Joseph Beuys/Laurie Anderson/Klaus Nomi /Leigh Bowery

Laurie Anderson's performance art pieces are quite something. She was such a talented musician, too! Meshing her music skills with her artistic skills was an awesome idea because what came out of it was something different and definitely fantastic. She experimented with a variety of different music and styles with the way she performed live.  

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Joseph Beuys. He was everything. He was a sculptor, pedagogue of art, performance artist, installation artist, graphic artist, and an art theorist. Besides being an artist, he was also a humanitarian. In the 20th century, Beuys was the most influential artist. 


Homogeneous Infiltration for Piano
What a simple work. It was a cover for a piano, but you didn't know if there was a piano under that cover. This piece actually reflected some of his experience in the military with the cross. 


His performance art pieces were well known for the time (he's very patient), sound, and some of the objects he used in the piece like the "How to explain pictures to a dead hare." Um that's a completely crazy but brilliant performance!

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Klaus Nomi. Wow. His voice was AMAZING. Fabulous. It is so fascinating that he sang classical opera and interpreted into his own style. His live performances must have been something to watch. There he was. Klaus Nomi, wearing lots of make-up with unusual, but definitely amazing costumes. I must say, when I first saw his videos I thought "what a strange man" but I get it. He's connecting past with future. Connecting old with new. It's something different and I like it. Really like it. 

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I would like to be in Leigh Bowery's mind, even if it's for 5 minutes. I'd to experience what went through his mind when he came up with all these crazy ideas! It's so different. You can't help, but be drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

Leigh Bowery was influential and still is. You can see his influences especially through Lady GaGa. 

Besides being a fashinista, he was a club promoter (how could you not go to the club when you see someone like him), a model (boy can he model those outfits), a fashion designer (I would love to make an outfit like his) and a pop star (what a diva!).

Xerox Project

Well this project was really weird haha. I had to have my friend hold my leg while I xeroxed myself standing on a high chair so I could reach the copy machine. It was a little scary when I had to do my feet because I had to stand on the xerox machine... I did not want to buy the school a new copy machine... not good haha. It was interesting to see what I was going to do with my xerox'd self. It's a little creepy to see myself staring at me whenever I look at the pillow on my couch. With this project, I wanted to let people know how I felt when someone tries to quiet me.... F-U... that's why I had cut off the fingers except the bird to express exactly what was going through my head. 

Pryings - Acconci / Orlan

Wow. This is such a crazy video. I would never be able to sit there and let that man try to pry my eyes open... a punch probably would been thrown in his face! 


The message was that we need to open up our eyes and see what's happening around us... especially since feminism was occurring around that time. Women needed to open up their eyes and do something about their rights. 

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Mireille Porte... also better known as ORLAN. She's a French artist that is really well-known for her performance art of her plastic surgery. Oh my was her plastic surgery graphic... "The Reincarnation of Saint-Orlan." 

Her body was her canvas. She's so out there, but it totally works for her. Her work wouldn't be what it is if she stuck to a guideline. 

Fluxus

Fluxus means "to flow" in Latin. In the 1960s, artists, designers, composers networked with each other. They were able to blend their different artistic skills together. 


It is said that John Cage's music, like 4'33", was where fluxus first appeared. George Maciunas recognized and was influenced by this piece and so he organized Fluxus... there first even took place in 1961 in NYC. A year later, they had their first in Europe. 


There was a do it yourself air to Fluxus and they definitely encouraged that. Simplicity was their theme and was really influenced by Dada's values. 


Some well-known Fluxus artists are Yoko Ono, John Cage, Joseph Beuys, and Nam June Paik.