“It’s a joke”
Performance art seminar, guided by Mary Coble.
Galleri Konstepidemin, Monday 4 januari 10.00- 16.00
Limited number of participants, contact trettonfestivalen@hotmail.com for more information.
Ulla Hvejsel interviewing her ass at www.talkingoutofmyass.com
’Performance’ is a word that is both used to describe efficiency and productivity while also being a genre of art practises that may seem absurd and even a bit ridiculous to some – especially if thought about in terms of efficiency! A performance art version of the classic light bulb joke, which also points to efficiency, goes:
”Question: How many performance artists does it take to screw in a light bulb”
Answer: I don’t know, I didn’t stay to find out”
In this seminar we will embrace both the absurdity and the ridiculousness of performance art, while also examining the performance artist as a joke. We will discuss jokes, play, hilarity frivolity, and seriousness, and debate whether nonsensical acts may in fact be efficient calls to action.
We will question what is actually funny and discuss the difficulties of explaining both performance art and jokes, as well as lots of other ridiculously important topics.
This seminar is co-organized by Mary Coble and Ulla Hvejsel with the support of 13Festivalen 2016.
“It’s a Joke” Schedule
Monday January 4th, 2016
10-10:30 Seminar Introduction
10:30-11:30
Tactical frivolity
Mary Coble will present an investigation of Tactical Frivolity as a strategy of artistic and activist protest. Tactical Frivolity involves humor, loudness, performativity and peaceful non-compliance as forms of resistance. It includes pieing, drag, glitter bombing, and various forms of political theatre as opposition to disciplinary politics and the control of seriousness.
11:30-12:00 Discussion
12-13:00 Lunch
13:00-15.30 (with a coffee break from 14-14.20)
LMAO – laughing my ass off
In the afternoon, as a tribute to all those performance artists that keep making complete asses of themselves Ulla Hvejsel will put her ass on the line and let it host a panel discussion with specially invited guests, John Huntington from Kanslibyrån and Anna Kinbom. Together, they will look into jokes about performance artists – and try to figure out and explain what the point is, and perhaps also close in on some points about performance art.
It is common knowledge however, that a joke is just not so funny anymore once you explain why it is funny, and that may also be the case for performance art. However, in the rubble of the broken joke, a new joke may appear – and that joke might just be the one that can make us laugh in new and unexpected way at things we never realized were ridiculous before.
15.30 – 16.00: Wrap up
About Mary Coble: Embracing unpredictability, messiness and failure Mary Coble has worked with performance art for over 15 years, through this time aiming to manifest problems of bodily, societal and symbolic navigation particularly focusing on issues of injustice and normative boundaries. Recurrent themes in Coble’s work revolve around queer politics and poetics often working site-specifically, research-based and – from time to time – collectively/participatory. Engagement in artistic practices and interventions within and outside of established institutions and the use of activist strategies are integral to Coble’s work. Coble is a Senior Lecturer in the Fri Konst and Photography Units of the MFA Programs at Valand Academy of Art, Gothenburg University.
For more information on Coble’s work please visit: www.marycoble.com and current obsession www.gesturesofdefiance.blogspot.se
About Ulla Hvejsel
My ass – Has been the ass of artist Ulla Hvejsel since 1975. Ulla Hvejsel lives and works in Copenhagen, teaches at Akademin Valand, graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine arts in Copenhagen in 2006. She has worked a lot with performance, humour, a white bear that gets stuck on the mind, jokes from warfilms, journalism, questions of action and thinking and putting her ass on the line.
For more information on Ulla Hvejsel: www.realpolitik.dk and for more information on my ass:
www.talkingoutmyass.com
WORKSHOPS January 5th and 6th, 2016!
13 Festivalen arrangerar workshops med Ulla Hvejsel och Mary Coble / Workshop opportunity with artists Mary Coble and Ulla Hvejsel. More information here
“It’s a joke”
Seminarium om performancekonst under ledning av Mary Coble.
Galleri Konstepidemin, Sweden måndag 4 januari 10.00- 16.00
Begränsat antal platser, kontakta trettonfestivalen@hotmail.com vid intresse.
Ulla Hvejsel interviewing her ass at www.talkingoutofmyass.com
’Performance’ is a word that is both used to describe efficiency and productivity while also being a genre of art practises that may seem absurd and even a bit ridiculous to some – especially if thought about in terms of efficiency! A performance art version of the classic light bulb joke, which also points to efficiency, goes:
”Question: How many performance artists does it take to screw in a light bulb”
Answer: I don’t know, I didn’t stay to find out”
In this seminar we will embrace both the absurdity and the ridiculousness of performance art, while also examining the performance artist as a joke. We will discuss jokes, play, hilarity frivolity, and seriousness, and debate whether nonsensical acts may in fact be efficient calls to action.
We will question what is actually funny and discuss the difficulties of explaining both performance art and jokes, as well as lots of other ridiculously important topics.
This seminar is co-organized by Mary Coble and Ulla Hvejsel with the support of 13Festivalen 2016.
“It’s a Joke” Schedule
Monday January 4th, 2016
10-10:30 Seminar Introduction
10:30-11:30
Tactical frivolity
Mary Coble will present an investigation of Tactical Frivolity as a strategy of artistic and activist protest. Tactical Frivolity involves humor, loudness, performativity and peaceful non-compliance as forms of resistance. It includes pieing, drag, glitter bombing, and various forms of political theatre as opposition to disciplinary politics and the control of seriousness.
11:30-12:00 Discussion
12-13:00 Lunch
13:00-15.30 (with a coffee break from 14-14.20)
LMAO – laughing my ass off
In the afternoon, as a tribute to all those performance artists that keep making complete asses of themselves Ulla Hvejsel will put her ass on the line and let it host a panel discussion with specially invited guests, John Huntington from Kanslibyrån and Anna Kinbom. Together, they will look into jokes about performance artists – and try to figure out and explain what the point is, and perhaps also close in on some points about performance art.
It is common knowledge however, that a joke is just not so funny anymore once you explain why it is funny, and that may also be the case for performance art. However, in the rubble of the broken joke, a new joke may appear – and that joke might just be the one that can make us laugh in new and unexpected way at things we never realized were ridiculous before.
15.30 – 16.00: Wrap up
About Mary Coble: Embracing unpredictability, messiness and failure Mary Coble has worked with performance art for over 15 years, through this time aiming to manifest problems of bodily, societal and symbolic navigation particularly focusing on issues of injustice and normative boundaries. Recurrent themes in Coble’s work revolve around queer politics and poetics often working site-specifically, research-based and – from time to time – collectively/participatory. Engagement in artistic practices and interventions within and outside of established institutions and the use of activist strategies are integral to Coble’s work. Coble is a Senior Lecturer in the Fri Konst and Photography Units of the MFA Programs at Valand Academy of Art, Gothenburg University.
For more information on Coble’s work please visit: www.marycoble.com and current obsession www.gesturesofdefiance.blogspot.se
About Ulla Hvejsel
My ass – Has been the ass of artist Ulla Hvejsel since 1975. Ulla Hvejsel lives and works in Copenhagen, teaches at Akademin Valand, graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine arts in Copenhagen in 2006. She has worked a lot with performance, humour, a white bear that gets stuck on the mind, jokes from warfilms, journalism, questions of action and thinking and putting her ass on the line.
For more information on Ulla Hvejsel: www.realpolitik.dk and for more information on my ass:
www.talkingoutmyass.com
WORKSHOPS January 5th and 6th, 2016!
13 Festivalen arrangerar workshops med Ulla Hvejsel och Mary Coble / Workshop opportunity with artists Mary Coble and Ulla Hvejsel. More information here