Vital Signs 2: Paper Session 6a
Performance, exhibition and social memory
Thursday 9 September, 11.30 - 1pm
'The Effects of Institutionization on Risk and Experimentation in Performative Experiences' - Lisa Newman (University of Manchester)
My research investigates the effect different modes of institutionalization has had on performance art concerning risk and experimentation in the artist's experience. Recent exhibitions and archiving projects have identified specific histories of performance art while excluding others, which raises the question of 'evidence' of experiences that are inherently transitory. In this conference, I would like to give a brief introduction of the origins of performance art and how these actions were created to communicate personal and social narratives outside of canonical and institutional formalities and limitations. Where performative actions have been used to challenge social norms, the element of risk and experimentation in these actions may now be compromised by a recent push to canonize performance art. By exploring the philosophies and ethos of performativity, I hope to generate discussion across disciplines around the larger question of how we work with ideas of authenticity within real life experiences in our research, and how that authenticity is presented through our writings and pedagogical practice. How does our selection of personal narratives and case studies in our research shape (and potentially skew) a larger collective memory? How do different disciplines address these problems in their research methods?