Perfomance Art Activities

During my first week of school at the University of Lapland, I took a class for art education students called Space, Time and Place.  In the two first classes we took part in performance art activities that made me re-think the way I see performance, and how to include it in the art classroom. I will explain here three activities that we performed, and which I think could be easily adapted for different age groups. The goal of these small activities were to generate ideas for a bigger performance that will take place during an Art Symposium in Rovaniemi in November, and in the same way these activities could lead to a bigger project, or just be a way to introduce the notion of performance with students. We performed these activities alone, except activity 3, but I guess that with smaller kids it would be better to form a big group, or at least smaller groups. In general I found that these activities allowed me to relax and think again about my creative process when I look for new ideas for art projects. For example, that walking in the wood could help me to be more creative than sitting in my studio. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos during these activities…

Observation Walk

1. Go out of the building, and walk 10 minutes in a chosen direction. (Note: carrying a watch or cell phone is preferable). Try not to think of any particular destination. (This is of course inspired by Guy Debord and the Internationale Situationniste’s theory of “dérive”).

2- Stop, and take 5 minutes to record the observation of the place where you are. It can be done through drawings or writings. (Note: distribute pens and a paper prior to the activity).

3- Go back to the classroom, and share with others your drawing/writings and your impressions of the place where your observation took place – the noises, smells, colours, if you met anyone, what was nice/ugly. This activity is particularly nice when it is carried out in a place that you are familiar with, as it allows you to perceive it differently.

Object Walk

1. Go out of the building, and walk 10 minutes in a chosen direction.

2. Stop. Pick a thing that is in your surrounding – it can be natural, garbage, etc.

3. Go back to the classroom. Again, share with others your impressions of the places you walked through, and the reason for choosing this particular object. I found this part quite nice, as everyone chose something to which they related to, or which remembered them something special.

Lighting Activity (Note: This activity is a continuation of the Object Walk)

1. Form groups of two or three persons. (Note: provide a flashlight to each student, or at least one to each team. Cheap flashlight from the dollar store would do a good job)

2. You have 10 minutes to create an installation using the objects found during the Object Walk, and the flashlight. You can also use you body as in a performance. (Note: the light should be closed then).

3. Each team presents their installation or performance, and the others comment about what is successful and what is less.

These art activities were designed and leaded by Hanna Levonen and Riikka Vuorenmaa. 

What do you think, could that be applicable in an art classroom? Would you be game to do it?