From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
New Media Art
Definition
- Described as a form of avant-garde or conceptual art, performance art is traditionally defined by the incorporation of four basic elements: time, space, the performer’s body and the audience (Art History Club, 2005). However, these defining elements have become more fluid as New Media Technologies are now commonly used in performance art to alter the time, space and/or the interaction between the performer’s body and the audience.
- Performance art distinguishes itself from the performing arts, such as, dance, music, theatre or circus related actions. This allows the term "performance art" to be reserved for more experimental and innovative work (Art History Club, 2005).
- It wasn’t until the 1960’s, that performance art became readily identified as a form of “Multimedia Art�?, a spawn off the visual arts (Rush, 1999). Since then performance art has seen many changes due to the increased computability, interactivity and connectivity of new media technologies. This has facilitated change in the industry by allowing new media technologies to help create, or contribute to a performance piece.
- Today, performance art frequently incorporates digital projections of still photographs, videos and/or DVDs. Audio Art is also often incorporated. More complex technologies have also been deeply explored, with the use of other interactive and automotive technologies. For example, voice and movement activation systems are common place, as are the use of robotics and virtual reality systems. Australian artist STELARC presents examples of this as he explores the use of robotics, prosthetics, virtual reality systems and the internet in his art (STELARC, 2005).
Key People in History
- Judson Church artists, an influential collection of choreographers and performance artists in New York during the 1960’s, conducted dance and media experiments that ignited the movement towards collating art and technology.
- Robert Rauschenberg was chief among the visual artists who initiated an early interest in the intermingling of these faculties. Collaboration was struck between him and an electronic and sound engineer, Billy Klüver. Klüver was notable for his many collaborative works, having teamed up with the likes of Jean Tinguely in the past.
- At this early, experimental time, works such as Variations V and Nine Evenings: Theater and Engineering were produced. Incorporating dancers and technology, these works introduced audiences to the first sound systems that could be activated by movements, projections and sounds. These early works anticipated, and paved the way for the computer-controlled live performances that have been commonly seen in theatres over the last 15 years (Rush, 1999).
- 1967 saw the Klüver, Rauschenberg partnership form Experiments in Art and Technology (EAT), a group devoted to collaboration between artists and engineers. According to Billy Klüver (2000), EAT flourished into an international organisation and within two years they had four thousand members.
Further Information
INTERNAL LINKS
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EXTERNAL LINKS
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References
- Butt, G. (ed.) (2005) After Criticism: New Responses to Art and Performance, Carlton: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0631232842
- Rush, M. (1999) New Media in Late 20th-Century Art, New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500203296
- Stelarc (1995) "Towards the Post-Human", in Spiller, N. (ed.) Cyber Reader: Critical Writings of The Digital Era, London: Phaidon, pp. 262-269. ISBN 0714840718
- Art History Club (2004) Art History Web Reference and Guide, retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://www.arthistoryclub.com/index.html
- Judson Memorial Church (2000) Judson Church Profile: Who We Are , retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://www.judson.org/searchprofile.html
- Klüver, B. (2000) Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.): Archive of published documents, retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=306
- Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. (2005) Dictionary.com, retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://dictionary.reference.com/
- Daniels, D., Frieling, R., and Helfert, H. (2003) Media Art Net, retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/mediaartnet/
- Public Broadcasting Service (2005) American Masters: Robert Rauschenberg, retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/rauschenberg_r.html
- Tinguely Museum (2005) Museum Tinguely: A Cultural Commitment of Roche, retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://www.tinguely.ch/en/index.html
- Wikipedia (2005) Retrieved September 30, 2005, from http://www.wikipedia.org
Contributors to This Entry Include:
User:Heike Herrling
Final Word Count: 448
Heike Herrling 17:30, 27 Oct 2005 (EST)
