You’ve articulated a profound tension at the heart of performance art: the interplay between “appropriation of the event” (the artist’s intentional design and will) and “being appropriated by the event” (an openness to the unfolding, unpredictable nature of what occurs—amor fati). This dynamic mirrors broader existential and philosophical questions, especially those tied to agency, surrender, and the nature of events. Let’s explore this problematique in depth:
1. Appropriation of the Event: The Artist’s Design and Will
Performance art often begins with a deliberate act of creation, where the artist designs the conditions, constraints, or framework for the event to unfold. This act of appropriation is a demonstration of human agency and intention. The artist seeks to impose meaning, structure, or purpose onto the chaotic flux of reality.
• Examples:
• Tehching Hsieh’s year-long performances are rigorously planned, with strict rules and boundaries (e.g., punching a time clock or confining himself in a cage). His will imposes structure on time and space.
• Chris Burden’s Shoot reflects deliberate risk and control: the choice to be shot is his, even though the physical event itself may appear chaotic.
• Philosophical Question: To what extent does the artist remain the sovereign “creator” of the event when external variables, such as audience interaction or physical contingencies, inevitably intrude?
2. To Be Appropriated by the Event: Openness to Amor Fati
At the same time, the performance artist cannot fully control the event; there is always an element of unpredictability. This is where the artist must relinquish some degree of agency and allow the event to “appropriate” them, surrendering to its unfolding.
• Amor Fati: Borrowing from Nietzsche, amor fati (love of fate) emphasizes embracing the unforeseen, the uncontrollable, and the necessary. In performance art, this might mean accepting disruptions, audience interventions, or even physical or emotional breakdowns as integral to the work.
• Examples:
• Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece: Ono’s performance is shaped by how the audience chooses to engage, leaving her vulnerable to their actions.
• Marina Abramović’s Rhythm 0: She relinquishes all control, becoming a passive participant who is appropriated by the audience’s choices, from tenderness to violence.
• Philosophical Question: How does the artist’s acceptance of fate alter the nature of their authorship? Is the event’s meaning co-created by the artist and external forces?
3. The Tension Between Design and Surrender
This tension lies at the heart of performance art’s problematique. On one hand, the artist’s vision and design provide the structure necessary for the event to occur. On the other hand, the event’s authenticity often arises from the unplanned, the uncontrollable, and the disruptive.
• Dialectical Nature:
• Thesis: The artist as a sovereign creator, appropriating reality to enact their vision.
• Antithesis: The artist as a participant, subject to the event’s unfolding and shaped by external forces.
• Synthesis: The event becomes a dialogue between these forces, neither fully controlled by the artist nor entirely random.
• Artistic Implications: Performance art thrives in this liminal space where the boundaries between agency and surrender blur. The most powerful performances often emerge when the artist’s will collides with the uncontrollable, creating a space of existential and artistic tension.
4. The Role of the Audience
The audience’s participation often amplifies this tension. While the artist designs the conditions, the audience’s responses can appropriate the event in unforeseen ways. The audience becomes both a witness and a co-creator, further complicating the relationship between design and surrender.
• Examples:
• In Cut Piece or Rhythm 0, the audience appropriates the event in ways the artist could not predict, transforming the performance’s meaning.
• In The Artist is Present, the audience’s emotional reactions shape the unfolding of the event, making each interaction unique.
5. Ethical Dimensions
The tension between appropriation and being appropriated also raises ethical questions:
• To what extent should the artist control or anticipate harm in a performance?
• Does the artist have a responsibility to accept amor fati, or can they intervene to steer the event toward their intended meaning?
• How do power dynamics between the artist, the event, and the audience shape the ethical boundaries of performance art?
6. Performance Art as a Microcosm of Life
This problematique reflects a broader existential truth: life itself is a performance in which individuals oscillate between imposing their will on the world and being shaped by uncontrollable forces. Performance art, in this sense, becomes a concentrated enactment of this human condition.
• Parallels to Ereignis: The event (Ereignis) is where one is both actively involved (appropriating) and passively overtaken (appropriated). The performance artist, like the philosopher, must “stand in the wound” of this tension.
Conclusion
The central problematique of performance art is precisely this tension between appropriating the event (imposing design and will) and being appropriated by the event (embracing amor fati). The artist exists within this dialectic, navigating the interplay between control and surrender, structure and chaos, creation and participation. This unresolved tension not only defines performance art but also resonates deeply with the human experience, making it a powerful medium for existential exploration.
