Simple Act of Performance - MB

 

Monique Boss, Untitled, 2024

In this performance, I decided to bring it back to self-identity. I've spent a lot of time overcriticizing my looks and in my youth struggled to love what I see in the mirror. I used to want different features, skin color, or hair texture and at times tried to strip myself of those very things. I've tried to lighten my skin and have had relaxers in my hair. To this day I still often find myself struggling to embrace what I see, feeling like that child again. I've come a long way, but I wanted to highlight how, some days, it is still a journey.

Yoko Ono - A Groundbreaking Artist, Activist and Fighter

"As she explained, art represents a way of showing people how you can think, and even though some people think of it as a beautiful wallpaper that you can sell, Yoko Ono rather perceives it as a direct connection with activism."

In the reading it made clear that, Yoko Ono is a groundbreaking figure known for her unique artistic style, activism, and innovative approach to feminism in her work. Despite facing criticism and being misunderstood or underappreciated, she has turned that negativity into motivation, consistently merging her creative talents with her activist efforts.

"It wasn’t uncommon for Yoko to draw parallels between spiritual and religious practices and artistic creation. She allowed her Japanese education and American artistic formation to merge into a new mindfulness, creating a vessel through which she viewed artistry as the absence of complexity, a vacuum through which she was led to a state of complete relaxation of mind. Her idea that physical presence of the artist could communicate far more forcefully than a mediated representation influenced generations of future artists."

"Cut piece" is seen as a feminist and body-focused art. It is a powerful communication of the physical vulnerability of women and has impacted future artists. It's really inspiring to witness how this piece pushed against societal standards and opened doors for feminist activism and performance art.

Interview with Shaun Leonardo - Performance, Pedagogy, and Philosophy

"I don’t understand how I never felt that the historical art canon could not be achieved simply because of my ethnicity or color. That was never a blockage for me, psychologically.

... 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."

Shaun Leonardo's work as an artist and educator aims to provide representation for young people, particularly those of color, and he highlights the significance of showcasing the work of artists of color to connect with both those who relate to their experiences and those who might not which I find to be different approaches from other artists. 

"That project is entitled “You Walk”: as guests pass through this hallway, they encounter different text prompts that invite them to slow down. In the poetics of the text, I’m asking an individual to not only create their own associations with their lived experience but also imagine that same movement embodied by a very different person. "

I enjoyed learning about the artist Shaun Leonardo. Who I believe is deeply connected by his experiences as an activist and educator so much so that his work reflect and explore these exact experiences. What I love about the artist is how socially engaged his practice. With, "You Walk"  inspires others to not only look within themselves but encourages them to see from another person's experience. I think this holds a lot of space for people to grow emotionally and socially. 

Murakami Saburö, Passing Through, 1956

Bill Viola, The Crossing, 1996

"Viola’s use of slow-motion is meant to invite a meditative and contemplative response, one that requires the viewer to concentrate for a longer duration of time and simultaneously to increase his or her own awareness of detail, movement, and change. This is consistent with the artist’s intent to reignite the longstanding relationship between artistic and spiritual experience. "

I think Viola's use of video and sound creates an immersive experience that challenges us to contemplate the mysteries of existence. The interplay between light and dark, water and fire, and silence evokes a sense of wonder or even anxiety.