Articles by: Patricia Benecke, Tim Etchells, Matthew Goulish, Adrian Heathfield, Judith Helmer, Hans-Thies Lehmann, Florian Malzacher, Annemarie Matzke, Andrew Quick, Anke Schleper, Gerald Siegmund, Astrid Sommer. This item is part of the Study Room Guide on Performance, Politics, Ethics and Human Rights by Adrien Sina (P0661)

Performance Matters: Performing Idea – Performative Writing8th October 3.00-7.30pm (not 7th as stated on disk))Toynbee StudiosWith: Hélène Cixous (on video), Matthew Goulish, Adrian Heathfield and Peggy PhelanNew forms of writing on and around contemporary art and performance have emerged in recent years, alongside the emergence of the artist as cultural critic and curator. These forms of writing often problematize the notion of critical distance, deploying creative, dialogic and autobiographical strategies to engage with the multiple affects of the artwork. To what extent may critical thinking and writing be an art form? Speakers will examine the histories, limits and possibilities of the forms of ‘performative writing’, the dynamics of the performing idea.This session on Performative Writing will also comprise a preview of Trashing Performance, the second themed year of Performance Matters, with contributions from Oreet Ashery, Mel Brimfield, Gavin Butt, Dominic Johnson and Bird La Bird.

DVD – AUDIO ONLYThis documentation has since been presented with the permission of the artist as part of the Performance Matters, Performing Idea, Performance Lecture Archive; an interactive video archive housed at the Whitechapel Gallery between 2-9 October 2010. The archive looked at examples of the performance lecture as a form of artistic and critical expression and its potential to address a broad range of cultural issues and philosophical ideas.

As the Chicago based performance group Goat Island draw twenty years of beginnings to a close, they open up a myriad of lenses for reflection on, and continuation of, their work through the website project The Last Performance [dot org].

Begins with Samuel Beckett and considers failure in performance as a hopeful strategy.

Part of Sacred at Chelsea Theatre, London

Yearlong writing project for radio broadcast

Explores contemporary approaches which have sought to renew criticism’s energies in the wake of a ‘theatrical turn’ in recent visual arts practice, and the emergence of a ‘performative’ arts writing over the past decade or so.

This item is part of the Study Room Guide: On Falling by Amy Sharrocks (P2249) and the Study Room Guide On (W)Reading Performance Writing by Rachel Lois Clapham (P1433)

Excerpts from The Sea & Poison and It’s an Earthquake in My Heart, Goat Island