The interaction or interface between performer and audience is often an integral part of performance art and while these works may be documented through various media, some argue that the impact and intention of the original piece can be lost or changed through subsequent performances years later. The belief that specific performance art pieces can or should be re-performed after the original performance is heatedly debated. After Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present,” at MoMA, discourse surrounding performance art received greater attention and the controversy around the practice intensified. Abramovic stated, “Re-performance is the new concept, the new idea! Otherwise it will be dead as an art form.” In contrast, Joan Jonas responded, “Well, maybe for you, but not for me.” As Jonas clarified later to the New York Times, “there’s never a way that you could repeat the original thing; it just can’t be done, so you have to think, ‘How am I going to deal with it if I’m going to show something of that moment?'”

The issue, then, becomes what are the implications of the same artist performing a work outside of its original context, or even an artist performing the work of another? Are there acceptable situations or contexts with which the re-performance can be considered? Whitney curator Chrissie Iles has said that "performance challenges categorization, which was originally its point, but museums are about archiving, categorizing, and indexing…maybe what’s interesting is the way in which the past is reframed in the present.” What measures should be taken to ensure the original work and artist are respected?

This summer, as part of the Independent Visions section of the website, ICI will feature a special online publication that will be curated by four M.A. candidates studying within various visual arts fields at NYU. This issue will address the debated discourse and concerns surrounding the contemporary practice of performance art.

We are now accepting article submissions that are between 500 and 1,000 words in length. We will choose well-written articles that address the multifaceted discourse surrounding the genre of performance art and the controversial act of ‘re’ performance. Personal opinion and insight are welcomed. All submissions should be solely a product of the authors own writing. No work will be used outside of Independent Visions without the permission of those selected. Please contact dispatch@ici-exhibitions.org with any queries.

Selected writers will be notified by Thursday, April 28th and the articles will be featured in the online issue during the summer. All essays must be emailed to dispatch@ici-exhibitions.org by Friday, April 22nd, 2011.