Acting Out

Performance art can be daunting. It isn’t consumed at the viewer’s chosen pace and path like most visual art. Leaving during a piece — even one that has overstayed its welcome — always feels like a dick move. And as much as we purposefully study contemporary trends in other modes...

By Jamie Laughlin

July 25, 2013

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Performance art can be daunting. It isn’t consumed at the viewer’s chosen pace and path like most visual art. Leaving during a piece — even one that has overstayed its welcome — always feels like a dick move. And as much as we purposefully study contemporary trends in other modes of expression, who’s teaching the fundamentals of performance art? Who’s educating the public to appreciate and better understand the more performance-oriented approaches popular today and their origins? PerformanceSW is equal parts Courtney Brown and Alison Starr, and it’s doing those things as part of the Dallas Museum of Art’s (1717 N. Harwood St.) summertime show, Dallasites: Available Space, a month-long celebration of contemporary and experimental work from ’round these parts. PerformanceSW holds free, weekly forums (either panels or workshops) at 7 p.m. on Thursdays until August 15, starting this week. The kick-off discussion An Introduction to Performance Art tackles the medium’s fundamentals with panelists Courtney Brown, Randall Garrett, Joel Kiser, Luke Sides and Alison Starr. Darryl Lauster moderates. Visit performancesw.org.
Thu., July 25, 2013

Jamie Laughlin

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