SELF-PORTRAIT PERFORMANCE (10pts)-Yosiry Beltre

Yosiry Beltre, "Eye to Eye", 2024

Yosiry Beltre, Left Eye, 2024

Izzy, Right Eye, 2024

    My performance is inspired by Marina Abromovic's "The Artist is Present" piece that she did in the MOMA. I wanted to capture the idea of taking the time to just sit down and take in someone's appearance, which I think we lack today in society. I don't mean that we should go around scrutinizing everyone's looks but I've noticed how little people look at each other anymore beyond what is the bare minimum. Which, in my opinion, has nothing to do with the "evils of technology" like cell phones as much as people would like to say. I think this phenomenon has more to do with the "hustle culture" and dependence on capitalism that, at least in America, we're plagued with. American society values work above all else including mental/physical health, family, etc. etc. This has a lot to do with wages being sub-standard while the pieces of everything else have risen, forcing people to literally work to death; because the other option is to abuse and steal which is how many of the super wealthy have done to get into their positions. Hustle culture is a manifestation of this issue that's been re-packaged for the younger demographic of future workers.

 If you're not aware of what hustle culture is, it's a social media sub-culture that encourages its audience to turn anything they have into a form of making money. This could be something as simple as an idea to things like hobbies. Pretty much hustle "influencers" believe that every waking moment should be spent trying to make money and that self-care or anything less than straight up back breaking work is seen as laziness. Now what does that have to do with my performance piece? Well in the video I'm sitting with a friend and drawing her portrait while she does the same. While we draw, we make idle talk, which you can't hear in the video. It's one of those rare occasions we get to be idle because, much like a lot of young people in this modern era, we're constantly busy with either college coursework or other things. Even when we do meet up we're often doing some sort of assignment or talking about how tired we are. This video is one of the few moments where we can spend quality time together. Unfortunately, many people aren't in a position like that. 

    Now let's get into more detail on "The Artist is Present" performance. It consists of the artist sitting in a chair and people are invited to sit and just stare at her. At first, that sounds ridiculous, but if you think about it it's actually quite revolutionary. I've said this before, but I personally feel like the artist industry has been infected with materialism and consumer culture; where many young and older artists feel like they need to create to make a profit. I don't blame them though because I'll be the first to say that I didn't study art because I knew I couldn't make money off of it. Anyways, since the status quo nowadays is to have fancy equipment and super organized props and overall, very curated works that can be good for social media posts and newsreels; something as simple and as randomly put together as two chairs just to be used for sitting and staring is very unique. Speaking of unique, here are some quotes that I feel are relevant to my performance piece.

Quote 1: "“The whole idea is to slow down your mind,” Abramović says in the footage about activities such as swimming naked in a river, chanting and sitting blindfolded in a chair as she paces around beating a pellet drum."" (NYTimes | Being Marina Abromovic)

Connection: My performance shows the importance of needing time to slow down. In my video, me and my friend are laughing and having a good time, which is lacking when you're forced to work several jobs just to eat and have shelter. 

Quote 2: "Yes. I offer that narrative with the recognition that, over my life and professional career, I have witnessed young people be easily derailed when they don’t see themselves in the representation of who is creating." (Hispanic Executive | Interview with Shaun Leonardo - Performance, Pedagogy, and Philosophy)

Connection: Coming from an afro-Caribbean background and living in a place as diverse as Jersey City, I've noticed how the "working yourself to death" culture especially affects my community and other minority communities. Because we're put on a disadvantage by the cultural/political climate of America we often have to work twice as hard to receive a sliver of recognition, care, and respect compared to our white Christian neighbors. 

Quote 3: "In the span of 150 years, the period that “Close-Up” covers, women in general and female artists in particular were able to expand their sphere of influence beyond the home and into the larger society. The shift was mirrored in an evolution in portraiture from domestic, intimate subject matter to images that reflected societal issues more broadly." (Female Gaze: Art that Looks at What Women See | NYTIMES)

Connection: Homemakers especially suffer from this problem even if its in a different way. Since the typical gender roles for women are to be seen in an "ideal" light, much of the interactions housewives and women in that same sphere were performative regardless of whether they were in front of their husbands or not. Because of this conditioning it's skewed how people perceive eachother.