Art Madrid'24 – COLLECTING PERFORMANCES: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Action art as an independent art movement dates back to the 1960s. At that time, there was an explosion of creative proposals in which the entry of new media, the moving image and live interventions wanted to overcome the traditional barrier of a more static and objective art anchored in classicism. The trends of the beginning of the century focused on the representation of movement and three-dimensionality, such as Cubism or Futurism, did not reach the impact that the artistic experience achieves. Among the experimental video, the installations of sound artefacts, the integration of television and radio devices in the works and the personal activities of the authors, the last-third-of-the-century artistic panorama was plagued by experiential actions where the essential thing was to participate in art live and to enjoy the messages that this type of speech, direct and personal, gives.

Performance by Arturo Moya & Ruth Abellán at ArtMadrid'20

With the evolution of this movement, subspecialties and specific terminology to designate them also emerge. Performances and happenings begin to be distinguished depending on the open and spontaneous participation of the public, or by being a scripted and established representation by the artists. The participation of the spectators can be foreseen within the performance, and even be the very essence of the action; but when this intervention escapes the author's control and is generated autonomously by the public, a happening takes place, an event with its own internal and unpredictable pulse in response to an initial trigger, which is the artist's original approach, already transformed otherwise, in a new work intervened by these spontaneous actors and actresses.

Performance by Eunice Artur at ArtMadrid'20

The movements that create new artistic realities, that break the patterns established in the already consolidated relationship between object and idea, pose numerous challenges in various spheres, from exhibition to acquisition. Once the trend is established, performance enters the creative scene in a situation of equality with the most traditional disciplines, however, it continues to be at a disadvantage for issues related to its commercialization and economic exploitation, something that also affects the professionalization of the creator that wants to be a performer. We can ask ourselves, how is a performance profitable, how can it be collected?

Olga Diego in the performance "The bubble woman show". ArtMadrid'20

At first glance, a performance is assimilated to a theatre play, so that, when it takes place in a museum or an exhibition centre, it can be treated as a contract of services under the payment of a caché. This is the method chosen on most occasions when the performance takes place in the context of an exhibition or within the programming of a centre, which wants to incorporate action art into its calendar.

It also happens that many performers decide to record their actions to get a tangible result. This is a way of transforming the work from its original conception to incorporate it into a medium. In this way, the performances become video creation pieces, whose distribution or commercialization is easier.

Performance by Marina Abramovic "The artist is present". MoMA 2010

But the real problem arises when one wants to collect the performance itself, as a live-action that happens only once, at a specific time and place, and is never repeated identically. At this point, we must take into account a distinction between the performances starring their authors and those with actors. In this second case, the authorship of the action is identified with the design, script and staging of the proposal, as well as with the description of its execution, timing and implementation guidelines, and it can be understood that the choice of the person involved it is not determinative. In the first case, on the opposite, when it is the artist himself who stars in his/her performances, despite having a script and a detailed description of the project, it can be concluded that we are dealing with a very personal act and that this action will not be the same if carried out by a person other than the creator. A clear example of this would be the intervention of Marina Abramovic in the framework of the exhibition that MoMA dedicated to her in 2010 with the title “The artist is present”. The nature of this action requires that Abramovic herself participates in it because the essence of the proposal is to sit in front of her and look her in the eye. Although it is an activity of simple description and easy execution, we are before a very personal act where the author would be irreplaceable.

Today, most of the performances that are collected are previously captured on video, as a documentary record of the event, or the script is sold so that the action is reproducible.

 

“I paint in a completely free way, I don't have a plan, it's chaotic, but everything has a reason. I don't prepare anything before I start painting, what I paint is what I feel or try to communicate at that moment, so it changes a lot (from one work to another)”.

Chão limpo e o resto. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

Cultura Inquieta once again joins the experience of discovering and celebrating creative talent within the broad spectrum of artistic expressions present at Art Madrid'24. As a supporter of culture and contemporary art, its commitment to promoting and supporting emerging artists is reflected in a special initiative in this edition: highlighting and supporting the work of the REVELATION ARTIST of the 19th edition.

Só durmo na minha almofada. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

In this context, Ana Malta emerges into the contemporary art scene with a fresh voice and her own visual aesthetic. Born in Lisbon in 1996, Malta is a talented visual artist and freelance designer who has captivated the public with her distinctive approach and bold exploration of the beauty of everyday spaces through her investigations of color.

Her studies in Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, as well as her Master's Degree in Creative Industries Management at the Catholic University of Portugal in Porto, have provided a solid foundation for her artistic practice. Currently, she also collaborates in the Communication and Production Office of Carpintarias de São Lázaro - Centro Cultural e Galeria Belo-Galsterer, showing her commitment to the cultural fabric of her community. She is also part of the artistic collective VÊS.TRÊS.

Ana Malta has been recognized in several platforms and media, including the 14th Edition of QUADRANTE, Melancia Mag and the SCROLL program of the RTP2 channel. Her participation in the book (AS)ARTISTAS - Ensaio Gráfico sobre Histórias e Práticas Artísticas no Feminino and in the April 21st Edition of Nova Awareness Club underlines her impact and relevance in the contemporary art scene.

Só um é que ganha. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

Ana Malta's work is characterized by her exploration of color, patterns, composition, and texture. These elements are not only vehicles of her plastic and visual expression, but also embody an intimate dialogue between aesthetic restlessness and the transformation of error into opportunity.

It is exciting to see Ana Malta make her debut at Art Madrid'24, represented by Galeria São Mamede (STAND B3). Her presence promises to further enrich the artistic experience of the event, inviting the public to approach the visually captivating and conceptually stimulating universe that the artist creates to narrate the chaos she rearranges in shapes and colors.

Não fico pendurada. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

In a world in constant movement, Ana Malta reminds us of the importance of experimentation and continuous exploration in the search for authentic and sincere artistic expression.

Her work has been REVEALED to us in the 19th edition of ART MADRID, thanks to the precise point of view of CULTURA INQUIETA as a testimony of the transforming power of art. In her hands, the entropy of forms brings us the possible memory of an endless summer; the luminosity of the sun becomes the caress of everyday life; we may even be surprised by the formula of happiness turned into a companion animal.

Ana Malta's pieces combines the restlessness of a space that appears to be in a state of chaos with the delicate synesthesia of vibrating at the velocity of light, nuances, lines and colors in her paintings.