Lerm Hayes, Christa-Maria

English

I was asked to chair a discussion with the avant-garde of Polish performance art.For a precis of the discussion, please see the attachment

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Seminar/Discussion Dr Christa-Maria (Mia) Lerm Hayes discussions centred on the idea of what was the link between Polish and Northern Irish performance art. Wladyslaw Kazmierczak and Artur Tajber explained their links to Ireland, and the first  time they were invited here and how other figures like Richard Demarco and Alastair MacLennan influenced and facilitated these connections. Malgosia Butterwick epitomised this linkage with Poland and Northern Ireland, because she lived here fromsince 1994, was influenced by performance art in 1996 and helped set- up Bbeyond in 2000, and before she decided to return to Krakow in 2003. Mia Lerm Hayes asked about the performance networks that are developed through friendships and the influence of Richard Demarco and Alastair MacLennan in bringing European artists together. And how Demarco’s had connections with Joseph Beuys and how these influenced relationships between the two countries.  She explaineds  that ARE (Art and Research and Exchange) was an important development big influence in Northern Ireland’s art world, whichscene in helpeding develop these relationships. Some artists felt that there was a comradeship between the Irish and Polish through their shared traumatic historical experiencesforeign occupations. This topichen leads to some discussions about the relationship between performance and politics and how some artists form Poland and Ireland have dealt with this in their performances. Taber explained that this links between the two countries could be seen in their poets and Celtic culture. Mia commenteds on the ending of both Marshall Law and the Troubles asis also another linkage between the two countries, which Joseph Beuys also explored through his visits to Ireland and his subsequent donation of works (many with Irish references) to the Lodz museum. and that Pperformance, because of it is ephemeral character, can be said to it doesn’t leave any traces, that it haves a subversive aspect to it. MiaShe suggested that partly because there wereare few contemporary art galleries in both Northern Ireland and Poland, so performance became a good strategy for making art. How has the globalization influenced of performance art? Can dinfluenced the way in which differences and similarities arise from or be explained through can be howinfluenced by insurance policies and health and safety regulations are now applied? The politics and practicalities of obtaining getting funding may, how does this influence performance art?  Some felt that the politics reinforces the problems and that art should show the people another way,s that art has to deal with the inner world.Mia commented that performance is a universal language of gesture, a human “archetype”. H, so then how do we then misunderstand each other’s meaning and misread each other performances? Artur Tajber responded that the cultural symbols for Ireland, both North and South are similar but it was the diversity of religion that has divided the people.There was some discussion around the idea of change here in Northern Ireland, now after the cease-fire and in the light of Polish people working here and what effects this has had in Poland. Some artists spoke about hearing Polish spoken in the streets and how it made them refrain for speaking out loud. Artur Tajber spoke of two Irelands, one of his memory the other the present.  He talkeds about a Poland with no Germans, no Jews, no Lithuanian and less and lessfewer Belarusians: , that the Polish problem is a problem of lack. As, that the Oother makes your identity, so their removal is a problem for Polish identity.In the light today of the present and all thesemany International Performance Festivals, is there is a degree of freedom as to what is presented as performance art? Wladyslaw Kazmierczak wentgoes on to explain that in his experience as an organiser, he never knew what the artist would do and sometimes there ensuedis a scandal, but it is the media that created them.  Artur Tabjer tells told a story about a journalist observingation of about artists:; how the other most artists will speak about theiric disciplines have tools and their techniquesat the artists know well and speak about their tools. The painter knows about colour, paint etc, sculptors know about form, etc, musicians about composition etc but the performance artists speak about society, philosophy, politics: art and life in generaldon’t’ have any of these tools and so make it difficult to speak about. What are the strengths and weaknesses of performance art and how is it connected to memory? The performance artist is free to act in the present and it i’s the freedom to be in this ever present that gives performance its strength, and provides its weakness.Premmslaw Kwiek says thatexplained performance art ais the act of the appearance of art. Malgosia Butterwick saidys that performance wais a proposal that involveds the symbol, the real and the moment: and during the building of a performance it moves into another language, people see what they want to see. Artur Tajber disagrees about the term performance art, he asks what do we mean by the term performance art, what is the analogy of this type of expression?. He consideredmentions that this event with its poster is a misconception ofabout performance, a. Adding that performance has caome from an intermedia art:, it doesn’t exist on its own and trying to speak about it on its own is like a cancer.Mia Lerm Hayes, suggests that the human relationships explored through Irish-Polish performance exchanges are important. They are now recognized through terminology like “relational aesthetics”, but, in this part of the world, they have achieved far more than a coming-together of people for its own sake. all the Ddifferences are encompassed and endured byfeeding into the all-important these networks. It is encouraging to see that Documenta XII showed central and Eastern European work like that of Premmslaw Kwiek (KwieKulik). Performance may draw its strength from being a marginal, but also a “minor” art in the sense of Deleuze’s remarks on Kafka. She  and how the minor arts have a lot of strengths concludeding by thanking the various artists for sharing their inputs into this discussionthoughts and was looking forward to more of their performances.

“What makes a good performance in a globalized, peripheral, post-traumatic situation?”:

https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/files/11290127/BbeyondPrecis.doc

“What makes a good performance in a globalized, peripheral, post-traumatic situation?”:

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