What is Performance Art?

What is performance art? I still don't know. We spent the last week exploring it in class and I have to say I am a little nervous to have to create my own performance art piece. It seems that all are so starkly different that nothing can be wrong...or can it? Santiago has repeatedly told us that performance art is different from performing arts. It seems like unlike performing, it doesn't seek to be accepted or even understood by an audience. The audience brings its own thoughts and interpretations to the piece and that creates part of the art. Many seem to make some sort of political or societal statement of critique. I particularly liked Tom Geogenan's "Strange Fruit." At first glance, I thought it was something absurdly bizarre that had no context, but after listening to Billie Holiday's song of the same name about the lynching of slaves, it took on a new meaning. While it's message isn't clear, maybe it's just to make people think and develop their own interpretations, but the context definitely helps. Same goes for French performance artist Orlan's televised lyposuction performance art piece. Why she chose to film herself getting the surgery seems shocking and strange but one can only guess it can be interpreted as some statement about beauty. I was a little uncomfortable with the performance pieces where people used their own blood or mutilate their bodies as art. But they are saying they can do what they want with their body including using it as a canvas. It echoes Deuchamp who claimed that anything even the most mundane of objects (such as a urinal) could be deemed art by the artist declaring it so.