The balloon as a sign in people’s daily lives.
by Elizabeth Escobedo and José Manuel Flores
Goal
Observe the phenomenon of the unexpected from semiotic theory. Addressing signs and meanings from art performance, as a symbolic and polysemic act. Observe an action-reaction.
Specific goals
Build a character for the performance of the performance in Ciudad Juárez
Document the action-reaction of the performance act, “the unexpected” in Ciudad Juarez, from different parts of the city
Record the observation via video
Build micro-films in diverse techniques such as video, stop motion in photographic sequence, stop motion with cardboard cutout technique and 3D animation
Make a series of short stories about the imaginary of a balloon from different perspectives: Balloon that reaches a girl, explosion of a balloon, abstract perception of the balloon and imaginary of the balloon
To expose the observation and the series of short stories to the university community, through audiovisual projection.
Methodology
For the development of the performance, a qualitative methodology is followed, based on the technique of observation and analysis of the study phenomenon. With this, we seek to establish a description of what has been observed and the characteristics that make it up.
From observation by the city, on a border hurt by the events of violence and drug trafficking in recent years, the question arises what can be the perceptions and understanding of citizens to have vision and contact with an urban dynamic of An unexpected phenomenon such as performance?
The urban has been analyzed from a semiotic triad through the relationship between conception, perception and the experience of the urban. Action art has also been addressed as the link between body, action, and meaning; From this theoretical basis based on Eco, you can observe the performance of the unexpected and document what Francis Alys – with his “poetic acts in complex contexts” – achieves, by taking over the urban environment to absorb the daily realities of any place being susceptible if interpreted from the perspective of the artistic path, the walk becomes a reflection of an empirical observation of the city.
What is performance?
It is an artistic action or a scenic show, often with an important improvisation factor, in which provocation or astonishment, as well as the sense of aesthetics, play a leading role. It had its boom during the nineties. The term performance has spread in the plastic arts from the English expression performance art with the meaning of live art. It is linked to Happening, the Fluxus movement, body art and, in general, conceptual art. At the beginning of the sixties, artists such as George Maciunas, Joseph Beuys, Wolf Vostell, and Nam June Paik among others, began to create the first Fluxus happenings and concerts. The term performance began to be used especially to define certain artistic manifestations in the late sixties, with artists such as Carolee Schneemann, Marina Abramovic, and Gilbert & George among others.
Behind the urban gazes
The performance takes a journey in the life of the arts of action, from the archaic could be considered. It is regarded as a ritual and at the same time a show, you are potentially bodily, face-to-face, exploratory experiences and especially within an urban framework, it leads to arguing contemporary proposals for action art such as performance in a limit of abstraction of theoretical discourses.
Between the discursive and poetic condition as Luis Manuel González-Victoria mentions in his article Action Arts: re-significance of the body and urban space, he addresses that “action art as soon as it is placed in a real space, which moves the viewer simultaneously to an imagined space, as a result of a symbolic configuration project based on a diversity of representations, which build the presence of the city collective ”. In this sense, it can be said that through performance the actant or executor, can build an imaginary in the viewer, make it participate in the act and through this playful activity provoke an action of reflection towards an everyday social or cultural context.
In addition, González-Victoria affirms that there is an alliance between art and play: “The relationship between art and play has been present in culture permanently; It is a symbiotic alliance that allows us to relate the elements implicit in aesthetic production. Art behaves like a creation game. The appearance of the game is not free. Paradoxically, and although it is exhorted to the absurd, the irrational or the illogical, the need to play prepares for life; its biological need is warned to anticipate situations, project actions or interlocate with the environment; but going only a little further, and considering the connatural disposition of the human being, playing allows the construction of social behaviors and contributes to the symbolic and signic configuration, assisting the process of enculturation and solidifying the complex framework of a community ”. Taking the position of González-Victoria, the performance can be built from the act of play, it can also cause smiles in the spectator, even make it part of this game. However, this same act of the game implicit in the performance, must be correctly directed and correspond to the stated objective. The performance is located halfway between the game and art, and by this condition warns a behavior that achieves an effervescent mixture and that equates these two spheres through it, a way of living the city.
On the other hand, the flashmob, another type of action art that corresponds to performance, but to which in recent years it has acquired a commercial and marketing sense, groups of people can be observed executing and inciting the participation of the spectator. These flashmobs, frequently performed when entering a commercial plaza, actants begin with a choreography causing the audience around them to dance and join the action art. Another recurring example is that of a symphony orchestra that goes up to the subway of big cities and performs a musical piece, the repertoire of a concert, makes people who are in the place participate.
“There was no purpose in making art (there was no one to sell it to, nor museums that would have shown such work). It was just a means of communication. A way to learn and teach: how to encourage people to listen, to think, to exist ”. Milan Knizak
In the article, Creative Practices and Communication in the Art System, Darío González Gutiérrez, addresses the subject of observation in the creative processes of art, information that adheres to the subject of study that is considered in this research, then ann excerpt of the text:
“In the art system, creative processes have a well-defined purpose: to find the appropriate formal solutions to communicate sensations and show relationships. The artist, then, has powers to observe and perceive what is behind appearances, and through his work begin a communication process that will be consummated by the spectators.”
Based on Niklas Luhmann’s system theory, this article develops the above assumptions and demonstrates how, throughout history, artists developed their creative practices through observation and distinction operations. This will be a process of millions of years, since art has always accompanied, in its future, the human being: it is consubstantial to civilization.
Hypothesis
Approaching the city in an environment of uncertainty, the performance of the unexpected can still surprise or generate a reaction.
Project Phases
The research work is carried out in three steps, where step one includes the documentation. In this step, the performance is carried out, it is documented using video action and reaction. Step two is the analysis, review of the material, and analysis of the results obtained — step three corresponds to the conclusions, which are set out below.
Conclusions
Urban glances (the citizen public) observed Mr. Globo (the act of the unexpected) as a walking mosaic, part of his surroundings. Among the results, there was also astonishment, apathy, laughter, dialogue, playful act by encouraging the participation of the public through the taking of photographs and as well as constant looks, within a short space of performance and the spontaneous action. Additionally, as a record of the information, questions were collected from the public that, due to shyness, approached until after the act to question the reason and the reason for the presence of the performance. From the observed and the analysis, an imaginary was constructed through a series of animations that contain sketches of our anticipated perception towards this phenomenon.
Balloon-explosion, (someone to burst the balloons)
Balloon-gun, (a violent reaction from the public)
Balloon-girl, (provocation towards obtaining a balloon)
Balloon-pear, (provoke the imagination)
This research does not pretend to achieve a total and deep understanding of the observed phenomenon, however, it allows to be a frame of reference that propitiates the beginning of a future investigation in depth
References
Eco, U. (1992). Obra abierta. Argentina: Editorial Planeta
Deren, M. (2012). Artículo: Construir caminando: Francis Alys y el paseo urbano. México
González-Victoria, L. (2011). Artículo Artes de acción: re-significación del cuerpo y el espacio urbano. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. 15/06/2011
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