Performance Piece

Out of all the performance artists I looked at, I'd have to say that Marina Abramovic, the Guerrilla Girls, and the Wooster Group are my three favorite. All of their work is similar in the sense that they don't just use paintings or banners or posters to get a message out; whether it be in a theater, an art gallery or museum, or out in a public area, they use themselves to perform. Marina Abramovic is well known for using her body as a medium, the Guerrilla Girls advocate through their own speeches, and the Wooster Group is a theater group, so naturally they are using their bodies to tell the story of the performance. Of course the three aren't exactly the same since they all have their own means and opinions of performing, but they seem relatively similar if you look quickly enough. As for technology being an essential component to each artists work, I noticed it was mostly only used by the Wooster Group. The group appears to use it in their productions whether it be for microphones (or audio), lighting, and the movement of props or curtains. They also have their own website and record vlogs to post that help them to advertise their shows and their group. Marina, on the other hand, uses objects to convey what she is doing and often puts herself in challenging positions, and the Guerrilla Girls seem to stick to banners, posters, or other forms or art in order to get their message across.

I was actually a bit inspired by all three of these artists though my piece wasn't anything close to what they do. I wasn't too sure of what I wanted to do at first, but the more I thought about it, and after looking at some of the works, I decided it would be kind of neat to be on screen making a drawing. Most of the time you don't see the artist at work, you just see the product of their work, so I figured it would be something a little different from the usual. The issue was figuring out where to do it; my hometown doesn't have a lot of places where there are constantly a bunch of people. Luckily it's the holiday season and our public park downtown had the little ice rink set up so that's where I decided to go since there are usually a good amount of people that come and go during that time. Another issue was finding something to draw on; I knew I needed a larger sheet of paper, but keeping it upright would be difficult unless I had an easel. I ended up borrowing one from a friend and then used cardboard to create a hard surface to draw on. The drawing itself is of a Carolina Wren, which is appropriate for our park since it's named Carolina Wren Park. I had sketched it in pencil at home, since it would be hard to do once I got to the park, then outlined and colored it with my water-based markers. I did end up having to do it over the course of two days because of timing, but I think it still turned out pretty well.