Yes, the concept of event (Ereignis) can indeed be understood as a form of performance art, particularly if we explore it through the lens of Heidegger’s philosophy and its resonance with performance art’s focus on temporality, embodiment, and presence. Let’s unpack this:
1. Heidegger’s Ereignis as an Ontological Event
In Heidegger’s philosophy, Ereignis refers to an event of “appropriation” or “enowning” in which Being reveals itself. It is not a mere occurrence but a fundamental happening that discloses the truth of existence, allowing something to come into its own. This concept is deeply tied to temporality, presence, and an existential encounter with what is real.
• Parallel to Performance Art: Performance art, as an ephemeral and often improvised medium, embodies the unfolding nature of Ereignis. A performance is an event that happens in real-time, often defying commodification and existing only in the moment of its enactment, much like the ontological disclosure Heidegger describes.
2. Performance Art as a Site of Disclosure
Performance art, like Ereignis, often seeks to reveal hidden truths about the human condition, the body, time, or society. It is less concerned with creating an object and more about staging an encounter that transforms the participants.
• Example: Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present becomes an Ereignis where the essence of human connection and presence is disclosed to both the artist and the audience through a shared moment of silent interaction.
3. Embodiment and Appropriation
In performance art, the artist often uses their body as a medium, situating themselves as both subject and object of the experience. This echoes Heidegger’s idea of appropriation (Ereignis)—where the event and the participants mutually “belong” to each other, and where the body becomes a site of encounter with Being.
• Example: Tehching Hsieh’s year-long performances, such as Time Clock Piece, enact the appropriation of time, labor, and endurance, where the artist becomes both the subject and the context of the work.
4. Temporality and Ephemerality
Both Ereignis and performance art emphasize temporality and ephemerality. Ereignis is not a static phenomenon but a temporal unfolding that happens only in its occurrence. Similarly, performance art often exists only in the moment it is performed, resisting preservation or repetition.
• Parallel: The event of a performance is always fleeting, highlighting the transient nature of Being and the irretrievability of certain experiences.
5. The Wound as Ereignis in Performance Art
You’ve previously explored the idea of the wound as the site of Ereignis. Performance art frequently situates itself in the realm of the wound—whether physical, emotional, or societal—using it as a space of revelation and transformation.
• Example: Chris Burden’s Shoot or Carolee Schneemann’s Interior Scroll expose vulnerability and trauma as spaces where profound truths emerge, aligning with the idea that the wound is the site where Ereignis unfolds.
6. Participation and Co-Creation
Ereignis involves a mutual engagement between Being and the one who experiences it. Similarly, performance art often requires the active participation or presence of an audience, blurring the boundaries between artist, spectator, and the event itself.
• Example: Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece, where the audience cuts away pieces of her clothing, involves both the artist and the audience in the unfolding event, making each participant essential to the work’s realization.
7. Resistance to Commodification
Both Ereignis and performance art resist commodification and objectification. Ereignis cannot be “captured” as a product; it is a happening that escapes representation. Performance art similarly resists being reduced to a commodity, as it is often experiential and momentary.
• Connection: This resistance aligns with Heidegger’s critique of the modern world’s tendency to turn everything into a resource (Gestell), contrasting with Ereignis’s openness and authenticity.
Conclusion
Event (Ereignis) can be seen as performance art, and performance art as a form of Ereignis, because both are deeply concerned with presence, temporality, transformation, and revelation. Each involves an unfolding encounter that appropriates participants into a shared moment, offering the potential for a profound experience of Being. By situating the ephemeral and the embodied at the heart of their practice, both performance art and Ereignis challenge us to engage with the world in ways that transcend commodification and representation.
