PERFORMANCE
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Let’s explore the unlimited resources of Performance Art.
Performance is perhaps the discipline through which we can approach a more intimate dimension of Alvaro Arrosamena's work. A complex combination of projects that interacts between different disciplines to create what he calls "communication experiences”
Politics in crisis 2002 Vidas paralelas 2002 La violencia 2005
These experiences combine installations, performance, multimedia and even rituals, happenings and/or workshops. In the interaction, the human body and the spiritual are placed in a spatial temporal context, which is reflective of social, political and cultural, or even of personal, religious or psychological issues. These result in a variety of multimedia artwork which integrates with the performance as a motor, creating a more complex project, sometimes as a studio activity and sometimes as performance activities, interventions or happenings.
Human Nature 2002 Dreams 2004 Studio Cuerpo 2006
The implications of the interplay between body and space in their different manifestations, give rise to the production of these "projects" where Arrosamena arrives to convey a message and makes us partake of legendary forms of expression with spiritual and human contexts.
Tiemporana 2003 Dreams experience 2002
Most of the time he and/or his group, transforms the spaces where he performs, playing with communication at an emotive level. Other times the performers invade a specific venue and convey political or social messages in order to shed light on a specific problem. A more abstract and aesthetical performance like real-time painting and creations together with the audience are common for Arrosamena.
His work in "rituals" or "experiences" defines a place that our culture calls the irrational and subjective and presents us with artwork that analyzes the otherness, the occult or questions gender values or cultural taboos in western society. In these performances the audience forms part of the whole installation and experience a variety of feelings and emotions during the session which includes dance, music and ritualistic activities and where female and male performers often lead some kind of participatory animistic ceremonies.
Cleaning Ritual 2003 Minha Deusa, minha Mae 2005
Performance is a work of art that can´t be sold or bough in any market, this discipline offers the tools to make artwork even more independent of the expectations or interests of the establishment and the power of money.
In this case the artist concentrates on what he wishes to communicate without any compromise that might bias his work. Far from being able to be passively consumed, drama on stage demands an active participation from its audience.
Hombre blanco, mi mente no está en blanco 2004
Alvaro Arrosamena sees the performance like the art nexus for the fluid communication between the magic moment of creation, the artists and the individuals in society.
La negritud (Africanías) 2004
Is well known that the art that is presented in galleries and museums is consumed by a limited public, collectors, art lovers, people from the cultural environment and some other artist, excluding in this way the circuit to the rest of those people, specially young people or those who are not attracted to the dynamics presented by the institutions, its creators or the media.
We are all responsible to extend the bonds that may humanize creativity and make others participate so that the public becomes more heterogeneous and increasing. We must all the time rethink Art, develop new dynamics and shapes so that they may adapt to the ongoing changes that are taking place in our society.
All the time, the achievements, the crisis, the changes in attitudes and social behaviors are reflected in the artistic production and in some cases presented in galleries dedicated to contemporaneous art where they work with an innovative spirit in the same idea of art.
Yet, in spite of all this, vanguards art (if the term may be applied in any case)to define this new art of “what is happening right here right now" does not really get through the public who actually is the very reason why the artist is trying to create his piece of work.
This public who undoubtedly lives and shares the daily joys and happiness, pains and anxieties we all undergo in different ways is only but secluded to participate in the historic process our societies might be writing, and is also deprived of the possibility to participate in the development of the common humanizing idea within the art.
One of the ways which proposes solutions to these problems is through Performance Art.
These formulae can integrate all artistic disciplines (painting, dancing, poetry, music, theatre, etc) in one same activity, where alive the artist has a direct contact whit his or her public in a real timing and can express in an open way the message he or she wants to put across.
In addition the artist can receive from the public a response though dialog, working an enormous diversity of technical possibilities. We can create the open forum of communication that we so badly need nowadays.
The performance piece of art, are not only a way to integrate the public with the vanguards creations but also offer different form of analysis about social or political problems through an aesthetic dimension.
Art performance may be allowed to work more aesthetic experiences, stage abstraction, painting action, visual rhythm, etc, giving the public the possibility to find the artist in action, not just presenting a piece of art already finished but within its moment of creation.
Performance can be staged in the most varied places, in galleries, museums, squares or streets, with stages or without them, merging with the public in a real time.
They may last some minutes or many hours, have a plot or may be completely improvised, may be staged ones or many times, being the performer at last one person or actor and its public.
Performance Art is related to drama, but is not theater. Theater derives from the Greek "theatron" which means literally, "seeing place" an architectural space that makes specific provisions for spectators those who seat apart from the action.
Performance is not defined and does apply to theater techniques.
That is why the experimental development finds unexausting sources of development. Everything performed in the theater is thus expressly designed to be seen. In the case of performance there is no limits to experience the senses in a more participatory and complex communication.
Performance is a piece of art that can not be sold or bough which makes it even more interesting, independent of the expectations or interest from the establishment and the power of money.
A.A 2004
