Sourced from Google images, 2014
‘The many Headed Monster: the audience of contemporary performance’ has aided in discovering what a performance is capable of and the varying effects that it can have on both passive and active recipients. The array of artistic pieces were split into three categories: pre-performance, performance and post-performance. Through experimenting with the structuring of a performance the contemporary audience was able to experience something completely unique and also the artists had freedom to expand and create a diverse performance. ‘Cut piece,’ ‘Super night squad’ and ‘Imponderabilia’ were the three main pieces that interested me and the style of the performances are helping me to develop ideas for my site-specific piece. There is a focus on objectifying the body, manipulating time and also a link into how the museum setting can be utilised in a less generic manner. In linking these findings with the site I was drawn towards a space upstairs that contained art pieces which linked to the matter of how the female body is perceived, such as Liz Kay’s work and also the variety of statues/figures within the proximity.
“Everything we know about the body – certainly as regards the present – exists for us in some form of discourse; and discourse, whether verbal or visual, fictive or historical or speculative, is never mediated, never free of interpretation, never innocent.” (Suleiman, p.2)
I consequently began researching into the differing stand points on the subject matter of the female body being captured within the male gaze and double standards within society. This aspect is reflected through the research carried out by Martha Meskimmon, she conveys how this analysis of objectifying the female body was as much a relevant topic within the Victorian era as it is within contemporary society. Meskimmon focusses on Emily Mary Osborn’s art piece Nameless and Friendless, Osborn explores “the lives of women and their struggles for independence” (2003, p.75) She is displaying the perceptions of the female figure and retains focus on “one particular ‘body’ – that of the woman artist,” (Meskimmon, p.75) this shows how the female body has a history of being objectified and this is an issue that would be a major focus within the development of my piece.