Thoughts on Performance Art

What is commonly known as ‘performance art’ usually leaves me cold. I found it hard to summon any enthusiasm for the young woman who spent the entire evening of an art exhibition opening inert and covered in earth in an oversized planter; and why Tilda Swinton should be moved to sleep overnight in a glass box in a museum is beyond my comprehension. Or – to give myself the benefit of the doubt – perhaps I DO understand, and simply don’t find it interesting.

There is no doubt, however, that people ARE creating new ways of expression that are dynamic and exciting, yet still highly personal as well as expressive of the time in which we live and of the many new creative tools at the disposal of those who know how to use them.

This video is a perfect example. Is it dance? Martial art? A moveable and ever-changing sculpture?

Surely it’s a mixture of all three, which puts tidy little minds like mine in somewhat of a quandary: What do call it? Will it develop as an art form? How much will it vary from artist to artist?

Only time will tell…

*Listen to Marilyn Lightstone read this text: