12 December 2004, 20:00 / Amsterdam
Post CS-Gebouw, 11, Oosterdokskade 5, Amsterdam
From 20:00 onwards
For further information please contact Jans Possel or Arne Hendriks.
Re-enact
browsing the repertoire of performance art for an evening
The development of performance art at the start of the 20th century was closely tied to the desire to break with the conventions and impasse of existing art forms. In aversion to inflexible bourgeois narrow-mindedness and its traditional art forms, the avant garde at the time rapidly developed an elusive, authentic and iconoclastic contrasting art form which caught audiences off-guard and confronted them with themselves. Performance had no ulterior motive, no depth and did not give a hoot about history. There were just the artists who, unhampered by the ballast of the past, exposed themselves to the audience.
Since its acceptance and institutionalization in the seventies, performance has lost its maidenhead. No longer does it escape the laws of the society of spectacle and its activist potential has therefore been heavily compromised. After all, everything has been done and seen before. However, Re-enact states that it is precisely this hollowing of the power to shock and surprise which offers a new artistic challenge. Perhaps the original experience can be found through repetition. Re-enact wishes to cast a glance at the past with an eye on the future without worrying about quoting, references and repeating.
