WEEKLY SELFIE - SIMPLE ACT OF PERFORMANCE- Samantha Castro

Performance 1, Samantha Castro, 2024 

Performance 2, Samantha Castro, 2024

Performance 3, Samantha Castro, 2024

Performance 4, Samantha Castro, 2024

This photo series captures a performance where I am drawing as part of a class assignment. The series documents the process of my artistic journey, reflecting the experience and challenges of being an art student. Each shot highlights a moment of creation, reflecting both the act of drawing and the evolution of my personal practice as an art student.

Yoko Ono - A Groundbreaking Artist, Activist and Fighter

“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.”

Yoko Ono's philosophy is that simplicity and direct presence can communicate more profoundly than complex or mediated forms of art. Her emphasis on the artist's physical presence as a means of expression resonates deeply, reminding us that sometimes less is more and that the connection between artist and audience can be most powerful.

“The piece was lauded as an enactment of the physical vulnerability of women in a world where they are reduced to mere objects for looking at.”

This quote about Yoko Ono's Cut Piece is a powerful reminder of the objectification women face. The performance art forces the audience to confront the vulnerability and exploitation women often experience, turning the act of "looking" into something unsettling. I know when watching the video of the performance it made me feel uncomfortable and exposed.

Interview with Shaun Leonardo - Performance, Pedagogy, and Philosophy

“But for Leonardo, the act of experiencing a space, memory, or feeling is simultaneously an opportunity to reflect, meditate, and explore.”

This quote about Shaun Leonardo emphasizes the depth of his art. It shows how his work isn’t just about creating something visual but about engaging with the space and emotions around it. Through his art, he invites the viewer to pause, reflect, and deeply explore their own feelings and memories.

“The workshop, the platform of teaching and learning, is in and of itself the performance. It doesn’t lead to another output or product.” 

I really like how this quote shifts the focus from the final product to the process itself. Shaun Leonardo’s idea that the workshop is a performance makes the act of teaching and learning feel more meaningful. It’s all about the experience and the exchange, rather than just what comes from it.

Raphael Montañez Ortiz, Duncan Terrace Piano Destruction Concert: The Landesmans’ Homage to “Spring can really hang you up the most,”

Raphael Montañez Ortiz’s Duncan Terrace Piano Destruction Concert is an exploration of destruction as a form of art. By tearing apart the piano, he transforms a familiar, refined object into something raw and exposed, allowing us to see its internal structure and hear sounds we wouldn’t normally associate with the instrument. It challenges our ideas of what art is, shifting the focus from creation to destruction and showing how even breaking something down can be an act of liberation and expression. The performance brings out deep contrasts—between melody and noise, order and chaos, Western tradition, and Indigenous rituals. It's how the destruction reveals new possibilities for the piano and opens up broader reflections on culture and identity.

Mierle Laderman Ukeles' Washing/Tracks/Maintenance is such a powerful commentary on the invisible labor that often goes unnoticed, whether in domestic life or within institutions like museums. By scrubbing the museum’s steps as a public performance, she highlights the often overlooked work of maintenance that keeps these spaces functioning. I love how she challenges the traditional ideas of art as creation and instead elevates the everyday act of cleaning into something meaningful. It’s a bold statement on the value of care and the labor that holds our world together, both in the home and in society.