From 02-04-2005 until 05-06-2005

Contemporary Performance Art:

Franko B., Yael Davids, Hayley Newman, L.A. Raeven, Francesca da Rimini, Sterling Ruby and David Still

During opening Resonance April 1 at 18.30 h. live performance Carolina Feix, Heaven is a Place that Starts with 'H'

An interest in the renewal of performance art has arisen in recent years. Resonance shows various performances in which the ideas and strategies of classic performance art can still be found. At the same time, the search for other approaches and new methods is central in them. Resonance is interested first of all in contemporary artists who take the human body as their point of departure for presenting their concepts. For them the body is the instrument par excellence for 'being human' and experiencing, investigating and portraying life.

But what happens when the performance is over? The second line in the exhibition is made up of documentation. The value of photography and video has already often been cited in relation to performance. Rather than having the direct presence of an audience, the artist only shows the audience what he or she wants to show. In this way crucial elements can be spotlighted or augmented. The communal experience of live performance is exchanged for individual experience. In examining documentation, the exhibition at the same time poses the question of to what extent the live element indeed can be seen as the characteristic feature of performance art.

In the live program of Resonance it is precisely the question of communal experience of live performance that is central. Despite the fact that the idealism of the emancipatory/innovative element has disappeared from performance art, this form appears to be able to count on a powerful interest in its renewal. What does contemporary performance look like, how does it differ from its archaic predecessors from the 1960s and 1970s, and how do artists try to win the interest and attention of their audience, who, like the performers themselves, are familiar with the history of performance art?

The performances will take place at various locations, including the Netherlands Media Art Institute and Paradiso. They are being recorded on video, and then will be shown in the exhibition Resonance. With this, the live section seeks to link up smoothly with the performance video installations exhibited.

Carolina Feix, Heaven is a Place that Starts with 'H'
Date: April 1 during the opening of the exhibition Resonance
Place: Netherlands Media Art Institute
Begins 6:30 p.m.
Admission: free
The work of Carolina Feix (Germany, 1976) is reminiscent of radical works from the early years of performance art. Physicality, aggression, confrontation and power are her instruments for provoking and manipulating viewers. She seeks to invade the privacy of perfect strangers by creeping onto their clothing, bed and thoughts. Her extreme performances often evoke reactions born of surprise and powerlessness from the audience. She is preparing a new performance for the opening of the exhibition Resonance.

Lars Eijssen, Flower Piece # 1: the Effort
Date: April 28
Place: Stedelijk Museum / Club 11
Begins: 8:00 p.m.
Admission: free
Lars Eijssen (Ned., 1967) employs song, dance, fashion, light and styling in his performances. If Romanticism in the 19th century was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment, today authentic experience is a reaction to the dumbing down of our visual culture. Eijssen does not let go of the visual language of our hyper-styled reality, but hopes, through the complete surrender of song and dance, to free up equally intense feelings in the viewer. Lars Eijssen will be making a new performance for Resonance, Flower Piece #1: the Effort, in which the elements will be arranged like a bouquet. The singers, dancers and the decor melt together into a moving painting.
http://members.chello.nl/eijssen/

Javier Núñez Gasco, Immolation
Date: May 12
Place: Paradiso
Begins: 12:30 a.m.
Admission: 6,-
Doubt about your own position as an artist in society is the central theme in the work of Javier Núñez Gasco (Spain, 1971). In his performance Immolation he walks into a nightclub stripped to the waist. The red belt with bottles of beer that he has hanging around his waist makes him look like a political martyr just before a suicide bombing. While the beat of the music pumps and you hear the people around him laughing and talking, Gasco seems to be in a daze. He drinks one bottle after another, and ends up on a lonely path where, in the end, he finds unconsciousness. In his work, through mental and physical exhaustion he attains the 'personal paradise' that every martyr seeks.

Yanick Fournier, V_game02_performance
Date: May 17
Place: Netherlands Media Art Institute
Begins: 8:30 p.m.
Admission: 3,50/2,50
In his performances Yanick Fournier (Switz., 1978) tries to explicate the aesthetic of computer games. The work that he is showing during Resonance is called V_game02_performance, which he has based on the bloody and sweaty combat in the boxing ring. Two boxers compete with each other for the prize, but they have no control over the contest themselves. Although they are the ones who throw and take the punches, it is two men outside the ring who control their movements. A surveillance camera records the impotence and automatism of the game, inside and outside the ring.
http://www.khm.de/~yanick/index.html

Olav Westphalen, Simple Pleasures
Date: June 5
Place: Netherlands Media Art Institute
Begins: 4:00 p.m.
Admission: free
According to Olav Westphalen, art should not be taken seriously - and neither should he, sometimes. This artist moves in the middle ground between art and everyday life; fantasy and reality combine in his performances. With complete cynicism, he ridicules the traditions of art, but afterwards can again offer serious reflections on art criticism. From artist to comic, cartoon hero or tiger, clever clogs and scamp, his role plays are as fast as his humor. All these contrasts create tension and assure his is a fascinating performance.

---

Various works from the collection of the Netherlands Media Art Institute and De Appel will also be shown.

A lecture program is being organized in cooperation with De Appel

12 april: Movements in theatre, dance and performance art
Moniek Toebosch (Das Arts) and Jeroen Fabius (Dance Unlimited)
Location: Netherlands Media Art Institute
Start: 20.30 h.

19 april: Re-enactment
Marga van Mechelen (UvA) and Sven Lutticken (kunstcriticus)
Location: Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst
Start: 20.30 h.

26 april: Performance present and past
Location: De Appel
Start: 20.00 h.

Thanks to:
Mondriaan Foundation, VSB fonds, BeamSystems