Abstract
In this paper, I reflect on the materiality of live performance art through its performance remains, specifically the photographs. Through a case study of multidisciplinary artist Rummana Hussain (b. 1952, Bangalore) whose live performances incorporated a metonymic method of using daily objects insel, hair pin, Surma-dani, ear-buds, sewing kit, buttons, menstrual pads and photography on many levels, often found images and photographs shot by herself in collaboration with her close friend and photographer Ram Rahman (b.1955, New Delhi). Due to the lack of proper documentation, I rely highly on these photographs that are part of her performances, acting not just as evidence of what had happened but each of them speaking for their own aesthetics and having the capacity to be works of art in themselves. These photographs (analogue or digital) form an important material manifestation of an ephemeral form of art and its materiality in the form of an impression of light and shadow on a paper or a digital screen rather than the physical existence of an event calls for a critical look at the change of meaning brought in by the change of matter. In this case, experiencing performance through its mediatic presence, i.e photographs. What do these photographs then say about her performances? I aim to look into the practice of performance and photography as methodological tools to analyze the ways in which the photographic matter alters and adds to the performance art archive and its meaning. As argued by Elizabeth Edwards, who sees instruments such as chemicals, negatives, and other inscription-producing devices as constitutive of a mediatic experience that goes beyond any text. This materiality of photography and its dematerializing effect on performance art practice feeds into the intervisual relationship between the two artistic forms and brings forth the question of how the medium of photography goes beyond a “documentary” “scientific” process into one that has the potential of creating a new aesthetic experience. Further delving into the question of the ontology and indexicality of the image produced, the agency of the camera and the photographer in altering the matter, and the subsequent authorship issues between the photographer and the performance artist. I will be looking into Rummana’s performances; Home/Nation (1996), The Tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal, (1997), and “Is it what you think?” (1998), among others.
Keywords: Performance Art, Photography, Documentation, Materiality, Dematerialization.
Auslander, Philip. Liveness: Performance in a mediatized culture. Taylor & Francis, 2022. Derrida, Jacques. Archive fever: A Freudian impression. University of Chicago Press, 1996. Dixon, Steve. Digital Performance: A History of New Media in Theater, Dance, Performance Art, and Installation. MIT Press, 2015.
Edwards, Elizabeth. "Photography and The Material Performance of The Past 1." History and Theory 48, no. 4 (2009): 130-150.
Enwezor, Okwui. "Archive fever: photography between history and the monument." Archive Fever: Uses of the document in contemporary art 1 (2008): 11-51.
Fischer-Lichte, Erika. The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics. Routledge, 2008.
Fried, Michael. Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.
Jones, Amelia. “ Presence in absentia: Experiencing performance as documentation.” Art Journal 56, no. 4 (1997): 11-18.
Kapur, Geeta. n.d. Rummana’s Question : Is it what you think? Accessed November, 2009 https://cdn.aaa.org.hk/_source/digital_collection/fedora_extracted/20832.pdf.
Krauss, Rosalind. 1985. The Originality of the Avant-Garde: A Postmodernist Repetition. Vol.
Peggy. Unmarked: The politics of performance. Psychology Press, 1993.
Gayathri. A is currently doing her Ph.D. at the School of Arts and Aesthetics (Visual Studies Department), Jawaharlal Nehru University under Dr. Suryanandini Narain. Her Ph.D. thesis deals with the photo archive of contemporary performance art in India, from its inception in the 1990s to the present. The key themes of the thesis concern the questions of authorship of performance and image archives, the indexicality of the document so produced, and the ontology of the art object itself, in this case, the photo records produced of performances. A critical investigation into the agency of the camera, the photographer, and the audience. The thesis also extends into works by contemporary photographers and their artworks. Brought up in New Delhi she completed her Masters in History of Art from the National Museum Institute(2017-2020) and her Bachelor in History (Hons) from the University of Delhi (2014-2017). Her other interest lies in experimental photography(digital/analog). She also teaches a course ‘New Media’ for the third-year direction specialisation students at the National School of Drama, New Delhi (19th - 30th of September 2022 and 20th March - 8th of April 2023).
In this paper, I reflect on the materiality of live performance art through its performance remains, specifically the photographs. Through a case study of multidisciplinary artist Rummana Hussain (b. 1952, Bangalore). I aim to look into the practice of performance and photography as methodological tools to argue that the materiality of photography and its dematerializing effect on performance art practice feeds into the intervisual relationship between the two artistic forms. Bringing forth the question of how the medium of photography goes beyond a “documentary” “scientific” process into one that has the potential of creating a new aesthetic experience.