INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO DOCUMENTATION OF LATVIAN PERFORMANCE ART

Abstract

This paper focuses on the debate among the theatre and performance theorists, who have long argued that performance becomes something else whenever it is documented. In fact, performance art historians can be divided into two groups: the first are adamant that a performance must be seen and experienced as a “live” event, the second – that performance art cannot exist without documentation, since it needs a proof of its occurrence. An alternative perspective maintains that documents themselves, however, cannot be (dis)regarded simply as incomplete remains from live events. The process of documentation is essential in performance art, since the documents can help artists to acquire a different perspective on their own work. Similarly, through such documents audiences can remember and visualize the performances they witnessed in person or, if they were not present, have an opportunity to explore the works that would otherwise remain unnoticed. The paper will analyse the role of documents in performance art through focusing on the work of four artists: Andris Grīnbergs, Maija Tabaka, Imants Lancmanis, and Miervaldis Polis. These artists have not only pursued performance art each in their own écriture, they can also be credited with making their own contribution to the historiography and genealogy of performance art in Latvia. Due to the documents – paintings and photographs – this legacy can be appreciated by contemporary audiences.