There are artists now experimenting with new forms of art, breaking the social barriers that restrict freedom of expression. There are artists working on nude painting, new conceptual forms of photography; and with this newfound experimentation on art, a new form of expression has grown – performance art.[break]
Performance art is a form that involves expression in front of an audience. In an attempt to bridge the gap between traditional arts that separate the artist from their audience, performance art take art out of its canvas prison and involves the audience in the art.
The audience is no longer a bystander to the process of art; the audience is involved and in ways can mold the direction the art form is taking. Highly influenced by new-age forms of art, such as installation art, conceptual art and the theater, performance art blends all kinds of postmodernist art into an interactive package.
“It’s like we’re recycling traditional art,” says 29-year-old performance artist, Sauraganga Darshandhari, currently teaching printmaking at Lalit Kala Campus, Bhotahiti.
“We’ve been exposed to traditional forms of performance art, the Lakhe Dance, or the concept of installation art where we leave Samayabaji during festival times. It’s just that artists today, inspired by traditional art, are modernizing these forms of art,” she adds.
Although performance art is highly similar to theater, it has its differences. Performance art is not rehearsed, does not have a script, and is not performed in a controlled environment. Performance art, for the most part, is very spontaneous and unscripted.
A performance once performed is not repeated as well, unlike theatrical plays that can be performed repeatedly. Performance art is performance in front of a live audience, with their participation key to the piece.
Performance art is also not always based on a story; most of the time performance artists use this form of art as a medium of expression that outlines various issues regarding the society.
“Performance art isn’t always built around a story, it’s pre-thought out but is performed for the first time in front of an audience, and the performance ends there,” informs Sauraganga. “We don’t work with a long story based on a book or a play; we work with moments and what we can portray in that moment to the audience.”
Performance art tends to be very four-dimensional, involving various variables like sound, light and touch. Moving out of the barriers of traditional forms of art where people could appreciate art in a very one-dimensional way, involving mostly only one sense.
Performance art works like mashup of all the senses, working with natural lights, sounds and smell as well as introducing new variables to this natural environment.
Jupiter Pradhan, a performance artist, in an auto-destructive performance piece at the inauguration of Lasanaa’s Live Art Hub at Martin Chautari on December 12, 2011, portrayed raw anger in his performance that included the utter destruction of a bamboo chair that he had initially worshipped.
“That piece was my take on politics,” said Jupiter after the show. “I’m trying to portray the minds and attitudes of the politicians. How these people worship the prime ministerial chair, how they work so hard to getting to it, and how they destroy it when they have to leave, making it difficult for anyone else to attain the power of the chair,” he adds. Performance art, although very simple in nature, hides complexity and depth.
Kathmandu is already swept by art, and in this growing art culture, artists are learning to embrace new forms of art. Nepali artist have evolved drastically, embracing postmodernist art forms, introducing auto-destructive art to art lovers.
Although many artists are shying away from performance art because of their stage fright, many artists and art enthusiasts have started admiring performance art.
“It’s very difficult to perform in front of other people and even more difficult to find a space,” says 39-year-old Prithvi Shrestha, performance artist as well as a freelance illustrator. “But I think art has come a long way and Nepali artists, in performance or any other mediums, can perform wonders in on international stage as well,” he adds.
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