“I want to display a person dying naturally or somebody who has just died,” he told The Art Newspaper. “My aim is to show the beauty of death.”
The final moment of dying, conceptually envisioned as the ultimate performance (preferably staged in a museum), is not a new concept. However, this idea of death continues to captivate dedicated performers who seek to push ordinary boundaries and examine the limits of artistic freedom. One such example is the German artist Gregor Schneider, who is deeply fascinated by funeral rituals.
He creates unsettling installations, famous was his conceptual exhibitions HAUS consisting of a series of rooms the visitors walked trough spaces of decreasing size and they ended up in a completely dark room, disorientated. How they found the way out, on hands and knees, like monkeys, that was hilarious.
Sparking controversy, particularly with his proposal to exhibit the natural process of dying as a way to confront social taboos around death.
I looked for the latest news about Gregor Schneider, Googled him, after visiting some relevant but confusing informative sites, I turned to the Amazing Dancing Bear ChatGPT which helped me with this info, very to the point.
“Gregor Schneider is a German artist born in 1969, renowned for his provocative and conceptual installations, which often explore themes of isolation, mortality, and existential unease. His most famous work, Haus, involves transforming his childhood home into a labyrinthine structure with concealed rooms and unsettling spaces. His installations frequently evoke claustrophobia and challenge perceptions of physical and emotional boundaries.
As of the latest information available Gregor Schneider is alive and continues to be an active figure in the art world, holding exhibitions and serving as a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. “
Me: What is in general the reputation of performance art today? It used to be more alive and influential than now in the contemporary art scene worldwide?
AI: “Performance art today holds a complex reputation within the global contemporary art scene. While it remains an influential medium for addressing urgent social, political, and cultural issues, it no longer commands the centrality or revolutionary fervor it had during its peak in the 1960s to 1980s, when figures like Marina Abramović and Joseph Beuys, redefined the boundaries of art.”
I had an interesting nice talk about all different aspects of modern performance art and eventually agreed with the closing conclusion ChatGPT with its intimidating speed provided: “In summary, performance art remains significant but operates within a more institutionalised and globalised art world. It’s no longer the disruptive force it once was, but it continues to evolve, adapting to technological and societal changes while providing a platform for urgent conversations.”