PERFORMANCE: Commissions from Performa’s Archive

Arto Lindsay, Somewhere I Read, 2009, A Performa 09 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa, Whitechapel Gallery Archive — Arto Lindsay, Somewhere I Read, 2009, A Performa 09 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa

Performa is a multidisciplinary non-profit arts organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of 20th Century art. Part of Performa’s mission is to present a biennial of visual art performance in New York City that illuminates the critical role of performance in the history of art as well as its enormous significance in the international world of contemporary art.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Performa Archive

Founded in 2004 by art historian and curator RoseLee Goldberg, Performa is dedicated to commissioning and presenting performance art, and exploring its critical role throughout art history. Since 2005 the biennial has commissioned more than 64 new works, presented over 450 artists, and collaborated with numerous curators and institutions to stage cross-disciplinary events involving dance, film, music, architecture and food across New York City. The exhibition “Commissions from Performa’s Archive” at Whitechapel Gallery presents significant documentary recordings from the archives of Performa. On presentation are works by: Jérôme Bel, Sanford Biggers, Candice Breitz, Iona Rozeal Brown, Elmgreen and Dragset, Omer Fast, David Hallberg, Christian Jankowski, Jesper Just, Wyatt Kahn, Mike Kelley, Jon Kessler, Ragnar Kjartansson, Arto Lindsay, Liz Magic Laser, Ryan McNamara, Oscar Murillo, Kelly Nipper, Adam Pendleton, Raqs Media Collective, Yvonne Rainer, Robin Rhode, Mika Rottenberg and Francesco Vezzoli. Screening footage of over 20 selected commissions that debuted as part of the Performa biennial, the exhibition presents significant performance works from the past decade and examines the impact that the organisation has had on the development of live art over the past 12 years. Working closely with artists across mediums, each commission is the product of research and experimentation developed in tandem with Performa’s team of curators to challenge artists to create live performance, often for the first time. Highlights of the display include Yvonne Rainer’s “RoS Indexical” (2007), Mike Kelley’s “Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #32, Plus” (2009), referencing the bizarre theatrics of high school revelry; Elmgreen and Dragset’s institutional-critique play entitled “Happy Days in the Art World” (2011); Ragnar Kjartansson’s twelve hour long performance “Bliss” (2011) and Oscar Murillo’s “Lucky Dip” (2015) which critically investigates the development of international trade. The exhibition also raises questions concerning the preservation of ephemeral arts and how such events are archived and then experienced by audiences retrospectively.

Info: Curators: Nayia Yiakoumaki & Candy Stobbs, Assistant Curators: Isabella Lenzi & Celine Roblin-Robson, Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London, Duration: 6/9/17-4/3/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-18:00, Thu 11:00-21:00 (Screenings start at 12:00), www.whitechapelgallery.org

Elmgreen & Dragset, Happy Days in the Art World, 2011, A Performa 11 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa, Whitechapel Gallery Archive — Elmgreen & Dragset, Happy Days in the Art World, 2011, A Performa 11 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa

Jérôme Bel, Ballet (New York), 2015, A Performa 15 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa, Whitechapel Gallery Archive — Jérôme Bel, Ballet (New York), 2015, A Performa 15 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa

Mike Kelley, The Offer (Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #33), 2009, A Performa 09 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa, Whitechapel Gallery Archive — Mike Kelley, The Offer (Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #33), 2009, A Performa 09 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa

Robin Rhode, Arnold Schönberg's Erwartung - A Performance by Robin Rhode, 2015, A Performa 15 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa, Whitechapel Gallery Archive — Robin Rhode, Arnold Schönberg’s Erwartung – A Performance by Robin Rhode, 2015, A Performa 15 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa

Sanford Biggers, The Somethin’ Suite, 2007, A Performa 07 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa, Whitechapel Gallery Archive — Sanford Biggers, The Somethin’ Suite, 2007, A Performa 07 Commission, Performance view, Photo: Paula Court, Courtesy of Performa

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