Performance Art is Refined Conceptual Art

artwork by Jaina Cipriano

When we discuss notions of conceptual art, some may say all art can be described as conceptual, however, how true can such a statement be taken? In reality, conceptual art only applies to works which have an expression beyond aesthetics, representation, or functionality. Performance art, with a sense of anarchistic tendencies, does not rely on a direct narrative or storyline in order to express ideas. By using the human figure, performance reinterprets concepts through actional reaction to self, object, other actors, or environment. The indirect and often broad interpretation of subject matter in performance usually becomes reflected in subtle actions which symbolize social structures, behaviors, and inner-psychology. 

artwork by Javiera Estrada

Performance artists such as Javiera Estrada, Joseph Farbrook, Jaina Cipriano, Van O (Ivan Isaev), Melody Hesaraky, and Anastasiia Marinich bridge concepts through interactions with hand-created or improvised environments, sets, or installations. These artists may not identify themselves as performance artists, however, what they achieve could be regarded as clearly performative in action. For example, Javiera Estrada constructs dream-like scenery between figures swimming in water or fields of flowers, only to be interrupted by rapid scenes of dancers covered in tattered clothes and powder to sway through a darkened environment, and finally finished off with splashing of water and pouring of red dust onto the figures. Although these works are captured on video and she may regard herself as first and foremost a filmmaker, these performances instill a deeper sense of concepts through symbolism of struggle and notions of seeking glory and status. 

artwork by Jaina Cipriano

In much of contemporary performance art, especially regarding these particular artists, there seems to be a yearning to express detachment with society, displaying a notion of what could be described as a ‘mania’, an illogical sense of interpretation reflecting various emotions pertaining to environments. The ‘mania’ in performance art breaks from notions of normative behavior and constructed realities and seeps into our inner desires and fears. Jaina Cipriano best exemplifies ‘mania’ in performance as her works deal directly with a history of growing up in a religious cult as a child. From depictions of herself as Saint George covered in pools of red light and silhouetted black shadow, to her standing upon a hand-constructed elaborate large platform of rowed bright lights, these images elicit concepts of mania such as righteousness and seeking attention on a scale akin to Pink Floyd’s The Wall. 

artwork by Van O (Ivan Isaev)

In essence, performance art offers more to the audience in regard to conceptual approaches in comparison to most forms of art because the artform remains inherently figurative and reliant on behavior. Through action, the artist may express both their pleasure and criticism with contemporary society as the tool of performance offers a wide array of approaches to collective and individual interpretation of expression. There always remains a concept of performance beyond what becomes revealed on the surface. These performance artists can express distinct social causes in the case of reflecting on the endless wars of the past couple of decades, such as Melody Hesaraky’s figures covered in blood and displaying anti-war texts or Van O (Ivan Isaev) replicating the scene of The Creation of Adam through a figure trying to pull the pin on a grenade with both actors painted in red. 

artwork by Melody Hesaraky

From oppression to yearnings to break free of isolation imposed by digitization, performance art offers a wide range of tools to express the artist’s feelings about how society has become shaped in the past decade. In a time where there remains global insecurity due to terrorism and decades of constant war, the threat of artificial intelligence putting most people out of work, and the authoritative behavior of governments, institutions, and academia, we live in interesting times. Performance art, through conceptual approaches, can best correlate our anxiety, fears, and desires regarding these complex social issues. In a globalized world, where there remains division across every ideological line and a battle of supremacy between globalists and nationalists, artists can reflect on how we react to these volatile times of great conflict most coherently through performance. The visual artist almost wraps themselves in a cloak when creating performative work, as they reveal the individual reaction to complex social issues and isolative imposition of contemporary society through technology and institutionalized structures. 

artwork by Anastasiia Marinich

Indirect approaches to art through action and reaction with environments can help communicate how distant from each other we truly are. In pieces by Anastasiia Marinich and Joseph Farbrook, two performance art filmmakers, they reflect the isolation of the figure against either rapidly changing environments or in ‘silent dialogue’ with other actors. Whether curled up on a couch in lingerie with a flower mask or dancing through the scenes of graveyards and construction sites, these performative works express irony and absurdity in order to reflect on concepts of what marks an appropriate space. In contemporary society, spaces are designated to the individual and collective pre-ordained with themes of association. The performance artist deconstructs these variables and restructures these places of contradiction to communicate the absurdity and expansive nature of contemporary culture.

artwork by Joseph Farbrook

In the age of digitization and robotics, the reaction by artists should not be to make art more cold and automated but rather more human. Through hand-crafted performances, the artist has a tool which creates poignant dialogue and interexchange between cultures and ideas through conceptual interpretations of environments and behaviors. The performance artist has immense power to change the world through ideas which both challenge and accentuate the global order through the arrival of complex art which reflects our times while addressing pressing societal dilemmas and poetic enigmas.

artwork by Javiera Estrada

artwork by Javiera Estrada

artwork by Melody Hesaraky