Known as the “topless cellist,” performance artist Charlotte Moorman was a muse of Nam June Paik.  On a side note, it is interesting that so many of the performance artists I have been looking at ran around the same circle, collaborating and celebrating one another.

Moorman was not only a classically trained musician, she was a strong conceptual artist.  “Some of Ms. Moorman’s best-known pieces, many of them deemed to be scandalous at the time they were performed, are ‘Cello Sonata No. 1 for Adults Only’ in 1965; ‘TV Bra for Living Sculpture,’ in 1969, in which she wore a bra made of two small television sets; ‘Global Groove,’ a video performance in 1973, and a 1971 Nam June Paik piece, popularly known as ‘The TV Cello,’ in which Ms. Moorman played a cello made out of three television sets, to which strings had been attached.”

Info from nytimes.com

(vag)Anal Painting 2005 from David Khang on Vimeo.

This piece by Shigeko Kubota is a new spin on her 1965 Vagina Painting.  She is a conceptual artist married to Nam June Paik.  “Kubota’s work was part of the Fluxus movement, an international network of artists, composers and designers, including Yoko Ono and George Maciunas, noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines.” Her performances are captivating and thought-provoking. In my own work I aspire to this and I want the viewer to think conceptually about what I protray.

info from http://bodytracks.org/2009/06/shigeko-kubota-vagina-painting/

His time based projections in this exhibit are shocking and incredible!  However his entire body of work is cohesive and equally powerful.  His aesthetic, disgustingly beautiful is a style that I gravitate towards.  He has shown extensively and is a highly imaginative conceptual artist.

http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/artists/tony-oursler

Peter Campus was an artist I stumbled on while looking at other performance art videos on Youtube. Although this work is dated, it remains relevant in its’ conceptual focus.  I am drawn to the absurdity and the use of his own identity in his work.

In many ways, I draw many ideas from Cindy Sherman.  From her Art21 interview, she stands out as very pragmatic in her collection of masks, costumes, mannequins, etc.  I am fascinated by her sophisticated work that is creepy and I like how she plays with her identity by changing and using other things.  The skill of separating her identity from her work is awesome, and something I am starting to practice.

I found the following images from her website.

Her projection on the Guggenheim stands out to me from my contemporary art reservoir.  From what I can recall from her Moma interview, she likes programming, words, and projection.  She explains that she is reliant on people to help her with the technological aspects of her work and I have done the same but now am in more of a practice of learning as I go and developing my own tricks.

I am not proud to say this, but I became aware of this artist from a cheesy Buzzfeed article.  Regardless, the message of her work is so strong.  Abramovic has a long history of great performance work.  In this piece, she sat in the gallery and people came up to sit across from her, while she stared at them.  Ulay ended up coming to the exhibit.

Ulay is another performance artist who worked and had a relationship with Abramovic in the ’70s. “In 1988, the two artists decided to make a spiritual journey to represent the end of their relationship. They went to China where the walked the length of the Great Wall starting on opposite ends and meeting in the middle to exchange goodbyes.”

Marina and Ulay conveyed the concept of this piece through symbolism.  “We needed a certain form of ending, after this huge distance walking towards each other. It is very human. It is in a way more dramatic, more like a film ending … Because in the end you are really alone, whatever you do.”

Dash Snow came from a prominent art lineage, but his rebellious nature inspired his debauchery.  He was involved in the Iraq graffiti group and he went on to do photos and installations that captured his crazy vision.  I love his work and I am interested in pushing boundaries as well.  The video and images are randomly from Google.  I found out about Dash Snow from one of my friends that does graffiti and he told me about the above installation where he lived and partied with his friends in a hamster-cage-esque gallery full of newspaper.  This installation is perhaps my favorite work of his.  

Considered the founder of video art, Nam June Paik, has an incredible body of work.  Originally inspired by the Fluxus movement, Nam went on to create a new genre and developed the community of performance and conceptual thinkers that sprung out of the 60s and 70s.  He has used TVs and lighting to create installation work that is breathe-taking.  His collaboration with and inspiration on other artists is moving to me.

images and info found from wikipedia

Ana Mendieta was an artist I researched in art history and thanks to my professors, I now have a greater understanding of her work.  It relates to Pipilotti’s intense self portraits.  I love the documentation aspect of Mendieta’s performance work and it motivates me to document my own work more. In Mendieta’s short life, she made numerous series.  She gained much recognition from feminists, because she embraced womanhood and the violence and injustice that woman have encountered.