For

Senior Years Students

Curriculum

VCE Art

Aim

To explore the concept of Performance Art.

Preparation

To do this activity you will need:

• Read the information for Theme Nine – Contemporary Art: Between Public and Private.
• View the work either online or in the exhibition.
• clipboard, notepad and pencil, or other means of making notes while in the Gallery.

Research Questions

• How important is the documentation of the performance? Do you think being present for the performance offers a better or different understanding of the piece? Explain your ideas.
• Are Abramovic’s performances different from theatre? Give reasons your answer.
• Do you find the work challenging? Give reasons your answer.
• Do her performance pieces conflict with your understanding of what art is?

Group Task

How is performance an effective method for Marina Abramavic to communicate her ideas and concerns?

What is the role or value of documentation in performance art? Where do you think the value lies: in the performance or in the documentation.

Discussion Questions

Consider this excerpt from the exhibition catalogue:

The body has always been her subject and medium. Exploring the physical and mental limits of her being, she has withstood pain, exhaustion and danger in the quest for emotional and spiritual transformation. This particular blend of epic struggle and self-inflicted violence was borne out of the contradictions of her childhood: both parents were high-ranking officials in the government, while her grandmother, with whom she had lived, was a devout Serbian Orthodox. Though personal in origin, the explosive force of Abramovic's art spoke to a generation in Yugoslavia undergoing the tightening control of Communist rule.
Guggenheim Collection: 1940s to Now, National Gallery of Victoria, 2007 p.260

How might Abramavic's heritage have shaped her performances or choices of subject?