Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 4

Ritual, reality and representation: From ancient theatre to postmodern performance

| CHRISTINA GRAMMATIKOPOULOU
The 20th century marked a dramatic change in the way performance was perceived
and carried out; from a text-based representative act, it turned into an a selfsufficient reality, where emotions and ideas were transmitted through metatextual
elements, like voice, body movements and breath. This change, that allowed the
evolution of performance as a form of visual art, independent of its theatrical
progenitors, has its roots in the nostalgia for the origins of theatre and the interest
in ancient and primitive rituals.

The interest for the ritual is a romantic idea that started to become popular in the
19th century, evolving into an in depth research and an attempt to introduce some
of its elements in contemporary artistic practices, during the 20th century.

Theatre emerged in different societies worldwide from myth and ritual, storytelling,
imitation and fantasy.[1] In the West, the origins of theatre are usually located in
the rituals and myths of Ancient Greece.

According to Aristotles Poetics theatre is rooted in the pagan rituals to honor god
Dionysus in Greece. In these rituals there was no form of representation, apart from
the chorus, that was dressed as satyrs,[2] that is, half men half goats. In one of
these festivities, the leading man of the chorus the korifeos- got out of the circle of
the chorus and started a spontaneous dialogue with the satyrs. They replied by
singing and that was the birth of the theatre; little by little, adding up plot, stage
set, costumes, characters, it evolved into its classical form.

Although the classical plays had very little in common with the original rituals, they
were still performed during religious festivities; even today, the word tragedy
(literally, in Greek: the song of the goats) stays as a remainder of the original chorus
of satyrs.

This narration is largely a myth; even so, it reflects the idea that the non-textual
elements, that constitute theatricality and performativity, preceded the evolution of
theatrical text.

The nostalgia for the ancient rituals that lead to the genesis of theatre starts to
emerge in the late 19th century, notably in Nietzsches essay The Birth of Tragedy
Out of the Spirit of Music.[3] In this essay, Nietzsche states that the theatre should
regain some of its Dionysian force that was lost throughout the centuries, tamed by
the Apollonian spirit. According to him, the Dionysian stands for the primal force of
creation, still formless and chaotic, until the Apollonian measure and harmony give
shape to it, transforming it into a work of art.[4] For Nietzsche the original dramatic
phenomenon of the chorus transforms the actor and the surrounding crowd.

These ideas have a profound impact on Artauds theories about the renewal of
theatre, as we shall see later on in this chapter. On the other hand, the quest for
primitivism and ritualism lies at the roots of performance art. Following Nietzsches
line, Artaud believes that the theatre should be rescued from its servitude to
psychology and human interest,[5] shifting the focus from the objective and
descriptive external world to the internal world, the metaphysical aspect of man.[6]
His vision for the theatre includes a resurrection of its mystical quality and a
creation of a theatrical language that is not virtual but real, where man must
reassume his place between dream and events.[7]

The quest for primitivism and ritualism lies at the roots of performance art.

Performance art started in the early 20th century, in pre-war Italy and Russia. The
Italian Futurists sought new ways to propagate their ideas and their aesthetic, which
praised the machines and provokingly supported war as a generative force, whereas
they condemned ancient culture and the love of the past. During their futurist
evenings they searched for new ways of interacting with the public, often turning to
scandalous acts that outraged the spectators. Thus, the audience never remained
neutral; it got involved in an event organized and controlled by the artist.[8]

Similarly, the Russian Futurists resorted to scandals in order to get the publics
attention, however, in contrast to Marinetti, who asked for the demolition of the
Acropolis, they projected their influence from Russian icons, primitive painting, the
lubok illustrated traditional stories- and folklore poetry.[9]

Without any direct reference to the past or futures, but driven by complete nihilism,
the Dadaists organized their own performances in Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub
based in Zurich, the only island of peace in World War II Europe. The Dadaists

praised the absurd and abandoned any traditional means of expression in art,
music and poetry. Their poems consisted of babbling syllables with a meaningless
succession; their music was improvised noise; their shows combined elements from
cabaret shows, the burlesque and primitive rituals.

During the 1960s and 1970s, performance art became widely known, through Allan
Kaprows happenings, performances by Carolee Schneemann, Joseph Beuys, Yoko
Ono, Bruce Nauman, Vito Acconci, VALIE EXPORT and Marina Abramovi. These
artists experimented with their own bodies and the interaction with the audience. In
their actions, the limits between the private and the public, the personal and the
collective, art and life, were often blurred. These performances helped the public
shape a new way of perceiving art, through personal action and personal
experience. This personal experience influences the way the performer and the
public feel their bodies.

Surpassing theatrical tradition and word, postmodern performance has broken the
bonds with reality and representation; performance artists use their bodies as a
vehicle to explore consciousness and to have a direct impact on the public with very
little or no reference to text or action.

Postmodern performance is characterized by an aesthetic of impermanence,[10]


where the qualities of memory, inheritance and repeatability give way to immediacy
and uniqueness. In performance art the artwork is not some text or image, but the
happening or event and the way it is perceived by the audience.

What is interesting to see here is how visual arts had been fomented by rituals, not
as a nostalgic tendency towards the origins of theatre, but in a much more
substantial manner, with a different perception of reality and representation.

Imitatio dei has been used throughout history as a way to get closer to the divine;
certain words or acts were considered as a representation of archetypical acts the
repetition of an original. Based on this notion, the platonic model of analysis
considers everything as the repetition of an Idea. According to Plato, art is an
imitation of the real world, which is mirroring the world of ideas; therefore, he
rejects art as double representation. Aristotle does not reject representation, but
still defines the theatre as mimesis, an imitation of a deed[11] -meaning that it
represents the original deed and is not a real act. These views have shaped western

thought, in a way that it is very difficult to think outside the paradigm in which
representation is conceived as a gap, an absence.[12]

However, it is not uncommon in rituals preceding the genesis of theatre, that are
still performed in certain cultures, that the performative act does not imitate reality,
but produces reality: for example, it can bring about rain or earth fertility. Likewise,
performance art, as weve stressed above, does not imitate reality but is a real act.
Generally, in performance art there was no representation of a character or event;
the artists sought to blur the limits between art and life, creating a single event that
was not restaged, not rehearsed and not taped any photos or videos of the events
were simply for documentation purposes.

The artists who create time-based art often share an aversion or a disinterest for
leaving behind an art object with an aesthetic and commercial value. Marina
Abramovi has expressed her admiration for the immateriality of the Aboriginal
culture, where the sacred objects, elaborate and beautiful, are destroyed after the
ritual.[13] In both cases, there is no interest in creating objects that will live on after
the ritual or the performance.

Therefore, it is easy to see why theorists and artists that sought to bring about a
change in theatre and a distancing from the idea of representation evoked images
from primitive rituals. As the influence from primitive arts in the early 20th century
liberated the canvas from the Renaissance perspective and the obligation to be a
mirror of the seen world, the inspiration from rituals would help performative arts
discover a different way of communication between the performers and the
audience, which went beyond the narrative potential of the text.

In performance art, the artist somehow acts like a modern day shaman that
introduces the viewers into a mind altering experience.

- See more at: http://interartive.org/2013/01/theatre-and-performance/#_ftn12

Вам также может понравиться