Start of the last 4D II project is venturing into unknown fields wew. Admittedly, I am not completely foreign to the concept of installation art, video art, or performance art, as the A’level syllabus has managed to give me some knowledge about them.

To bring forward themes from precious projects, some themes I would be interested in developing would probably be, sexuality, the body and identity. Here are the artist researches that might be relevant to the upcoming project.

1. MARINA ABRAMOVIC

I know Wen Lei has covered her in class but genuinely and honestly, she’s my idol. I love her works. She is a Yugoslavia born performance artist. Her performance surround themes of pushing the body to extremes, the interaction between the artist and audience. Rhythm 10 is actually my favourite piece of her work, but since it has been cover, I’ll cover another one of my favourites.

In this work, Marina and her partner Ulay stood opposite each other, stark naked at an entrance to an exhibition in a way that people entering the exhibition had to squeeze through them, unable to avoid physical contact, and had to choose who to face. This particular work is about confronting the idea of the audience actively participating in the performance space, and being made aware of the human touch and their own bodies through the need to come into contact with a stranger. I think this work is relevant to my research, as the exploration of nudity, human contact, and the body is something I am interested in.

 

2. VITO ACCONCI

An American designer, landscape architect, and installation and performance artist. This artist I’m interested in particular one of his works called “Seedbed”. I though it was brilliant as it was a hidden performance art and more of sound art. The extremely disturbing and voyeuristic nature of the work is also rather amazing.

View the work here: https://archive.org/details/ubu-acconci_seedbed

In this work, the viewers entered a room with an empty ramp and unknown to them, Acconci himself is lying underneath the ramp masturbating. He would do this intermittently, while he was doing this he would speak out about his sexual fantasies, based on the movement of the visitor’s above. The tension between public and private was overwhelming.

Found on the Museum of Modern Art Website:

“The following text, which documents and transcribes Seedbed, was published in Avalanche magazine in 1972:

. . . I’m doing this with you now . . . you’re in front of me . . . you’re turning around . . . I’m moving toward you . . . leaning toward you . . .

Under the ramp: I’m moving from point to point, covering the floor . . . (I was thinking in terms of producing seed, leaving seed throughout the underground area).

I’m turned to myself: turned onto myself: constant contact with my body (rub my body in order to rub it away, rub something away from it, leave that and move on): masturbating: I have to continue all day—cover the floor with sperm, seed the floor.

Through the viewers: because of the viewers: I can hear their footsteps, they’re walking on top of me, to the side of me—I’m catching up with them—I’m focusing on one of them: I can form an image of you, dream about you, work on you.

. . . you’re on my left . . . you’re moving away but I’m pushing my body against you, into the corner . . . you’re bending your head down, over me . . . I’m pressing my eyes into your hair . . .I can go on as I think of you, you can reinforce my excitement, serve as my medium (the seed planted on the floor is a joint result of my presence and yours). You can listen to me; I want you to stay here; you can walk around me; walk past me; come back; sit here; lie close to me; walk with me again.

Reasons to move away from a space: there’s no need to stay—I’ve left something there, outside, that used to be here, inside—I’ve left something there that can grow, develop, on its own.

Reasons to move: I can move with an easy mind—what’s left behind is safe, in storage.”

This artist would be useful in my research as sexuality was a strong theme in my previous works and I would like to explore this theme again.

3. MONA HATOUM

Hatoum is a Lebanese born Palestinian installation and video artist. But the work I’ll be speaking about would be “Homebound” an installation art piece arguably sound art as well.

“Homebound” is a piece of work consisting of pieces of homely furniture laid out across the room. Wires are placed intertwining the entire work, with live electricity current running through them. The buzzing sound of the live current with occasional crackle and pop as different objects light up disturbs the quietness of the gallery, making it rather unsettling. I like this piece of work, as the tension between the familiar “home furniture” and foreign and dangerous “electricity” current leaves an interesting feeling in the viewer.

I this this work is relevant to my research as tension is one of the methods to immerse the audience in an installation art or performance piece, and I think Hatoum did so really well in her work.

 

References:
http://www.newmedia-art.org/cgi-bin/show-oeu.asp?ID=ML002604&lg=GBR
https://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/audios/190/1974
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/109933?locale=en
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/266876
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/may/03/mona-hatoum-review-tate-modern-electrified