Womynhouse: Cindy Rehm and Performance Workshop #1

As part of our Womynhouse exhibit, we will be doing a night of performance art on November 2nd. Our friend and mentor Cindy Rehm from Craftswomanhouse came to LMU on 10.22.11 to do a performance art workshop with the ladies of Womynhouse.

In the workshop we discussed performance, performance artists, and practiced performance ourselves. We learned that performance art does not necessarily have to be based on theatrical displays but that what you do on a daily basis, such as rituals and processes, can be transformed into performance art. It is a type of art that can shed light onto our customs as well as serve as a social experiment or an interactive art. Because humans have body knowledge, performance art can be a powerful tool to integrate a visceral feeling into a gallery space. Performance art has the ability to bridge the gap between the audience and the space as well as the audience and the performer. It can also create gaps and/or intense reactions. Because it's happening in real time, there's no manipulation or finessing of the act. It is created using a specific moment in time that cannot be captured or held onto, and during performance the artist cannot start over. As a result, performance art has a certain authenticity that makes it special.

In order to get us started as performance artists, Cindy gave us a sheet of paper with fluxus ideas. For example, one quote said "Scream, scream, scream, scream!" We were left to interpret each quote ourselves, choose a quote and perform it to our liking. To help us get into our performances, we chose from an array of props. It was a great exercise, and next week we will be performing in a second workshop by interacting unexpectedly with a prop that is generally "gender-specific".

Below are photos of our workshop. Thank you Cindy. And thank you Amanda C for providing me with some notes of the experience.