Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with performanceart

Arts and Cultural Appropriation

divabat — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:19:50 -0800

How have issues of cultural appropriation, stereotypes, and diversity been tackled in art and popular culture? I'm in the early stages of working on a performance piece on cultural appropriation and identity in the arts, and I'm looking for inspiration from others that have done the same. So far I am only familiar with Guillermo Gómez-Peña and his Living Museum of Fetish/ized Identities, and the SF/fantasy RaceFail debacle.

I am especially interested in these issues as they occur in burlesque, circus, and theatre, since that's what I'm working with, but any creative field would be good too.

UK Fringe Resources Wanted

divabat — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:33:21 -0800

What are some great resources, preferably online, of fringe arts (burlesque, cabaret, circus, improv, street theatre, etc) in the United Kingdom? I only know of Ministry of Burlesque and that's it. I'm looking for listings of events, schools, workshops, venues, performers, anything to do with the more oddball non-conventional performing arts. I'll likely be concentrating on England, but Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland-related links are good too.

Creating an Artistic Persona

divabat — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:32:03 -0800

followup to this question: how does one create and develop a persona? I'm referring to artistic/entertainment personas, such as Borat and Ali G - where performers actually take on a whole new personality as part of their work.

How are such personas developed? Are they carefully planned out, or do they organically develop? How much of the persona is developed before being performed (for example, does Borat have a detailed childhood history?)? Is it much like creating a fictional character for stories, or is there some other process?

Along with that, how are the other aspects - fashion, style, mannerisms, talents, accents, etc - of the persona handled? Does someone that want to make an artistic persona usually go to classes to learn all those skills? Where do they get it from?

I've emailed Empress V (who performs in Brisbane as A Wonder Woman, amongst others) and she's given me some good advice, but I'd like to know of any other perspectives and resources. Google doesn't turn up much and my local libraries don't have a lot on the topic either - where and what topic should I be looking for?

Breaking into Performance Art

divabat — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:45:01 -0800

How do I get into performance art? I've seen this video series and read some links, and find the concept of performance art interesting. However, I'm finding it hard to get more resources and help on breaking into performance art.

Whenever I try asking people about it, they think I'm asking about performing arts and start referring me to theatres and choirs. (Google does the exact same thing.) Trying to describe performance art is tricky too - "well, they do weird stuff. In all sorts of styles. And it has a concept."

I have plenty of ideas for potential performance art, but I don't know how to start putting them together. I'm worried about seeming wanky or pretentious, when really all I want to do is express myself in a mixture of mediums. (A large part of this involves creating a persona, which is also another hard subject to Google - I keep getting stuff about MPD or superheroes.)

How do I find a teacher to guide me? What resources are out there and how do I find them (without getting stuck into the Performing Arts section)? How can I develop myself and my art? How do I get my ideas out of my head and onto...well, whatever my stage happens to be?

Are any of David Byrne's Powerpoint based performances available in .ppt format somewhere on the intarweb?

machaus — Sat, 27 Dec 2003 13:43:44 -0800

Are any of David Byrne's Powerpoint based performances available in .ppt format somewhere on the intarweb? I know that I could buy the DVD/Book for $56, but seeing it in Powerpoint is way more amusing.