Alice Koubová

Kent Sjöström

Body as a vehicle

Workshop in performance and philosophy

organized at the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague

28. - 29. 3. 2019 

Artistic, ethical and ideological function of the body is an omnipresent theme in the contemporary discussion on performance art. In recent decades, a turn towards a political and ideological body, exemplified by e. g. feministic performance art or a post-colonial viewpoint, is evident. This turn can be understood as a reaction to those ideals from the 20th century, which emphasized the necessity to liberate the body from societal and sexual suppression, in order to make human being free and harmonic. Contemporary theatre and performance are challenging and transgressing the traditional physical representation of the role through acting, manifested e. g. in works of Gob Squad, Katie Mitchel or Rimini Protokol. The body is no longer seen as a source of authentic truth, in the tradition of the 20th century avant-garde, but rather as socially constructed and therefore a subject of scrutiny.