Resonance

An interest in the renewal of performance art has arisen in recent years. Resonance shows various performances in which the ideas and strategies of classic performance art can still be found. At the same time, the search for other approaches and new methods is central in them. Resonance is interested first of all in contemporary artists who take the human body as their point of departure for presenting their concepts. For them the body is the instrument par excellence for 'being human' and experiencing, investigating and portraying life.

But what happens when the performance is over? The second line in the exhibition is made up of documentation. The value of photography and video has already often been cited in relation to performance. Rather than having the direct presence of an audience, the artist only shows the audience what he or she wants to show. In this way crucial elements can be spotlighted or augmented. The communal experience of live performance is exchanged for individual experience. In examining documentation, the exhibition at the same time poses the question of to what extent the live element indeed can be seen as the characteristic feature of performance art.

In the live program of Resonance it is precisely the question of communal experience of live performance that is central. Despite the fact that the idealism of the emancipatory/innovative element has disappeared from performance art, this form appears to be able to count on a powerful interest in its renewal. What does contemporary performance look like, how does it differ from its archaic predecessors from the 1960s and 1970s, and how do artists try to win the interest and attention of their audience, who, like the performers themselves, are familiar with the history of performance art?

The performances will take place at various locations, including the Netherlands Media Art Institute and Paradiso. They are being recorded on video, and then will be shown in the exhibition Resonance. With this, the live section seeks to link up smoothly with the performance video installations exhibited.

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Resonance

mit Franko B , Yael Davids, Hayley Newman, L.A. Raeven, Francesca da Rimini, Sterling Ruby, David Still