Philosophy of the Performing Arts

performances as artworks 137
individual performance then, pace Osipovich, is of that production. Jarrett’s
actions, however, exemplify the possibility of a performance that is neither
of a performable work nor of a production. If we are to view it as an artistic
performance, therefore, it seems that our only option is to view it as a focus
of artistic appreciation in its own right, and this might seem to commit us to
viewing it as an artwork.
In this chapter, we shall look at two questions, and also lay the basis
for more detailed examination, in the following two chapters, of related
issues. The first question is whether an individual performance-event such
as Jarrett’s actions on January 24, 1975 can indeed be an artwork, and
thus be what we termed in Chapter 1 a “performance-work.” To answer
this question, we must reflect upon what is involved in the appreciation
of Jarrett’s performance and how this relates to the kind of appreciation
proper to artworks. This will allow us to assess the charge that individ-
ual performances fail to meet at least some conditions for being a work
of art. If we answer the first question positively, it is natural to pose a
second question concerning those performance-events that are perform-
ances of performable works – “work-performances,” as we termed them
in Chapter 1 – or performances of productions understood in the manner
of the ingredients model – “production-performances” as we may now
term them. Can work-performances or production-performances also
be artworks? In other words, are at least some work-performances or
production-performances also performance-works? In previous chapters
we alluded to this possibility in resisting the suggestion that, if we are to
do justice to the virtues of individual performances or productions, we
must deny that they are of works. Obviously, if there are good reasons
to think that some work-performances can be performance-works, we
undermine one of the reasons offered for limiting the scope of the classi-
cal paradigm in the performing arts.
In addressing these two questions, we shall also reflect upon what it
is to appreciate “for its own sake” a performance-event presented in the
context of the performing arts. We might expect the qualities central to
appreciating such an event to differ in crucial ways from those bearing on
the appreciation of artworks outside the performing arts, and from those
bearing on the appreciation of performable works through their perform-
ances. For example, it might seem crucial for the appreciation of Jarrett’s
performance that it is entirely spontaneous in the sense that it involves no
prior planning as to its structure.^4 As such, it is the manifestation in real
time of the creative imagination and physical skills of the performer. In
order to clarify whether such an artistic performance can be a work of art,
we shall draw upon our discussion in Chapter 1 of the features that dis-
tinguish artistic from non-artistic performances. This will also provide the