If the theme of the performance art is “doing time”, it could explore the multidimensional aspects of time—its passage, its constraints, its psychological weight, and its existential implications. Here are some ideas for performance art pieces centered around this theme:
1. Living in Confinement (Literal “Doing Time”)
• Concept: The artist confines themselves to a small, enclosed space for an extended period to simulate imprisonment.
• Execution: The audience observes through a one-way glass or via a live feed, emphasizing the isolation and monotony of “doing time.” The artist might perform repetitive tasks, such as counting or pacing, to embody the mental toll of confinement.
• Purpose: To interrogate themes of incarceration, freedom, and the human relationship with enforced structure and routine.
2. Repetition as Punishment
• Concept: The artist engages in a single, monotonous action repeatedly (e.g., writing a sentence, folding laundry, or pushing a heavy object back and forth).
• Execution: The performance lasts hours, days, or even weeks, with no clear “completion” in sight.
• Purpose: To evoke the Sisyphean futility of certain human efforts, mimicking the repetitive, cyclical nature of time as experienced in confinement or oppressive structures.
3. Marking Time
• Concept: The artist physically marks the passage of time on their body or surroundings.
• Execution: For example, the artist might tattoo or paint a small mark on their skin every hour for 24 hours, or carve notches into a piece of wood or wall.
• Purpose: To create a visceral connection between the body and the relentless progression of time, while symbolizing the permanence (or impermanence) of lived moments.
4. Wearing Time
• Concept: The artist wears a weighted suit or chains that get progressively heavier as the performance goes on.
• Execution: Over the course of hours or days, the increasing weight slows the artist’s movements, making the passage of time feel more burdensome.
• Purpose: To illustrate how time can accumulate and become oppressive, whether emotionally, physically, or psychologically.
5. The Unbearable Lightness of Time
• Concept: The artist lives on a visible, ticking schedule, performing a new action every hour, on the hour, for a prolonged period (days, weeks, etc.).
• Execution: Actions could range from mundane tasks (eating, drinking, brushing teeth) to symbolic gestures (lighting a candle, ringing a bell). The audience witnesses how time structures the artist’s existence.
• Purpose: To explore the rigidity of time as a framework for life and how we become enslaved to it.
6. Trading Time
• Concept: The artist sits in a public space and invites people to exchange their time for the artist’s time.
• Execution: Participants perform tasks or actions for the artist (e.g., holding a pose, waiting in silence) while the artist reciprocates in some symbolic way (e.g., listening, performing a small gesture).
• Purpose: To reflect on the transactional nature of time in human relationships and economies.
7. Becoming the Clock
• Concept: The artist physically embodies the mechanics of a clock, moving in precise, predetermined ways that mimic the passage of time.
• Execution: The artist could move their arms in circular motions for hours or create a choreographed routine where their body represents the second, minute, and hour hands.
• Purpose: To examine how humans attempt to impose order on time and the ways in which time imposes order on us.
8. Time Erasure
• Concept: The artist actively destroys evidence of time passing.
• Execution: They could erase marks on a surface, burn calendars, or rewind objects (like clocks or sand timers) continuously.
• Purpose: To highlight humanity’s futile attempts to reverse or erase the passage of time, playing with existential anxieties about memory and oblivion.
9. Audience Participation: The Shared Sentence
• Concept: The audience becomes part of the artist’s “sentence” by taking turns performing monotonous actions alongside them.
• Execution: Participants sign up for shifts, joining the artist in repetitive tasks (e.g., walking in circles, counting aloud) for hours at a time.
• Purpose: To simulate collective experiences of time and labor, while inviting reflection on shared endurance and solidarity.
10. Time Fragmentation
• Concept: The artist divides their performance into discrete moments, each lasting a set amount of time, and leaves evidence of each moment behind.
• Execution: The artist might create small, ephemeral works every hour (e.g., tearing a piece of paper, writing a single word, lighting a match) and allow the traces to accumulate over the duration of the performance.
• Purpose: To explore how time is experienced as both continuous and fragmented, questioning how we construct meaning from fleeting moments.
11. Silence of Time
• Concept: The artist remains completely still and silent for a prolonged period, becoming a physical embodiment of the stillness and weight of time.
• Execution: The performance could take place in a public space, with the artist standing motionless for hours or days, inviting the audience to confront the discomfort of unchanging time.
• Purpose: To evoke the tension between the human desire for progress and the unsettling experience of stagnation.
Conclusion
A performance art piece based on “doing time” would inherently engage with the human relationship with temporality, whether as a burden, a framework, or an existential mystery. The most impactful works would likely balance deliberate design (the artist’s will) and openness to the unpredictability of the moment (the event’s appropriation of the artist), echoing the interplay of agency and surrender inherent in our experience of time itself.
