Introduction to Performance arts

Performance art has origins in Futurism and Dada, but became a major phenomenon in the 1960s and 1970s and can be seen as a branch of Conceptual art. Performance art is activity presented before a live audience, and combining elements of the visual arts and the theatrical arts, such as music, video, theatre, and poetry reading. The term happening is sometimes used synonymously with performance art, but happenings are often more informal and improvised than performance art, which is usually carefully planned. Performance art has its meaning in time and action. This action can last from few seconds to many years. In some cases the artist is the art, he uses his body and life. Performance can be understood as an „event“ which is delivered directly to the artists audience. By its nature it can be seen as a live art by artists. It draws freely on any number o disciplines and media for material, deploying them in any combination. No other artistic form of expression has such a boundless manifesto, since each performer makes his or her own definition in the very process and manner of execution.

Performance art became very popular in 60ties and 70ties, when artists wanted to protest against politic, social and environmental issues. Since then, this kind of art is still very actual and popular among art community around the world. By „an act“ which declares artists opinion can be demonstrated his values and beliefs. Performance art can´t live without audience. Nowadays it performance arts has easier situation, because art work can be delivered to the people by new medias like video, photography, Internet and television. In the content of project „sustainable art in the Baltic sea“ a performance art can be as a powerful tool on demonstating actual issues and presenting them to the public audience.

Site specific art

We can date beginning of site specific art in latter part of the 20^th century, coming from minimalism.

Site specific art can be interpreted quite easily – as an art work situated out of traditional spaces like gallery or museum, which has also strong connection to the particular place. Usually „site specific art“ can´t be moved on different place, because it will cause its destruction on loosing its meaning. Artists choose the locality from different reasons – its history, people, issues, geographical location or its material which will be a part of the art work. Site specific art can be installed anywhere in our environment, but also in media spaces such as radio, newspaper, television and Internet. Although few things unite these artists in terms of similarity of works, most share a desire to explore the relationship of the idea of public space and local interaction.

Site specific art has a strong aspect. Since the art is „coming“ to his audience. Art is not anymore closed between walls, but it is situated outside in human´s environment. Anybody can see it, it becomes part of our life. Site specific art is answering on concrete issues and makes people questioning about its meaning. The audience of this art are local people of every age, status, gender, political view and economical situation. Site specific art can be very „social“ and be placed in urban environment, but it can be also situated in nature. That requires people´s effort to get on the place and see it.

Nowadays, people are living very individualistic life without any interaction with their environment. Site specific art is communicating toward people and discussing issues. In long-term project „sustainable art in the Baltic Sea“ has site specific art considerable role.

Capsula - an art group which care..

Who are they?

"Capsula is a curatorial research group whose interests focus on the meeting point between art, science and nature. Its main mission is to build bridges for dialogues between different disciplines in order to stimulate critical thinking through exchanges of knowledge about subjects of contemporary debate. "

http://00capsula00.wordpress.com/

Great interwiew with art group Capsula: http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2009/01/can-you-present-us-capsula.php

"Scientists, like artists, seem to spend a lot of time just looking and thinking around things, engaged in refreshingly simple observation. There are other parallels, too. Both scientists and artists seem to divide their time between doing field-work and going back to base to do the actual donkey work itself. On the surface it looks like both are moving in the same direction, only on different trains, so to speak."

Make your own natural house!

Why?

1. answer: It's fun. Living your own life, in your own way is rewarding. Following our dreams keeps our souls alive.

2. answer: Our society is almost entirely dependent on the availability of increasing amounts of fossil fuel energy. This has brought us to the point at which our supplies are dwindling and our planet is in ecological catastrophe. We have no viable alternative energy source and no choice but to reduce our energy consumption. The sooner this change can be begun, the more comfortable it will be.

Where?

In Wales

How?

...and more info! http://www.simondale.net/house/build.htm

And some more practical advices from owner of the house:

Some things we can do...

Consumption

• Avoid buying newly manufactured things, instead buy second hand or make our own.
• Avoid large chain stores and supermarkets.
• Buy things from small and local businesses.
• Favour worker cooperatives over corporations.
• Wherever possible buy direct from producers.
• Support local currencies.
• Trade or give gifts in preference to using money.

Communities

• Smile at people and meet their eyes.
• Give open-minded/hearted time to those people around us.
• Organise parties and celebrations (eg. a dinner party where everyone brings a homemade dish or a childrens party where each parent organises a game)
• Organise rotating work parties and skill-sharing events.
• Vision together the future of our communities and make it happen by a combination of negotiations with local councils and direct action. (If you think that unused roadside could make a good veg garden then get some friends together and just go ahead and do it)

Food And Land

• Propagate and plant edible perennial plants wherever possible on any available land.
• Learn how to grow food and save seeds.
• Set up personal and community food growing.
• Stick to seasonal, local and organic foods.
• Eat meat in moderation.
• Have a go at making bread, preserving food, making cheese, brewing etc..
• Enjoy cooking and eating good food. Treat our food with reverence.
• Learn what wild plants grow in our areas and learn how to use them for food and medicine.
• Protect and encourage biodiversity and wild areas (eg. a small wild patch at the bottom of your garden could be a haven for birds and small animals).
• Make a pond.

An example of site-specific art: FINNISH ARTISTS

Tellervo Kalleinen

"During 2001-2004 I traveled around the globe placing ads:

"Plan a film scene in your home and give a Finnish woman a role in it". I went to every home where I was invited and acted in the roles I was given.

The project was realised in Hamburg, Helsinki, Los Angeles, Seydisfjördur, St.Petersburg and Tallinn. In each place I worked with a local film crew. Altogether 65 scenes were filmed."
You can download the whole movie on her web page: http://www.tellervo.net/



Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen

The New Discoveries Project was concieved by the R.G.S. division for the studies of imaginary lands. This division investigates the geography – physical and political – of utopias, fairy lands, fictionary states and similar entities.



Virpi Lehto

Fire sculpture fits in with the Finnish cultural traditions. They are like the bonfires that have been built in Finland from time immemorial. The Fire Sculpture in the photograph was created in association with "Etnofiesta", in Saarijärvi, in a village that goes back to the Stone Age.
"Kokkolintu" (Fire Bird) was inspired by Kalevala (a collection of ancient Finnish legends). Väinämöinen goes on a raiding party with his men to the North, to steal the "Sampo" (a kind of a horn of plenty). The Witch of the North goes mad with rage to find the Sampo taken, transforms herself into a Fire Bird and flies after the thieves. A fierce fight ensues and the Sampo gets shattered into tiny fragments that scatter all over the world.

Web Sites about Site specific art

IN GENERAL
http://www.sitespecificart.org.uk


PDF BOOK
http://131.247.128.63/CAM/exhibitions/2008_8_Torolab/Readings/One_Place_After_AnoterMKwon.pdf


AN ARTICLE ABOUT SITE-SPECIFIC ART
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HMU/is_4_32/ai_n13720087/


NAMES OF SITE-SPECIFIC ARTISTS
http://the-artists.org/artistsbymovement/Site-specific-art/


A BOOK ABOUT SITE-SPECIFIC ART
http://books.google.com/books?id=CUOcVm24PGgC&dq=site+specific+art&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=1Fus4_VyME&sig=s3bbLH6g6y96ivX5mR3-qFuKBYc&hl=sk&ei=qpOwSpCKOdyd_AbR0anZDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Introducing: Site specific art

Site specific art

In the latter part of the 20th century, some artists began to leave the established institutions to re-site their art works in public spaces. Although few things unite these artists in terms of similarity of works, most share a desire to explore the relationship of the idea of public space and local interaction.

Some of these artists have chosen, for different reasons, to interact directly with the locality - its history, topography and discourses, by siting their work in public or formerly public places. In this paper I will discuss how artists have responded to the particular circumstances in Europe from the early 1990s to the present.

Gillian McIver

Definition, history, what it is?

• this kind of art has context and situation behind it. It has a relation to the place where it is situated and also it motivates a viewer to have some relation to that place.
• “anti-museum, anti-gallery”
• in eastern Europe – “against of totalism regime in galleries and institutions”
• in 90ties – looking for new space for art
• important is genius loci of the place, aura, special feeling
• art works challenge, by drawing public attention to, the roots of current disuse - bringing up notions of access, property, and questioning social and economic structures
• the history of site-responsive art is complex and is linked to the development of installation art, land art and the evolution of the idea of "public art"
• aatmospheric, culturally-loaded spaces where traces of “what went before” and “what is happening now”
• engage with the problem of the division between “art” and “everyday life” in modern bourgeois society