Performance Art, or the so-called Body Arts, appeared on the national art scene in the late 1950s, as a form of protest criticizing the weight of a traditional and ossified art system, closed to new artistic practices. The goal was to transgress art's legitimized spaces, -such as the Salón Nacional de Artistas,- by staging performances as a form of attack on the system. Taking this anti-system stance as a starting point, we arrive at the institutionalization of Performance Art, which by the late 1980s had become a “museum pet”[1] and was finally accepted by art criticism[2]. Today, performance is present not only in art salons, fairs, galleries, and museums, but there are also multiple festivals and biennials dedicated exclusively to its promotion.
Performance Art, or the so-called Body Arts, appeared on the national art scene in the late 1950s, as a form of protest criticizing the weight of a traditional and ossified art system, closed to new artistic practices. The goal was to transgress art's legitimized spaces, -such as the Salón Nacional de Artistas,- by staging performances as a form of attack on the system. Taking this anti-system stance as a starting point, we arrive at the institutionalization of Performance Art, which by the late 1980s had become a “museum pet”[1] and was finally accepted by art criticism[2]. Today, performance is present not only in art salons, fairs, galleries, and museums, but there are also multiple festivals and biennials dedicated exclusively to its promotion.
What presence does Performance Art have at the MAC as an institution dedicated to supporting Contemporary Art in all its expressions? What policies should the museum adopt in order to include Performance works in its collection? Using as material the digital archive of video and photography of performances held at the MAC, this research seeks to articulate and stimulate that presence while raising questions about the possibility of collecting the performative.
The show opens on November 17 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and will be open to the public until December 14, 2016 .
Caridad Botella
Guest Curator
[1] As expressed by Alejando Jodorowski
[2] Marilyn León. Obra Activa. (Una) historia del performance en Colombia, 1959-1989, 2012.