"Performance Art at the Whitney Museum"
Last week our class went on a filed trip to the renowned Whitney Museum. Specifically, we went to browse the "Rituals of Rented Island" exhibit which was a collection of ephemeral artworks. Ephemera is the term used to describe various forms of documentation which record the respective performance arts. Ephemera is vital to the concept of performance art as a whole as it emphasizes the fact that a performance is a designated event which occurs in a very isolated moment in time. To better put this in perspective, try to imagine how much time has ever passed since the very first second ever. Now, imagine how puny the moment in time during a performance is within this context. Ephemera are indeed the remnants of the isolated occurrence but are not the only ones as the artist and audience both shared that moment in time. Of course that is if there is an audience and if so, the connection is intimate in nature as the sheer fact that the performance will never be duplicated adds mysticism to the atmosphere. At the Whitney, I encountered remnants of a Vito Acconci work entitled "Claim/Excerpt". The ephemera in this instance was a video recording of Acconci seated in a chair while in a dark room which was a basement. Acconci swung a metal pipe or bar around aimlessly as he spoke maniacally to himself. There was an interesting addition to the performance as there were videos being relayed to the street level above the basement and there were speakers which made the erratic rants audible to anyone who would wander by. There was also an option to go down the stairs and attempt to view the crazed man but that most likely did not happen (as was most probably intended). Another exhibit I remembered was the Michael Smith exhibit. I was able to view video recordings of the "Secret Horror" performance. This performance was unlike the others as it seemed to induce humor and was even goofy. The portion of the performance I was able to see included Michael Smith in a bedroom being harassed by ghosts (which I believe were people in white sheets with eyeholes). The subject matter seemed to parody horror in general as Michael Smith seemed to get more and more anxious at the random activities of the ghosts, which included branding each others back with a hot iron. The ghosts also appear randomly by (uncharacteristically) entering the frame by simply coming through a door or under a piece of furniture. The tension builds until they all (including Smith) breakout into a show tune, singing "Owimoweh" over and over (The Tokens- "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"). Overall I enjoyed the learning experience and found a new respect for performance based arts as the temporal aspect was emphasized through all the ephemera. 
http://www.mikes-world.org/videos/secrethorrorvideo.html

"Jay McKnight & His Wife Andrea" -----> StoryCorps. (10-14-2013)

Untitled Exhibit:

The first exhibit I entered was the "Untitled" exhibit. The class had to walk through Chinatown in order to reach the section of the Lower East Side where the exhibits were. The environment outside the exhibits was vastly different than the luxurious setting in Chelsea. The Lower East Side galleries are subtly placed between the streets of Chinatown which gives off an urban essence. The streets are filled with shady vendors selling cheap knockoffs, parody t-shirts, or drug paraphernalia on the sidewalk. Chinatown seems to be home to a lower socio-economic class whereas Chelsea has a thriving  I honestly felt very comfortable as the rugged texture of the city felt familiar to various other neighborhoods I have been in throughout NYC. Not that I embrace shady people and cheap shops, but they are in no way taboo to a weathered New Yorker. The exhibit itself was a room in which you would have to walk through the reception desk. At the very forefront of the gallery is a large suspended frame with a mixture of vivid colors. This exhibit seemed to me to be very anticlimactic after they opted to go with the "untitled" gimmick. Nothing stood out to me however I do not undermine the talent I was in front of.

Eileen Quinlan Exhibit:

This exhibit also failed to keep me enthralled however I did find several topics of interest within the exhibit. The techniques utilized were quite unique as I had never before been exposed to such. Quinlan utilizes the process of "decay" (as mentioned in the press release) in order to manipulate her photographic art. A work of interest includes some shots with dimmed lighting wh ere the image undergoes a metamorphosis after a set period of time due to the "decay" (attributable to respective variables of the medium and artist's intent).

HYON - GYON - PHANTOMS ON PARADE

This exhibit is one where I actually wish I had several thousand dollars to spare in order to invest. I would be flabbergasted if this artist's style were to go unnoticed by the mainstream. The compositions were similar in their makeup and subject matter, however these respective pieces of work each are something to marvel at. Cloth is used ingeniously as the material which creates the "flesh" of these demons; the cloths are set as large layers and at times are spread out as thin as possible, the image resembling burnt flesh with several holes. The cloths can be heavily textured or smooth to represent the varying layers of "flesh". Silicon (melted?) is dripped on various spots of the demon's mouth, giving off a menacing and repulsive image. The teeth are individual pieces of glass or plastic which you can see your own reflection in.