Driven by the conviction that the Internet is an antidote to the inalienable paradigms of modern art, namely authenticity, originality and novelty, Eva and Franco Mattes reenact historical performances in Second Life, an online virtual world created in 2003. As known as 010010110101101.org, the artist collaboration questions the limits of the performance art.
Rather than pursuing a mnemonic function, the performances lead the audience to ponder upon the immediate expectations from the performance art such as immediacy, spontaneity and unmediated interaction. As the objects and actions of the performances are coded in advance in the virtual world, Synthetic Performances leave no room for improvisation. Also, the absence of physical feelings in the performance reiterates the statement that performative body loses its significance. Eva and Franco Mattes investigate the communication tactics in art through replication and manipulation in a public arena where “culture is plagiarism.”
Since January 2007, the Mattes duo have been working on Synthetic Performances, that included the reenactment of Chris Burden’s Shoot, Vito Acconci’s Seedbed, Valie Export’s Tapp und Tastkino, and Joseph Beuys’ 7000 Oaks. In collaboration with PERFORMA07, Artists Space invites the audience to attend the projection of three live performances in which the interaction is mediated through avatars, the residents of Second Life.
November 13, 2007
6:30pm-8pm
Artists Space, 38 Greene St 3rd Fl New York, NY 10013
See PERFORMA07 website for further information.
