Odd Spaces

The increased presence of performance art in museums shifts the relationship between spectators and art to one of social exchange. While performance art often references visual art and art history, it also has a firm grounding in the present, in everyday life, and in human-to-human interactions. Where, then, is performance art’s place in a museum environment? How can performance art expand the ways we experience and define art?

Odd Spaces launched the MFA’s new performance art program in May 2013. Participating artists Marilyn Arsem, David Levine, John C. Gonzalez, Sandrine Schaefer and Philip Fryer probed the above questions by performing in places where art might not typically appear at the MFA. The event was imagined as a conversation in which diverse voices resonated across the Museum, inviting artists and community members involved with performance art to share their vision about what the program could look like at the MFA.

11 am–8:30 pm, Family Meal by John C. Gonzalez, Garden Cafeteria (Level G) 11 am–4 pm, and Bravo Restaurant (Level 2) 5:30–8:30 pm

12–6:30 pm, With the Others by Marilyn Arsem, Egyptian Galleries (Level 1)

2–7 pm, durance by David Levine, Druker Classroom (159) in the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art (Level 1)

4–6:30 pm, Untitled View by Sandrine Schaefer and Philip Fryer, Shapiro Rotunda (Level 1)

7–8:30 pm, Panel Discussion co-presented with Big Red and Shiny, Alfond Auditorium, Art of the Americas Wing (Level G)