Review

Author(s): Bertrand Augst

Review by: Bertrand Augst
Source: Discourse, Vol. 22, No. 2, VALIE EXPORT/PERFORMANCE (Spring 2000), pp. 127-134
Published by: Wayne State University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41389576
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 Book Review

OutofActions:
BetweenPerformance , 1949-19791
and theObject

Bertrand
Äugst
MikeKelleyandPaulMcCarthy wereinvitedtoprovide an "introduction" to
theexhibition "OutofAction:Between Performance andtheObject,1949-
1979"2heldatMOCAinLosAngelesin1998.Theirtextunderscored, ironi-
callyandcontroversially,
theparadoxical,nottosayincongruous, natureof
theshow.In a statement availableinthegallery(butnotreproduced inthe
catalogue),McCarthy andKelleydenouncedtheexhibition as an attempt
to"swaytheconstruction ofthehistoryofperformance artinthedirection
ofa materialistart-historical
reading.Museums continue tofinditdifficult
topresentworkwhose. . . formandsubjectaretime,memory, perception,
spokenlanguage, sound,humanactionandinteraction. . . . Thisprejudice
createsan object-oriented historyofcontemporary art.Manysignificant
worksof artdo notreference thegenresof sculpture, paintingand are
notmeanttobe seenwithin thephysicalframework ofthemuseum."3 The
Museumcontinues tovalidateandregisterperformance artas a movement
bypresenting evidence-artobjects, photographs,videorecordings, films,
setsand costumes-forartistic practiceswhich are bytheirverynature,
ephemeral. Thissaid,one cannotbutadmirePaul Schimmel's diligence
and resourcefulnessin findingand assembling thisveryimpressive collec-
tionofdocuments whichmakesthiscataloguean indispensable reference
sourceon thedevelopment ofperformance art.

Discourse
22.2(Spring 127-34.
2000): ©2000
Copyright State
Wayne Press,
University
Detroit, 48201-1309.
Michigan

127

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128 Discourse22.2

Thecatalogueisorganized infivesections: PaulSchimmel, thecurator

of the exhibition's"Leap into the Void: Performance and the Object;"
Schinichiro Osaki's"Bodyand Place: Actionin PostwarArtin Japan;"
HubertKlocker's"Gesture and theObject:Liberation as Aktion: A Euro-
peanComponent ofPerformative Art;" Guy Brett's
"Life Strategies: Over-
viewand SelectionBuenos- Aires - London- Rio de Janeiro - Santiago
de Chile,1960-1980;" andKristine Stiles'"Uncorruptedjoy: International
ArtActions." Schimmelintroduces thecataloguewithan essayin which
he arguesthatafterWorldWarII, "an overwhelming numberof artists
fromtheUnitedStates,Europe,andJapan,increasingly beganto define
theirproduction in termsof thedialecticof creationand destruction,"
a periodwhichspansthepostatomicage and Cold Warera to theend
of theVietnamWar.Neithera history ofperformance art,nora history
of paintingand sculpturemovingthroughMinimalism, to Conceptual
Art,thisshowis "a specific slicethrough thehistory ofartthathas at its
centertheconviction thatperformance, actions, Happenings, events, and
associatedwiththeactofcreationhad an enormousimpacton
activities
theobjectthatemergedfromthem"(17). Henceitbeginswitha section
devotedto "TheOrigins:Pollock,Cage,Fontanaand Shimamoto." The
recourseto automatism, collage, and chance,suggests that the heritage
ofSurrealism has notbeenforgotten, althoughtheSurrealists had never
emphasized"theprimacy of theact to thedegreethatPollockand the
actionpainters did"(19).4JohnCage's"open-ended conceptually derived,
performative activities"
had a liberatinginfluence on Rauschenberg jasper
Johnsand MerceCunningham, and beyondthemtoFluxus,ArtePovera,
Neo-Dadaand Happenings, notto mentiona wholegeneration of "new
musicartists."Cage stressed theprimacy ofperformance as illustrated by
theeventorganizedatBlackMountainCollegein 1952.
"Imakea holeinthecanvasInItaly, inordertoleavebehindmetheold
formulae,
pictorial thepainting and thetraditional viewofartas I escape
butalsomaterially,
symbolically, fromtheprisonoftheflatsurface. . . . Pol-
lock,then,threw painton thecanvas.He waslookingfora newdimension
ofspace,butallhecouldproducewaspost-impressionism becausehe threw
paintonto the canvas,although hewanted to go beyond canvas.. . . So,
the
theholeisfreespaceandwayinadvanceofPollock"(23f). LucioFontana's
punctures andlacerations wereaccording toSchimmel moreversatile and
closerto theephemeral spirit of Fluxus.
WhileFontanawasexperimenting inItaly, ShôzôShimamoto inJapan
createdhisownHolesseries, gluingtogether layeruponlayerofnewspaper,
thenpaintingthe surfaceupon whichhe drewand thenprogressively
madeaccidental holes.5He thenconstructed a rickety
catwalk, andinvited
hisviewers to participatebywalkingon it.6WiththeGutai,7Shimamoto
continuedto stagetheatrical and ephemeraleventsin the50s and early
60s,which were duly documented bythemedia,following Pollock'sand
Namuth'scollaborative example. The Gutaigroupexperimented with

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Spring2000 129

actionandArtInformel in "a modeofgestural abstraction" and through

of
penetration paper,fighting mud, with and painting with theirfeet
(Shigara) . Allthese events took place in front of audiences, cameras.
and
"Pollock,Cage, Fontana, and Shimamoto shared a commondesireto
or
disrupt pierce the pictorial surface, to questiontheauthority of the
pictureplane, and to introduce chance, randomness, and the unconscious
intocreative activity- inshorttojumpintothevoid"(25). In 1954,Georges
Mathieurealizedhisfirst "performative painting."8 YvesKlein,associated
withtheNouveauRéalismemovement,9 traveled toJapanandafter visiting
Hiroshima becameinterested inprehistoric rituals.
Schimmel thenturnstoRauschenberg's earlyperformative acts,blue-
print-likeimprints ofhumansilhouettes (Female Figure,1950)or thetracks
of theModelA Fordimprinted on stripsofpaper,drivenbyJohnCage
( Automobile TirePrint,1953). Theresulting imprint wasthe"visual equivalent
ofa sustainedsinglenote,as wellas an important precedentfortheuse
ofthelinebyotherartists, including PieroManzoni, JamesLee Byers, and
in
NamJunePaik"(44). Beginning 1954, designed he setsand costumes
forMerceCunningham. In Italy,PieroManzoniexpandedupon Cage's
andFontana'sresearch on thestraight line."Asmeasurements ofthetime
necessary to make them, Mazoni's Lines represent fragments existence
of
measured, and
sealed, contained," as
(47) they relate notonlytotimebut
toinfinity.10 ForManzoni,theactofmakinga lineisa performance. After
1960,hisactivities werecenteredon hisownbody.11
Havingdiscussed theworkofothermembers ofArtePovera, Schimmel
turnsto the Happeningsfirstpresentedin NewYorkin 1959 byAlan
Kaprow.Directly influenced byJohnCage,theydiffered fromtraditional
theatrical productions in that they invited the participation ofmembers of
theaudienceand rejectednarrative conventions. Theyreliedheavily on
effectsand theuse ofobjectsdesignedto achievea maximum visualim-
pact.ForSchimmel, Kaprow's largescalehappenings established a bridge
betweenhisinstallations and hisperformances to become"performative
environments." JimDine and ClaesOldenburgexpandedon theseinstal-
lationsbyaddingmultiple objects.JimDine stageda reenactment ofreal
accidents beforeundertaking The Store project in which he became partof
theinstallation.
Fluxuswasmoredirectly associated withtheNewMusic,andincluded
avant-garde composers who took the happening ina newdirection. George
Brecht,forexample,stagedeventsscripted likea musicscore.Ben Vau-
tier,set up a seriesof eventsand Happeningsto drawattention to his
commercial businessshop,Le Magasin(1960), "as a purveyor ofrecords
and otheryouthorientedmaterials" in thehope of supporting his art
In theprocess,he wasable to blurthedistinctions
activities. betweenhis
entrepreneurial and hisartactivities. He eventually inserted himself into
hislivingtableaux,actingas an intermediary betweentheenvironment
(thestore)and theviewer.12 Schimmel endshisessaypresenting a series

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130 Discourse22.2

ofartistsas diverse as theywereinfluential: NamJunePaik,YokoOno,and

JohnLennon,Akasegawa, Vostell,Wolf JosephBeuys,theVienneseAction
Group, Vito Acconci's performances, ChrisBurden,Gina Pane,Marina
Paul
Abramovic, McCarthy and Rebecca Horn,Paul Cotton,TerryFox,
TomMarioniand MikeKelley.Liketheirpredecessors, theseartists were
very skilled at and
self-promotion very effectivein their manipulation of
themedia.Thispreoccupation withmarketing thusbecamean intrinsic
partoftheirpractice.Butin additiontoworking themediamachine,the
actioncommunity reliedheavily its
upon interlocking friendships.
Afterspendingsome timestudying musicin Germany(wherehe
developedhisactionmusic,incorporating happenings and collagetech-
niques),NamJunePaikmovedtoNewYork, reuniting withmembers ofthe
Fluxusgroup.In 1965,hissoloexhibition "ElectronicArt," hada profound
influence on thewholegeneration ofvideoartists thatbecameprominent
in the1970s.13 LikePaik,YokoOno madethetransition frommusictothe
visualartswitha seriesofeventsstagedin NewYorkgalleries. The group
Hi Red Centerhowever, introduced a newdimension to therelationship
betweenobjectsand performance in stagingeventsoutsidethemuseum
walls.These eventstriggered publiccontroversies. Scandaland outrage
wasno longerto be confinedto he artistic community.14 The streethad
long been used as the sitefor artisticevents ofall kinds, WolfVostell
but
transformed theconceptwithhisperformance ofDes Theater istyaufder
StrasseII, "which be
may performed byanyone who follows the score. The
sculpture is made all
byputting parts from an automobile accident onto
thestreet orata busyintersection andrepeating theact'withaccidentafter
accidentuntiltraffic isimpossible." Withthiswork, Vostelwasattempting to
createa sculpture basedon thememories oftragedies thathad occurred
in a particular spot.Vostell'seventstookon a newcomplexity withthis
"negative provocation."15
Schimmel stresses theimportance ofJosephBeuys'sactionsas a means
of constructing a coherentmovement(as opposedto disparateartists
producingdisconnected events).One of the mostsignificant changes
introducedthroughBeuys'sworkwas his creationof "relics"and then
sculptures- a movethatrancounterto the"anti-object mentality shared
bymany Fluxus artists." Increasingly, Beuys's installations relied on "the
symbolic meaning of the objects, rather than on the action in which they
had originally been used" (84).16 Additionally, Beuysgave a seriesof
"blackboard lectures" in the1960sand 1970swhichtransformed therole
oftheartist from"thatofentertainer to teacher,fromclowntopolitician,
fromshamantoprofessor," andgavethenextgeneration ofartists"a new
responsibility fordefining thegeopolitical cultureinwhichtheylived"(84).
The VienneseActionGrouphad a distinctly "Europeanheritage"
whichSchimmel seesas an important difference fromotheractiongroups.
Theirblatantuse ofprovocation andviolencealsosetthemapart.Often,
theseartists' performances relied upon and re-worked rituals(Dionysus,

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Spring2000 131

theCatholicChurch)17usingthecarcassesof slaughtered animals.Ini-

tiallyinfluenced by the Gutai group's visit toVienna, the Viennese Action
Group found its"most emphatically corporeal incarnation in Nistch's work"
transformed fromtheNewYorkabstraction to "themostgestural, body-
oriented, sexually provocative andpsychologically inflammatory artforms
everdeveloped"(84).
In contrast to thealmostfrantic, threatening and sometimes offen-
siveexplorations of theViennaActionGroup,theartists whoexplored
theconceptof"performative sculpture" (RobertMorris, BruceNauman,
Meredith Monk,VitoAcconci,ChrisBurden)appeardistinctly restrained,
almostaustere.Theyregister a newattitude, a kindofsuspicion, towards
theaudience,alongwitha refocusing on theactionof theartist's body.
Schimmel linksBurdenandAcconci's performances in theearly1970sto
the"bodyexplorations" ofartists likePaul McCarthy, MarinaAbramovic,
and Gina Pane. "Burdenwouldinvestigate in depththeimplications of
creating a situation inwhichtheartist simultaneously endangered himself
and involvedthevieweras a witnessto the seemingly lifethreatening
thus
situation, implicating him or her as complicitous" (94).18
Whilethisexhibition wasnotintendedto presenta history of per-
formance perse, one is nevertheless surprised by theabsence of certain
namesassociated withthetheater anddanceavant-garde inNewYorkand
elsewhere. for
Missing, example, is the work by Carolee Schneemann, the
Living Theater,Laurie Anderson andjack Smith, amongmany others. Also
absentare thenamesof Duchampand someof theDadaistsstillactive
duringthatperiod.The performances ofWarholand hisgreatinfluence
upon these artists
were also excluded. Of coursesuchadditions wouldhave
madetheexhibition evenmoredaunting andunmanageable thanitwas!
The othercontributions tothecataloguereturntosomeoftheartists
introduced bySchimmel, addingmuchmoredetailtosomeofthegroups'
Post-war
activities. Japan19 is contrasted withAmerican artists ofthetime:
thereis an emphasison thevisualin thecaseoftheAmerican artists,and
an interest inphysical site-specific eventsinthecaseoftheJapaneseartists.
HubertKlockerseestheuse ofviolenceandblood,sex,torture, andpain,
especiallybytheVienneseActionists, as a reaction toand protest againstthe
destruction brought by wars. He seems them as a response to various forms
offascism in Europe,thusmakinga farmoreexplicit connection between
theEuropeanperformance artists withDada and Surrealism20 thanhas
been claimedfortheirAmericancounterparts. In "LifeStrategies," Guy
Brettconcentrates on artists fromBrazil,Argentina, Chile,andsomeartists
livinginEngland(bothBritish andimmigrants) ,putting greater emphasis
on thetheatrical issuesofperformance and theirhistorical precedents in
FranceandRussia."Uncorruptedjoy: International ArtActions," attempts
precisely to surveythepost-war artactionsin manycountries, including
groupsliketheSituationists, AKTUAL,theDestruction inArtSymposium,
andthemes fromfeminism toecology. Defining theterm"ArtandCulture"

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132 Discourse22.2

at thebeginning ofherlongessay, Kristine

Stilesstatesthat"... whenthe
body isused inaction,itexemplifies themeansbywhichallartisrelational
withtheworld.Moreover, actioninartdrawsviewers closertothefactthat
itis thebodyitselfthatproducesobjectsand thatsuchan artis a unique
vehicleenablingperception andcontemplation ofthetruth thatthe'made
is a of the human "
object projection body' (227).
OutofActiondoes not a providea criticalassessment of the over-
whelmingnumberof worksit documents, whethertrivial, spectacular,
offensive or discreetlyoriginal.The collectionof photographs, videos,
and assorted"relics"revealverylittleaboutthemovements, acts,voices
and all thequalitiesthatmakeperformance suchan ephemeralevent.21
Butthisexhibition mapsouta movement whoseimpacton contemporary
arthas been as profound as itis irreversible.
It points,to quoteStephen
Melville,

... totheexhaustionorinadequacyofrepresentation
aseitheranartistic
processora wayofunderstandingart.Thefamiliar
form ofthisasa claim
topostmodernity isthesensethatthere
nolonger- perhapsthere never
was-anyworld ofselftobereflected
inthework ofart,ortobelooked
outonthrough thepainting,ortobelookedintoandgiven expression
bytheartist.Whatthereis... in theabsenceofa worldpresent for
isanideological
representation, work ofconstruction
andplacement that
masquerades under thepresumed naturalness
ofrepresentation.
(18)

Notes

1 OutofActions: Between and theObject

, 1949-1979con-
Performance
tinuesa seriesof "thematic" exhibitionspresentedby MOCA, exploring
criticalmomentsin theevolutionof contemporary art:A ForestofSigns
( 1989),Heiter
Skelter
: L.A.Artinthe1990s( 1992),andReconsidering
theObject
ofArt:1965-1975(1995).
2 The exhibitwasheldin The Museumof Artat the
Contemporary
Geffen Contemporary Gallery,Los Angeles, 8 to
February May 1998. The
showtraveled toVienna,BarcelonaandTokyo.
3 QuotedbyMichaelRush,"A
NoisySilence,"PA] 61 (Jan.1999),
2. Bothartistshavea longrecordofprovocations withobjectsand perfor-
mancesbothviolent andscatological.Asexpansiveandwelldocumented as
itis,thecatalogueand theshowitself the
under-represented importance
of performance in thetheaterof thatperiod,dance and music,not to
mentionsomeofthe"precursors" sincetheearly20s.
4 Schimmel's is debatable.
point
5 Schimmel
comparesthistechniquetothemakingofshôjiscreens.
6 A Work tobeWalked On (1956)

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Spring2000 133

7 TheGutaiArtAssociation foundedin1954includedartists whohad

gonethrough World War II and the
experienced bombings ofHiroshima
andNagasaki.
8 La Bataille deBouvines ( TheBattle ofBouvines) .
9 It includedJeanTinguely, Nikide SaintPhalle,Daniel Spoerri.
It was officially inaugurated by a manifesto written by PierreRestany
on Oct. 27, 1960.This movement reactedagainstArtInformel(Math-
ieu),abandoning painting altogether forassemblages. Schimmel, however,
notesthatit continuedthetradition ofArtInformel bytheiremphasis
on theact in themakingof objectsforexhibitions, theirperformative
actionsand theiruseofthemedia.Mathieuwasfora whileDali'spublicity
agent.
10 "Timeis something different fromwhatthehandsofa clockmea-
sure,andthe'Line'doesnotmeasuremetres orkilometres,butiszero,not
zeroas theendbutas thebeginning ofan infinite series"(Manzoniqtd.in
Schimmel 47).
11Twoexamplesare:Artist's Breath (1960)andArtist's Shit(1961). The
artistsoldthelatterbythegramforthepriceofgold.
12See Kristine Stiles'sBetween Water and Stone: FluxusPerformance :A
Metaphysics ofActs," citedbySchimmel, to illustrate"theinterconnection
betweencareerism and artistic signature" (72).
13AtaboutthesametimeYokoOno, likePaik,madethetransition
frommusicto thevisualarts.
14Schimmel mentions, amongothers, theAkasegawa scandal.Akase-
gawa was indicted for counterfeiting currency.
15In Nein-9-de-collagen, inWuppertal in 1963,the"participantswere
witnesses heldcaptiveina bustransporting themtonineappointedplaces
in thecity.Between6:00pmand 10:00pmtheysawa film,a carcrash,the
cellarofa factory, and a locomotive enginecrushan automobileat 130
kilometers per hour" (80).
16Theseremains, relicsand otherdébrisofpreviousperformances
andinstallations, couldofcoursebe purchasedbycollectors.
17Also,the workof Freud,Jung,Reich,and Austrianartistslike
Kokoschka and EgonSchielewereimportant.
18 "Forexample,overa periodoffiveyears, Burdenhadhimself shot,
electrocuted, impaled,cut,drowned, incarcerated, and sequestered not
to makea grandsocial,political,or religiousstatement or to reveala
deep psychological meaning,butjust becausehe knewhe could.These
risky acts revealed much notonlyaboutBurden'spsyche, butthatofhis
viewers" (94).
19The GutaiArtAssociation (GutaiBijutsuKyokai)heldexhibits in
theTokyoMetropolitan Art Museum in the sixties.

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134 Discourse22.2

20 This includesArtaud,who afterall has had a profoundifoften

unrecognized influence
uponmanyAmerican artists
sincetheseventiesas
moreofhisworkbecameavailablein English.
21 'The Chronology" establishedbyKimCooperestablishes a use-
fulguide to eventsfrom1943 to 1979,followedby a listof worksin
the exhibition,a "general"bibliography
and a bibliography of "artists'
bibliographies."

WorksCited

Stephenet.al.,eds.Vision
Melville, andTextuality.
Durham:DukeUP,1995.

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