ARTPIX Notebooks: Robert Whitman Performances from the 1960s

Rating:
Summary: An Ode to the Power of Beauty and Regeneration
Review: This 155-minute DVD edition documents four major performance works by Robert Whitman. It covers a period ranging between the year 1960 and 2002. Whitman was born in New York in 1935. He studied literature, drama and the visual arts at Rutgers University from 1953 to 1957. He also studied art history at Columbia University in 1958.

The first piece on this disc, "The American Moon" [ 10min, 1960 ] consists of edited 8mm film footage. It was shot by the artist, as notes to himself, for recreating a future performance event. A room adorned by colored paper and fabric, animated by an elaborate cable and pulley system, serves as the aesthetic environment for performers who hop, crawl and make vigorous motions throughout the course of the work's duration. A 12-minute commentary by Robert Whtiman, Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, Simone Forti and Lucas Samaras follows.

Next, "Flower" [ 30min, 1963 ] is documented as performance notes, shot in 16mm film. These show a gradual evolution of this theatre form into a larger space, for a greater number of performers. The work features a slow sense of time, which permits attention to it's subtle details. A revelation of mystery is accomplished using layers upon layers of animated fabric and paper. The piece conveys an esteem for, and serves as an abstract honoring of, human feminine qualities. A 20-minute commentary by those listed above, including Trisha Brown, directly follows.

"Prune Flat" was conceived in 1965. A live performance from the year 2001 is documented here, in video, from the Pompidou Center, Paris. It features a projection screen, with both front and rear projections, accompanied by three live actors. During the course of the piece, the actors form a communion with the film's symbolic content. A 16-minute solo commentary by Robert Whitman follows.

The final piece, "Ghost" [ 40min, 2002 ] is a video document of a live performance realized at the Pace Wildenstein gallery, Chelsea New York. It was conceived as a response to the horror and violence of devastation during 9/11/2001. It is presented without any commentary.

"Robert Whitman: Performances from the 1960's" preserves important seminal examples of a dense visual, non-narrative, art form. Those interested in abstract dramatic performance, as well as meditative visual poetry, would do well to add this DVD to their collection.