Philosophy of the Performing Arts

204 performance as art
The examples thus far have taken the form of performable works, whether
or not these works have, or can have, actual instances and whether or not
they are really the performable works they seem to be. In each case, we
began with what looks like a set of prescriptions for actors or performers,
and then we noted what seem to be salient features – the kind of thing pre-
scribed, the kinds of individuals to whom such things are prescribed, and the
extent to which the prescriptions have been realized in actual performance.
But many of the more notorious performances given by those characterized
as “performance artists” are not prefigured by a prescription of this kind.
Consider, for example,
(8) Joseph Beuys’s Coyote: I Like America and America Likes Me , which RoseLee
Goldberg describes as:
a dramatic one-week event which began on the journey from Düsseldorf to
New York in May 1974. Beuys arrived at Kennedy Airport wrapped from
head to toe in felt, the material that was for him an insulator, both physically
and metaphorically. Loaded into an ambulance, he was driven to the space
which he would share with a wild coyote for seven days. During that time he
conversed privately with the animal, only a chainlink fence separating them
from the visitors to the gallery. His daily rituals included a series of interac-
tions with the coyote, introducing it to objects – felt, walking stick, gloves,
electric torch, and the Wall Street Journal (delivered daily) – which it pawed
and urinated on, as if acknowledging in its own way the man’s presence.
(Goldberg 2001, 150–151)
Beuys’s later verbal reflections on the piece indicate his intention that the
artistic content of the performance relate to the persecution of the American
Indians, whose perspective on America, represented by the coyote, Beuys
sought to acquire through his actions: “I wanted to isolate myself, insulate
myself, see nothing of America other than the coyote ... and exchange roles
with it” (Goldberg 2001, 151).
Another politically pointed performance work is Mona Hatoum’s The
Negotiating Table (1983) (Goldberg 2001, 151). Hatoum lay on a table, her body
covered in animal blood and entrails and encased in a transparent plastic bag,
illuminated by a single light. The performance was intended to exemplify the sit-
uation of people who have to live in war zones. Political readings have also been
offered of the early performances by Chris Burden, such as Shoot (1971) – where
he had himself shot in the left arm by an assistant – and Trans-Fixed (1974) –
where he had himself nailed to the back of a Volkswagen Beetle. These perform-
ances were “documented” through photographs and/or video footage.
In each of our examples, the description refers us to an artwork, and
does so either by (1) offering what appears to be a prescription for a class