FirstlettertoaCollector

Canitsurviveunderthesun
Isitaliveorisitdead
Ifit'sfreshwillitburn
Canitfeelthethreadsoftime
Doesitleaveatrailofslime

Ican'tputmyfingeronit

1.

Inthinkingaboutwhatacollectoris,Iminterestedintheuseoftheword
actionasatermthatisoftenemployedinperformanceartdiscourseasa
referenttocontent,regardlessofform.Acollectorisapersonofactionhes
notthemereproprietorofaphysicalobject,butratherpositionshimselfas
thepossessorofanartwork'scontent.Takingthisideaastepfurther,one
shouldthereforeexpectacollectionsuchastheSammlungMariadeRobeto
enhancetheMuseum'sfunctionasaninstitutionthattakesonapossessive
voicewithindiscussionsonwidersocietalissues.Apracticethatswings
betweenrenarration,speculation,subjectiveaccountandpoliticsof
memory.Collecting,inthissense,meanstoactivelytryandchallengethe
notionofobjectivetruth.TheMdRcollectiononlypresentsitselfthrough
commissionedsoloperformancesincooperationwithmuseumcollections.It
isthusbestunderstoodasapracticeofactiveinstallment:eachnew
acquisitionconsistsofaperformativegesturewithintheframeworkofan
ongoingexhibitionatthehostmuseum.Akindofdiscursiverevisittothe
museumcollectionallowingthemuseumtoquestionhistorical,
ideologicallybasedperceptionsofculturalobjects,whichstillholdsway.
Thebasicideaistoconnectperformativeartpraxiswithapublicmuseum
collection,evokingwhatcanbecalledephemeralreenclosingofthe
museumscollectionthroughthepresentnessofaperformanceartist.

2.

Performanceartiswidelyregardedaseventsthatcannotbearchivedits
presentnessappearstobeatoddswithamuseumsquestforpermanence.
What,then,istherelevanceofperformancewithinthemuseumstructure?
Howcanperformanceartasaculturalphenomenonpenetratearchival
practice?Performance,asitsnameindicates,isanactivityitinvolves

doingsomething.Whatismore,itdeclaresitselfasanactivity.Museum
objectsarebydefinitionembeddedwithinparticular'historical'narratives,
buttheycanalsoalwaysbeinterpretedaccordingtomoresubjective,
unmediatedreadings.Assigningtheperformanceartistandinstitutionwith
anequalauthorityconfersanequivalentvaluetotheirrespectiveapproaches
tothemuseumobject.Insuchaway,museumcollectingisgivenagencyto
evolveandmutateinacontinuousstateofbecoming.

Thecontentsofmaterialrecordsdepicthumanbeliefs,andaregenerally
acknowledgedastheproductofhumanactionoragency.Despitetheir
insentientnature,museumobjectshavetheabilitytoactuponhumansand
generateexperiencesandunderstanding.Aperformanceinwhichobjects
playtheleadrolenexttotheperformer,andinwhichthestandard
interpretationoftheseobjectsisputintoquestioncreatesanenvironmentfor
experiment,anenvironmentstrippedofitssocallednormality.Suchan
environmentchallengestheeconomiesthatgeneratedesireforprecious
originalobjectsandtheirpresentationasdidacticsources.

3.

Similartoorganisms,aperformanceartcollectionhastheneedforgrowth.
TheMdRcollectioncanbeseenasaconstantflowofknowledge,a
continuousprocessofcommoncreation.Theauthor,bywritingabookor
doingaperformance,then,merelymouldsthatcollectiveknowledge.The
fieldofartisnotthatofknowledgeperse,northatofarbitrationbetween
statementandreferent,butratheroneoftransformation.Theveryeventart
designatesiseitherfelicitousorinfelicitous,wherethevalueofsatisfaction
replacesthatoftruth.Thisimpliesasocialcontext.Allartisticoutcomeis
partofthecommonheritageandcultureofgroups,andisproducedforthe
purposeoftransformationitisaresource.MdRaimsatfindingan
alternativeunderstandingoftheserecordsofhumanbeliefbymeansofthe
situationalqualitiesofliveart,andseekstoviewtheperformanceasa
momentwherethemuseumartifactbecomesenriched,expandedand
infestedbytheperformanceaddingonemorelayerofmeaningandreality.
Thismeansthattheartifactbecomesmorerelevantandmeaningful,bothas
anobjectaswellasanartworkinfusedwithqualitiesthatwerenot
previouslypresent.Thisentailsaddressingartinanextremlyfunctionalway
wherethenotionofusesupersedesthatofhistoricalyassignedvalue.

4.

Performanceartisrootedwithinthedeepmodernistdesireforpresence,
movingtowardsacongruenceofrepresentationandwhatistobe
represented.Thisisoneofthereasonswhyperformanceworkcomplies
neitherwiththeacceptedrulesoftheartmarket,norwiththoseof

institutionalizedvenues.Howeverblurreditsboundariesmightbe,
performancepresentsitselfasaphenomenonofsingularityapracticeof
thatwhichbydefinitioncannotbepigeonholedinunversalterms.
Contemporaryperformanceartisalways,inthefirstplacetheproductionof
aspecificspace,whichisaresultoftheinterplaybetweenmultiplebodies
suchasartefacts,soundsandknowledge.Withinsuchaperspective,itis
necessarytounderstandspecificspaceastheresultofperformativitynot
asaselfcontainedentity,butapriorirelational.Moreover,asanact,the
performanceisdefinedbyitspropertyofbeingselfreferential,constructing
arealitythatdelineatesitsownextents.

Theactofpresentingthings,namingthemandconceptualizingthem,calls
themintoexistence.Aperformance,assuch,isnothingbutaselffullfilling
promise.Thenotionoftheperformativeinrelationtoartactuallypointstoa
shiftfromwhatanartworkdepictsandrepresentstotheaffectsand
experiencesthatitevokes.Understoodinthisway,thereislittlesensein
referingtoperformanceasanartform.MdRaimsatadoptingthenotion
ofacollectionasinterplayameshofinterdependentbecomingobjects
thatconstitutestheperformed.

5.

Mostperformanceartistsworkwithobjects,buttheseareusuallyvery
nonspecificsuchaswood,foodstuffsortape,andduetotheirpractical
andsupportiverole,afterbeingutilisedtheyaregenerallydiscardedor
becomerelicsfordocumentarypurposes.TheMdRcollectionaimstowork
witheverydayobjects,artworksandartefactsthatareimbuedwiththevery
distinctqualityofbelongingtoamuseumcollection.Theseobjectsneedto
bepreservedintheiroriginalstate,butitisinfactthehandlung,orgesture
towardstheobjectwhichimpliescollectabilityinotherwords,theoriginal
objectremainsthepointofreferenceratherthanbecomingamererelic.
Insteadofaimingforaclassicalarchive(i.e.thearchivingofobjects),MdR
archivesonlythroughperformanceusingthemuseumartefactitselfasan
archivalstructure,whichtherebybecomesenriched.Notbecausethisisthe
onlyornecessarilyabetterwayofarchivingpresentdayperformanceart,
butbecauseitisonewayofcollectingthatwe,asartists,canemployout
ofloveorofpollination.

Theencountersatstakeinaperformancearetherefornotonlyencounters
betweenthepeopleinvolved(performerandwitness),butarealsotobe
consideredasencountersbetweencompositebodies,consistingofsocalled
humanaswellasnonhumancomposites(asevershiftingconstellationsof
bodiesactingupononeanotherinrelationtoobjects,expandingthe
Spinozistnotionofcompositebodies).Witheverynewperformance,anew
compositeofbodiesisgenerated,alwaysinaperpetualstateofbeingnotyet
consolidated,ornolongercomplete.Inotherwords,alwaysinastateof
contingency.

6.

Intheend,itisthecollectionthatmatters:itsensembleasapossibletrigger
forpublicnessthewayofmakingpublic.Bypracticingperformanceart
thatproceedsthroughengagementwithmaterialculture,aseriesof
expectationsbecomepertinentinrelationtothespacebroughtintobeingby
themuseumandbytheperformancethemuseumassiteofpermanence,a
seriesofartefacts,ahistoricalrecordtheperformanceasasiteof
impermanence,anephemeralevent,alimitedduration.Certain
contemporarymuseumpractices,aswellastendenciestointermingle
performanceandinstallation,subjectthesenotionsofpermanenceand
impermanencetoradicalscrutinythroughtheparticularsituationsthey
instantiate.TheMdRcollectionwillcontinueexploringthesecomposite
bodiesduringthefollowingyearsindifferentmuseumcollectioninBerlin
andbeyondinvitingandcommissioningleadingperformanceartiststo
engagewithlocalmuseumsettingsforthesolereasonofbecoming
public.

VerlegtonNovember,twelfth2014