JOYFUL JUNE

Flavor of the month: Performance art

Over the past weeks I have been asking outsiders what they think about the visual art scene in Iceland. Is it different from the rest of Scandinavian scene? What stands out in the Icelandic art scene today?

The answer was clear.

Most people I spoke to, mentioned the active and very visible performance art scene. It did not surprise me. Our biggest stars in the visual art sectors today are performance artists — with Ragnar Kjartansson and Rúrí in the forefront.

“Lord of the castle itch yes” by Leif Holmstrand (2009), CHRYSTAL

 “Back and Forth” by Gatëan Rusquet (2011), ANTI Festival

“Mont Blanc” by Mimosa Pale (2011) Berlin. Image/Niina Braun

“Peta loves Pollock” by Rakel McMahon (2009)

“Dance Drawings” by Meghann Snow (2011), Young Art

Photographs by Konsthopp

Then again, some people might ask — what is performance art?

It is not easy to answer; but I hope the guidelines below might give you a tiny glimpse of what we are talking about when it comes to this specific art form.

THE SYMPTOMS OF PERFORMANCE ART

»Performance Art is live.

»Performance Art has no rules or guidelines. It is art because the artist says it is art. It is experimental.

»Performance Art is not for sale. It may, however, sell admission tickets and film rights.

»Performance Art may be comprise of painting or sculpture (or both), dialogue, poetry, music, dance, opera, film footage, turned on television sets, laser lights, live animals and fire. Or all of the above. There are as many variables as there are artists.

»Performance Art is a legitimate artistic movement. It has longevity (some performance artists, in fact, have rather large bodies of work) and is a degreed course of study in many post-secondary institutions.

»Dada, Futurism, the Bauhaus and the Black Mountain College all inspired and helped pave the way for Performance Art.

»Performance Art is closely related to Conceptual Art. Both Fluxus and Body Art are types of Performance Art.

»Performance Art may be entertaining, amusing, shocking or horrifying. No matter which adjective applies, it is meant to be memorable.

— By Shelley Eesak,  ArtHistoryAbout.com

This month we are going to dig deeper into the field of this ancient art form!

Related entries includes; “The weird girls project” and “I would like to set a trend.”

“I WOULD LIKE TO SET A TREND!”

Artist talk: Mimosa Pale (Finland)

When I think about Finland, a bridge between east and west across my mind. The Finnish people — speaking Swedish by law but in general so different from the Swedes. Their own language — Finnish — so different from everything I´ve heard. And how does the Finnish heartbeat sounds like? Same but — in some way — different?

Mimosa Pale is our first Finnish interviewee. She is an incarnation of coolness — not only because she is an interesting artist — Mimosa also runs a hat store, where she sells her own design  Our guest blogger, Elina Lajunen worked with her in Berlin and introduced us to Mimosa´s intriguing world — of hats.

The curator; Katharina Rettelbach used these kindly words to describe Mimosa:

Her artwork is a synthesis of sculpture and performance art. In her often interactive work, humour, lust and celebration lead to carnevaleque staging. She likes to switch context being it museum, theatre, street or church. She acts in cabaret shows with her singing saw, creates haute-couture for everybody and makes fashion shows in her Berlin flat. Mimosa Pale has visited various international performance art festivals and is currently running Atelier Himo in Berlin.

We are getting one step closer to the Finnish heart. Read Mimosa Pale´s interview here.

Photograph taken from Ausland-Berlin

P.s. If you are Finnish; we hope you can write an article and unveil the secrets behind the mysterious Finnish art scene. Drop us a line at konsthopp@gmail.com