In my performance I will put my body under intense physical strain to represent the hardship life can bring to the body and mind. To do this I will perform an intense 10 minute rest-pause set of pull ups while wearing a belt that has several heavy ropes attached to it. These ropes will trail off into the audience where the audience will be told prior to the performance to tug on them forcefully at their own discretion. The audience must not hold back, life doesn’t. This will force my body off the pull up bar and cause me to drop/make it a lot harder for me to complete my reps. It is physically impossible for me to do pull ups for 10 minutes straight. In no time at all, I may not even be able to do a full rep. However the achievement is constantly trying and not giving up within that time period. I am still considering other methods that will cause physical stress and pain on the body to incorporate into this routine however, this image itself may be powerful enough. In terms of lighting and tech, I am thinking a large spotlight so the ropes trail off into the darkness while creating an intense effect on the muscles allowing for a more obvious image of stress and strain. The intention of the performance is not just linked to the fight with Cancer, it is to convey a mind-set that is so powerful that when achieved, it will lead to success and subsequently has the power to help conquer one of the most feared diseases in the world. ‘Never give up’, A way of living that is invaluable.
This idea could easily relate to a less extreme version of ‘Body Art’. Body Art is a form of performance that pushes the body to it’s limits, something Marina Abramovic was interested in earlier in her career. Abramovic states that Body Art “had a lot to do with pain and injuriousness in order to push the body to its border, even to the border between life and death” (Goy, B., 1990). While my performance is based on life and death in a way, it is not based solely on me pushing my body to the limit. The strain on the body is merely something that is inevitable. Something that will come with dealing with the performance itself. The focus is on completing the act.
Works Cited:
Goy, B., 1990, Journal of Contemporary Art, Available at: http://www.jca-online.com/abramovic.html