Performance Art and the Seduction of Theatricality

Born of the America of 1960s, performance art comes along as a celebration of presentation rather than re-presentation, as a display form of art, and an art form that does not admit of duplication. This paper presents a reading of the seductive power of performance art as rooted in our theatrical nature. I will address performance art as an emancipated form of the theatrical, where by ＂theatrical＂ I mean a specific mode of presentation and a specific mode of perception： the mode of presentation of the self to the social and the mode of perception of the self through the social. Performance art, I will argue, is hardly an anomaly of our time. Rather, its source of disturbance and fascination lies in the natural, though excessive manifestation of our theatrical nature. By its appeal to the shocking, the perilous, or the mundane even, this form of art confirms what Paul Woodruff has addressed as ＂the necessity of watching and being watched.＂ Performance art shows us the danger of self-presentation, the recognition of the other gaze as the self＇s greatest need and greatest fear. It needs no words. Mere action is more seductive than speech and does not accept speech in return. Once it has been performed, it is no longer. In Nietzsche＇s words, it celebrates the fleeting moment＇s ＂greatest weight.＂ As Samuel Beckett used to tell his actors, performance artists seem to tell their spectators： ＂Go on failing. Go on. Only next time, try to fail better.＂

The Situation of Performance Art in Iran, Past and Present

Performance art in every region and country depends mainly on rules, customs, and beliefs of that particular society hence; this art enjoys diversity with respect to its forms and contents. In contemporary lran, with the emergence of new artistic movements, performance art incorporated more academic and enlighten aspects. New mass media and modern visual medium such as light, sound, moving, and changing images, video displays as well as application of new signs and symbols are some of the special characteristics of the contemporary performance art in Iran. Moreover, the performance art in Iran is not merely related to the contemporary era rather it encompasses a large number of traditional representations that have been prevalent among common people with much meaningful rules. Its popularity among common people is also a conceptual art which conveys a content-based meaning in a more dramatic sense. For centuries, the tradition of performance art in Iran can be observed in the rules of Ta＇aziehkhani （quite singing or passion play）, Shamayelgardani （icon handling）, Ru-howzi （performance on pool platform）, Marekegiri （mono drama）, Qhashoqhzani （spoon handling） and Aroosakgardani （puppet handling）. Aestheticism relying on traditional performing method is also the outcome of taste and elegance of common people. These performances have more folkloric aspects protruding from humane institutions and blended with their vernacular beliefs. In the traditional method of performance art, performers mostly enjoy their own taste and style and use handy means for executing their roles. In contemporary Iran, traditional method along with modern theme has been widespread among people particularly in villages and small townships although these are not called as art. The present study is an attempt to study existing challenges to modern and ancient art traditions as well as aesthetic values attributed to each of them.

Improving Archival Records and Service of Traditional Korean Performing Arts in a Semantic Web Environment

Purpose:This research project aims to organize the archival information of traditional Korean performing arts in a semantic web environment.Key requirements,which the archival records manager should consider for publishing and distribution of gugak performing archival information in a semantic web environment,are presented in the perspective of linked data.Design/methodology/approach:This study analyzes the metadata provided by the National Gugak Center’s Gugak Archive,the search and browse menus of Gugak Archive’s website and K-PAAN,the performing arts portal site.Findings:The importance of consistency,continuity,and systematicity—crucial qualities in traditional record management practices—is undiminished in a semantic web environment.However,a semantic web environment also requires new tools such as web identifiers(URIs),data models(RDF),and link information(interlinking).Research limitations:The scope of this study does not include practical implementation strategies for the archival records management system and website services.The suggestions also do not discuss issues related to copyright or policy coordination between related organizations.Practical implications:The findings of this study can assist records managers in converting a traditional performing arts information archive into a semantic web environment-based online archival service and system.This can also be useful for collaboration with record managers who are unfamiliar with relational or triple database system.Originality/value:This study analyzed the metadata of the Gugak Archive and its online services to present practical requirements for managing and disseminating gugak performing arts information in a semantic web environment.In the application of the semantic web services’principles and methods to an Gugak Archive,this study can contribute to the improvement of information organization and services in the field of Korean traditional music.

The Income Security System in Japanese Traditional Performing Arts： A Strategy for Utilizing the Nation＇s Traditional Arts Resources

The objective of this paper is to examine an effective strategy for maintaining and utilizing the traditional arts resources of Japan. The authors explore two pillars of the strategy. One is to improve the quality of Japanese traditional performing arts by securing incomes for artists. The other is to utilize the traditional arts as a medium to expand Japanese cultural influence in foreign countries and to improve Japan＇s branding as a nation. First, the authors focus on the income security system practiced in traditional Japanese music and describe the discrepancy between short- and long-run optimality. The authors prove that the reputation of this art form affects its popularity and that it is optimal for the Iemoto （the head of the music school） to restrict the number of pupils in onstage performances in order to maintain stage quality. Second, the authors provide evidence that effective methods for a country to expand its cultural influence across the world differ among nations. The authors conduct willingness-to-pay （WTP） experiments and find that while German audiences largely prefer traditional Japanese music, those in the USA are slightly partial to its mixed fusion form. Therefore, the effective ways to expand Japanese cultural influence in foreign countries differ from one country to another.

Study on Tai'an Tourism Performing Art Product Experience Design from the Perspective of Tourists

Tourism performing art is the product of the integration of culture and tourism.With the arrival of the experience economy era,tourism performing art products will be an important link in the development of tourism,with strong development potential,which can better meet the needs of tourists’ in-depth experience and promote the long-term development of regional tourism.This paper studied the development of Tai’an tourism performing art products from the perspective of experience.Through the survey of tourists and statistics of data,this paper discussed the development strategy of Tai’an tourism performing art products,aiming to provide reference for the development of Tai’an tourism performing art products.

My Dream Sustains Colorful Lives——China Disabled Persons' Performing Art Troupe

"We performed in the Carnegie Hall in New York City. Builders of the hall could not have dreamed that this premier venue for performing arts in the world would play host to us, a group of special performing artists from China. The audiences were enthralled, seeing the charms of the artists from the orient for the first time," says Zhang Jigang, art director of the China Disabled Persons’ Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT), head of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the General Political Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the only dancer in China to have won the Century Star title.