Performance Art? On archiving, transmission and mediation of an art form in motion

Abstract

At first glance, archiving an ephemeral art practice represents a certain contradiction in terms. Performance artists and researchers operate within the tension of the subversion of the prevailing conditions in the art field and the transmission of a young art form that is particularly relevant, especially from a feminist perspective. The study revolves around the question of whether traditional collecting strategies are sufficient for performance art or whether an art form for which the presence of bodies in space represents an important aspect doesn’t require artistic performative methods of transmission. Starting point is the performance holdings of KunstraumNiederoesterreich. Building on research from performance studies, art studies, media theory, and archival studies,the transmission of artistic-performative practices is at the centre of the investigation. The aim is not only to make the holdings accessible, but also to develop new methods of archiving. The emphasis is thereby on artistic-performative practices as strategies of Erschließung (opening up knowledge/indexing). A further goal is to– on the basis of the holdings – create a concept for a performance archive, which transfers its materials into the space as well as into vivid interaction and thus enforces accessibility to this art form. Furthermore, the potentials of artistic-performative practices as forms of transmission will be included in the conception of the archive by means of examples from the authors own artistic research practice. For the archiving of performances, the integration of an artistic approach means that the archive, in addition to its function as a repository of knowledge,is also recognized as a site of collective artistic knowledge production. Accordingly, archive materials in its interplay with artistic-performative actions can represent a potential to decisively deepen the understanding of and knowledge about past events.

Keywords: performance art; archiving; transmission; artistic-performative practices; artistic-performative research; re-enactment

Short biography

Marlies Surtmann lives and works in Vienna, where she is active in the fields of art, art theory and artistic research. In her work, she focuses on investigating the relationship between body, space, society and art, as well as questions of participation, exchange, and collaboration as central elements of performative art. The Ph.D. project was funded by the GFF Science Call Dissertations in cooperation with the Centre for Museal CollectionManagement at Danube University Krems (2019-2021). Together with Olivia Jaques, she founded the performance laboratory Performatorium (2019- ). 2023 she is part of the artistic research project Archives inPractice. Tracing, Actualising, and Transmitting Socially Engaged Performance Practices funded by INTRA at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.