A6 - Performance Art

Chris Burden (Shot in the Name of Art)

Blue Man Group 

Pyotr Pavlensky (Sewed Mouth Closed)

I chose these three performance artists because I found that to me they had several qualities in common. When you watch a performance art piece by these men, it arouses a strong first reaction in your mind, and pushes you to really question if what you are watching is truly art. I believe that the fact that their performance can bring you to question and explore their work makes what they do that much more special.

For Chris Burden and Pyotr Pavlensky, I would say that technology is not an essential component to their work, because their most famous performances involve the infliction of pain on the human boy to make a point for their respective pieces. This is one area where the Blue Men Group differs from the other two, with technology being the tool that is most used for their performance art. Science and technology, the use of screens to display information to the audience, and the use of lighting showcases their reliance on technology as a component of their performance art.

I enjoy these performance artists because their art elicits strong emotion and I consider their concepts and execution to be boundary-pushing.

"What is to be done?" 

For me what is to be done in performance art is for creatives to keep generating new, interesting ways to showcase a message important to them, drawing upon pioneers of the past, and keep pushing the boundary of what we as a general public consider to be art.

Artist Statement