Author name: Dr. MD Phd

What is Performance Art?

All performance artists are repeatedly asked, “What is performance art?”

The question is both a joy and an aggravation. A joyous opportunity to, once again, search for a savvy-ful description of what is so important to us. And an eye-rolling moment of “not again, how can I possibly deliver an illuminating answer?”

Tiny Town

THUMBNAIL SKETCHES FROM A TINY TOWNdaily social media postings for VISUALEYEZ Performance Festival 2004

“You should apply to Edmonton’s VISUALEYEZ festival,” suggested friends Paul Couillard (Toronto), Kirsten Forkert (Vancouver), and Tagny Duff (Montreal). When I was accepted, they were happy for me, assured me I would have a fabulous time, and also cautioned me it was “a small festival”. Did that mean the city was tiny, the gallery petite, the art scene miniscule? Or did they assume I’d be disappointed by anything less than hundreds of clamouring fans?

The Bridge

THE BRIDGE

I don’t remember ever being afraid of the bridge.
I could be wrong about this.
I am, after all, a LIFELONG COWARD.
I am afraid of bats, spiders, and snakes. I worry electricity is leaking out from electric sockets. I get seasick on moving docks. Ladders give me anxiety attacks. And don’t get me started about my experiences on airplanes.
So it is pretty stunning that the bridge at the Slough never fazed me.