News from Heidi Lee Art Advisory

The Revival of Performance Art

Everywhere you turn in the art world it seems like you run into Performance art. We are definitely experiencing a revival with huge exhibitions on view such as Tino Sehgal's moving acts at the Guggenheim, Aki Sasamoto's peculiar dramas at the Whitney Biennial, and Marina Abramovic's 700 hour meditation at the MoMA. This non-commercial, ephemeral-based art form that can not be treated as a commodity is a stark contrast to the market boom we experienced mid-decade.

Performance art has its origins in the early 20th century and is closely identified with the progress of the avant-garde, beginning with Futurism in Italy 1910. The Futurists practiced every medium of art, including painting, sculpture, graphic design, theater, film, literature, music, architecture and even gastronomy. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti started the movement with his Futurist Manifesto in 1909, expressing a passionate loathing for everything old, especially political and artistic tradition, hence the focus on the future. Futurism and its emphasis on youth, speed, and technology remains a significant pillar of Western culture and Modern art.

Yves Klein's Le Saut dans le Vide (Leap into the Void), Paris, 1960

Performance art resurfaced in smatterings after that with Picasso's Parade ballet in 1916 and again in 1919 with the Bauhaus movement. It became more common in the 1960s, the first sign being Jackson Pollack's drip paintings that earned him the moniker "Jack the Dripper" and with John Cage. Cage was one of the leading figures of post-war avant-garde and critics lauded him as one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century (see John Cage's seminal piece 4 minute 33 seconds).

Other artists who became closely associated with Performance art include Yves Klein, Allan Kaprow, Carolee Schneemann and Joseph Beuys. Their art was meant to challenge the audience to think in new and unconventional ways about theater and performing and break traditions in art. It could be scripted, non scripted, improvisational and incorporate dance, song or complete silence.

Rosalee Greenberg, founder of the Performance biennial, Performa, said "performance has always been an important catalyst in the history of twentieth-century art [and] has been a way of appealing directly to a large public, as well as shocking audiences into reassessing their own notions of art and its relation to culture."

The Rise of Commercial Fine Art

Like Performance art, Street art is receiving critical attention with museum-quality shows opening across America and abroad. Jeffrey Deitch's final show starring Shepard Fairey, his Os Gemeos mural on Houston Street, Jonathan Levine's impressive 5th anniversary show, and Banky's show at the Bristol Museum are all examples of this trend. Street artists tend to work independently and embrace anarchistic ideals. They share an intense sense of community like the Performance artists but make 'anti-art', or art that communicates with everyday people about socially relevant themes as opposed to art that is meant for an exclusive group. This practice intends to establish itself as a legitimate form of contemporary art not by subverting the art market, as performance does, but by embracing the art market.

James Jean, Fables

James Jean, a Taiwanese-American award winning artist one such artist who blurs the line between fine art and commercial art and who has made a very successful career for himself. Increasingly Street artists are crossing over into commercial art. Look at KAWS with his toy multiples, R. Crumb with his witty gritty comics and Robert Indiana with his 'Love' stamps--all of whom are deeply entrenched in the art historical canon.

Gagosian shop, New York

In September 2009, Larry Gagosian, arguably the most influential dealer in the world, opened a shop selling artist multiples, on 988 Madison Avenue, right after the market bounced back. He clearly anticipated the rise of art and commerce. Damien Hirst, Britian's wealthiest artist, whose work is featured in the Gagosian retail shop, rose to fame due to his ability to embrace and manipulate the commerciality of fine art (much the same way Picasso did). The artist said: "I always think that money is a fantastic tool to get people to take you seriously."

The logical next step is for the commercial and academic realms of contemporary art to embrace the legitimacy of editions or multiples. Many multiples from the 1960s play on consumerism, such as Claes Oldenberg's 1966 Wedding Souvenir (cake slices) and Andy Warhol's screenprinted Brillo Boxes. Joseph Beuys, whose first Felt Suite in 1970 was made in an edition of 100, famously said, "If you have all my multiples, then you have me entirely." Today, the popularity of CerealArt, Eyestorm, Kid Robot, Multiples Inc, and Editions Fawbush, are all examples of this and new companies are popping up after them including 20x200 and EditionedArt, the first online consignment gallery for quality limited editions.

If the intent of the now legitimized urban artists is to embrace the commercial side of fine art, the next step is for them to accept that these works can be made in multiples without diluting their value in terms of contribution to the progression of contemporary art. If true, we can certainly expect to see more artists centering their art around the market whether it is a medium that allows them to survive or to be carefree.

Artist as Curator: Jeff Koons
The curatorial profession has always adapted to the changing art landscape as paradigm and power shifts take place over time. The concept of artist as curator is not necessarily new. Late-19th- and early-20th-century European and North American artists who protested the conservative salons and art institutions of their day were inspired by their desire to bypass existing museums and galleries and present innovative and experimental art directly to the public. They formed avant-garde groups to show their work outside the bounds of the establishment.

koons ball

Today, artists are intervening in institutions. Jeff Koons' is a good example of the evolution of the "artist/curator" hybrid practice. His show at the New Museum, Skin Fruit, also shows the close relationship the artist has with the collector, Dakis Joannou. Carol Vogel's article in NY Times, Jeff Koons Tries Hand as Guest Curator stated, "For an artist who seems to have been everywhere and done everything for nearly three decades, Mr. Koons is taking a new direction. He is trying his hand as a curator, agreeing to organize an exhibition of the Greek industrialist Dakis Joannou's contemporary-art collection..." A long list of artists are still curating shows including Bruce Nauman, Jack Pierson, Kiki Smith, Jim Nutt, Mary Heilmann and Mike Kelley.

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