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The Reflection of Violence in Performance Art and Its Role in Redefining the Audience's Position
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Kimia Padisar   |
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Abstract: (9 Views) |
The confrontation with the phenomenon of violence constitutes a pivotal and defining current within contemporary art. This research provides a critical analysis of the transformation of artistic strategies in this domain, charting the fundamental shift from static, object-based representation toward dynamic, experience-based actions. Its primary objective is to elucidate the complex mechanisms through which contemporary art, particularly in its performative modes, seeks to forge an ethical and unmediated encounter with violence, moving beyond mere depiction. Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology, the study is grounded in a qualitative analysis of seminal works of Performance Art, in which the artist's body critically functions as a site of truth, embodied vulnerability, and potent resistance. The paper first traces the historical antecedents of this approach, locating its origins in the definitive rupture with heroic traditions of portraying conflict and in the profound artistic responses to the collective traumas of the 20th century. It then demonstrates how performance artists, by staging live, often unsettling, events, have devised novel expressive modes that challenge the conventional boundaries between art and life. The findings reveal that these immersive strategies fundamentally redefine the position of the audience. The spectator is strategically transformed from a passive, detached observer into an active and engaged witness who is sensorially and emotionally implicated within the aesthetic field, blurring the line between viewer and participant. Ultimately, this paper argues that by intentionally shattering the spectator’s safe aesthetic distance, these artistic actions directly counter the cultural tendency toward apathy and ethical detachment. In doing so, they powerfully reinvest the human experience of suffering with a renewed sense of visceral gravity and meaning.
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Article number: 6 |
| Keywords: Contemporary Art, Performance Art, Body, Audience, Violence |
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Full-Text [DOCX 499 kb]
(3 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Received: 2025/09/21 | Accepted: 2025/11/18 | Published: 2025/11/18
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