GUANGZHOU LIVE 3 - Dorothea Seror

theme
2012
Body & Mind in Time
As a poignant quality in action art the
theme of Guangzhou Live 2 was human
scale. This year our curatorial theme is
Body & Mind in Time, as to accentuate
the two first qualities as being ONE and
inseparable to our existence. But also
inseparable in action art, since they are
the prerogatives without which no live
action work can be realized. Beyond art,
these are also two qualities that makes
us human, uniting us as beings.
The notion of body & mind as One, is as
we know anchored in Chinese philosophy
and thought. But it is also a notion
of common sense. How is it possible
to separate the mind from the body,
to see the body as an envelope and as
something separated from the mind ? It
is the human that unites both, and this
unity is in action art the use of body and
mind in the expression of the work.
The fact that action art is an art where
the artists is not acting or pretending
to play a role, not being somebody else,
not using other people as actors, but
being one with the actions, makes it the
most exemplary expression of the unity
of body and mind in art. Maybe it is also
the reason why this art form has such
a strong anchorage in contemporary
chinese art, why it appeals to chinese
artists, being a media where one finds
a unity of thought and of physical existence.
Primarily, action art is an immediate expression
of the human. A creative process
in which body and mind are inseparable.
In this process the artist starts out
to reflect upon what to express, creating
an idea, and then reflecting on how to
express it. What materials to use or not
to use, what motions to execute, which
action to do or not to do.
In the moment of the live realization of
the work, the creative process usually
changes from what was originally intended.
A change decided through the
body and the mind, being at that instant
united as One. The action artist very seldom
follows an outlined choreography,
Jonas Stampe:
Jonas Stampe, art historian and art critic, is the curator and founder of Guangzhou Live.
He outlines the curatorial theme of the third edition of Guangzhou Live, as Body & Mind in Time.
like in dance or theatre. Instead her or
his body and mind are influenced by
the immediate context, the surrounding
people, the location of the work, the
mood at the moment of the execution.
The artist follows at that moment an
instant flow of emotions and thougths,
a united body & mind, and changes the
action or not as it goes, in the direction
of their unification. Of course, expressing
this unity is not simple, it does
not come automatically, but when the
artists succeeds to do so, it comes with
emotional and intellectual force. It does
not always happen, since this is an immediate
here and now process of creation.
But if risk is a part of the live action
work and one of its inherent qualities so
is courage, honesty, intuition, and instant
improvisation.
Body & Mind are unified in the moment
of creation, and it is maybe this aspect
of action art that makes it such an exciting
and attractive art form. Being confronted
with the unknown, where one