Performance Art and Postmodern Theater

In a workshop, forum and performance series, UCCA invites artists, directors, and academics to explore the relationship between performance art and theater, traditionally viewed as two separate art forms. With the arrival of postmodernism, however, the boundaries between the two become blurred: contemporary performance art incorporates more and more narrative elements into itself, and contemporary theater places increasing emphasis on visuality and the body. Guest speakers will be asked to weigh in on how these two artistic forms should be redefined, whether a synthesis can be found in China, and what implications this synthesis might have on artists and performers.

 

For the first part of the series, Chinese-German theater director Cao Kefei and performance artist Li Xinmo will explore the relationship between theater, performance, curation by simultaneously moderating, and fluidly moving between, two workshops at UCCA. In each workshop, performance artists, dancers, and musicians will interpret several key words using their bodies, vision, and hearing, testing the boundaries of language and meaning. Following this will be a performance consisting of several separate yet interactive pieces taking place at various spaces in the Center.