative. The complete formation should be free of distracting objects, sounds, and lighting to isolate the objective, relying instead on "conceptual" placements of objects, time, and space (in contrast to non-conceptual objects in traditional installation art).
Concept:
Our silent performance art invites viewers to actively participate. When viewers encounter the installation, they become spectators. Upon pausing with curiosity and inquiry, they become integral to the installation. As they engage with the idea, either by accepting it (becoming witnesses, conscious actors) or rejecting it (still witnesses, but passive actors), they begin enacting the drama by carrying the idea. While artists remain motionless and silent, discussions and judgments occur.
Burn Doors – First Performing Art Installation
Venue:
Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
CEPT University,
Commerce six roads,
Navrangpura,
Ahmedabad.
Date: 02.02.2009
Time: 10.30 am to 6 Pm
Participants: Narendra Raghunath, Hansil Dabhi
Every door beckons us into an enclosure, yet we often find ourselves passing through doors in search of freedom. Behind each door, we encounter a belief, a faith, a culture, a heritage, an ideology, complete with conventions and promises of a brighter tomorrow. Burn doors...
(We extend our sincere gratitude to the Faculty, Mrs. Sharmila Sagara, Mrs. Suchitra Sheth, and Dr. Seema Kanwalkar for their wholehearted support. Their effective pre-installation communication contributed to the success of the show. We thank them for voicing our thoughts to our viewers as we remained silent throughout the day.)
No comments:
Post a Comment