Performance Art and Resisting Intrusion
Research Mentor(s)
Miller, Barbara
Description
Employing three performances, Carolee Schneemann’s Up to and Including Her Limits, Regina Jose Galindo’s Blind Spot, and Marina Abramovic’s Role Exchange, I look at the politics of female nudity in the gallery. Historically, women's bodies have only entered the space via media such as painting or sculpture. These women artists not only bring their bodies into the gallery, but explore crucial art related issues. For example, Schneemann looks at the issue of mark making, but ironically demonstrates limitations placed on the body. Suspending herself from the ceiling, she transforms her body into a material object on display. Performing for a blind audience, Galindo brings not so much the nude female body into the gallery but highlights the sensuousness of touch. Perhaps most explosive is Abramovic, who switches places with a prostitute, bringing not only sexuality but sex itself. Through my research, I will present a comparative analysis to describe how each work disrupts the notion of the female body as an intrusion in museum spaces. Each artist uses their body to defy the physical limitations of the museum, allowing for a reclamation of the museum space, while simultaneously resisting a history that holds masculine desire synonymous with the female body.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
18-5-2020 12:00 AM
End Date
22-5-2020 12:00 AM
Department
Art History
Genre/Form
student projects, posters
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Conceptual art; Nude in art; Human figure in art; Interactive art
Type
Image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Performance Art and Resisting Intrusion
Employing three performances, Carolee Schneemann’s Up to and Including Her Limits, Regina Jose Galindo’s Blind Spot, and Marina Abramovic’s Role Exchange, I look at the politics of female nudity in the gallery. Historically, women's bodies have only entered the space via media such as painting or sculpture. These women artists not only bring their bodies into the gallery, but explore crucial art related issues. For example, Schneemann looks at the issue of mark making, but ironically demonstrates limitations placed on the body. Suspending herself from the ceiling, she transforms her body into a material object on display. Performing for a blind audience, Galindo brings not so much the nude female body into the gallery but highlights the sensuousness of touch. Perhaps most explosive is Abramovic, who switches places with a prostitute, bringing not only sexuality but sex itself. Through my research, I will present a comparative analysis to describe how each work disrupts the notion of the female body as an intrusion in museum spaces. Each artist uses their body to defy the physical limitations of the museum, allowing for a reclamation of the museum space, while simultaneously resisting a history that holds masculine desire synonymous with the female body.