Selected publications by Jules Pelta Feldman
21: Inquiries into Art, History, and the Visual. Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte und visuellen Kultur , 2023
The conservation of performance art has become a pressing issue as museums increasingly commissio... more The conservation of performance art has become a pressing issue as museums increasingly commission, exhibit, and even collect works of performance art. While documentation might give us a schematic understanding of the original performance and its circumstances, and “reperformance” claims to reproduce the original live experience, neither of these can tell us what it was like to really be there, back then. Uniting curatorial and conservation methodologies, this paper proposes simulation as a tool for “mimetically documenting” the historical context and experience of performance works. Focusing on works by Marina Abramović and their representations in popular media, this article assesses historical reenactment, film and television, and ultimately video games as forms of simulation, arguing that these effectively transmit aspects of performance works that are otherwise difficult or impossible to conserve.
Studies in Conservation, 2023
After May 2, 2022, heritage conservation briefly became a hot topic in the world of celebrity gos... more After May 2, 2022, heritage conservation briefly became a hot topic in the world of celebrity gossip. That evening, Kim Kardashian, a reality TV star and entrepreneur, wore a 60-year-old dress that had belonged to Marilyn Monroe to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute Gala. In wearing Monroe's dress, Kardashian sought to channel the glamor and celebrity of the mid-century star. She also summoned the ire of museum professionals, who considered her choice to wear a fragile historical garment a flagrant violation of conservation ethics. Yet increasingly, the discipline of conservation has come to recognize that an object's 'integrity' does not rest solely in its physical materials and the emerging discourse of performance conservation, informed by research into the conservation of contemporary art as well as intangible cultural heritage, emphasizes the active lives of what I call 'performative objects' over their physical form and static appearance. Here, I posit that Kardashian's wearing of Monroe's dress may be understood as a form of conservation perhaps not of the dress itself, but of the performance of which that dress was an integral part, and without which, I argue, the dress has little significance. To make this argument, I will also draw on innovative approaches to the conservation of Indigenous heritage that recognize the preservation value of reanimating objects from the past. Establishing Monroe's dress as a 'performative object,' an item inextricably linked to the body in motion, I endeavor to show how performance itself preserves the past.
Die Gegenwart des Denkmals. Auslegung, Zerstörung, Belebung, 2023
Ist es jemals gerechtfertigt, ein Denkmal zu zerstören? Im Folgenden werfe ich einen Blick auf di... more Ist es jemals gerechtfertigt, ein Denkmal zu zerstören? Im Folgenden werfe ich einen Blick auf die Denkmalstürze der letzten Jahre. Ich betrachte sie als einen Versuch, das kollektive historische Gedächtnis einer Auffrischung zu unterziehen. Solche Kritik an Denkmälern als antidemokratischen Vandalismus abzutun, greift zu kurz; eher könnte man von Artikulationen eines »Sinns für Ungerechtigkeit« sprechen.
Artforum, Sep 1, 2023
This feature article details the history of Dwellings (1981), Charles Simonds's permanent install... more This feature article details the history of Dwellings (1981), Charles Simonds's permanent installation for the Whitney Museum's former home on Madison avenue, completed by Marcel Breuer in 1965. In showing how Simonds's work slyly counters Breuer's design philosophy, the author reveals Simonds as practicing a unique form of institutional critique that has been lost to the canon of art history.
Adjustable Monuments, 2022
Just as history is written by the victors, so too are monuments built by them: historically, publ... more Just as history is written by the victors, so too are monuments built by them: historically, public monuments have been erected by reigning governments or powerful private groups to give their own ideologies the shine of eternity. A monument’s purpose is never only to help us remember the past, but also to sharply delimit our interpretation of it. Accordingly, traditional monuments honouring great men or lamenting fallen soldiers – often erected years or decades after the events in question – are tangible expressions of how the powerful wish the past to be understood, in order to serve their own political and ideological goals in the present.
Texte zur Kunst Online, 2022
The dancers do not respond to monuments; they ignore them, refuse to acknowledge them, or, at lea... more The dancers do not respond to monuments; they ignore them, refuse to acknowledge them, or, at least, to acknowledge them as anything other than urban furniture, features of the landscape they run through. The sheer horsiness of the women was not a centering of women within the discourse of the monumental, but a refusal of discourse. Perhaps that is a more fitting response to the moral and political bankruptcy of the equestrian monument.
Texte zur Kunst, 2022
"But if it is difficult to embrace such changes, then perhaps it might be better to mourn them. M... more "But if it is difficult to embrace such changes, then perhaps it might be better to mourn them. Might acknowledging feelings of loss – loss not only of particular objects of art history but of the field’s long-standing identity – help ease resistance to potentially threatening changes?"
Republik, 2022
Davide-Christelle Sanvee inszenierte einen Einbürgerungstest, den keine gebürtige Schweizerin bes... more Davide-Christelle Sanvee inszenierte einen Einbürgerungstest, den keine gebürtige Schweizerin bestand. Ein Treffen mit der Performance-Künstlerin im Museum Tinguely in Basel, in dem Sanvee sich als Jägerin und Gejagte zeigte.
Texte zur Kunst Online, 2022
The Kunstmuseum Basel’s current exhibition may include Jenny Holzer’s name in its title – “Bourge... more The Kunstmuseum Basel’s current exhibition may include Jenny Holzer’s name in its title – “Bourgeois x Holzer,” like a sneaker collab – but it is devoted to the work of Louise Bourgeois, a friend of Holzer’s. Here, Holzer has here taken on a curatorial role in selecting and arranging works for the show. Like Holzer’s, Bourgeois’s work exploits unsettling ambiguities. Her darkly surreal sculptures and installations are at once recognizably of this world and frighteningly outside it; they seem to emerge both from another dimension and from our own bad dreams. In the exhibition, a few works have infiltrated the museum’s historical galleries, where they both camouflage themselves as and subvert more traditional works of art, much like the bronze plaques of Holzer’s "Living" series. One of them is a large bronze, Avenza Revisited II, a loose-limbed, faceless brood that liquidly stalks a gallery of figurative paintings like modernism’s id.
Disability and Art History from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century, Feb 28, 2022
Carolyn Lazard's 2016 performance Support System (for Tina, Park, and Bob) was an attempt by the ... more Carolyn Lazard's 2016 performance Support System (for Tina, Park, and Bob) was an attempt by the artist to meet their everyday needs-physical and emotional-under the guise of art. Lazard's work at that time centered on care and community; art was a frame that made these things happen in moments and places where they would otherwise have been absent. Realized at Room & Board, an artist's residency that was also my home, Support System was a durational performance during which the artist, con ned to their bed, received a succession of visitors-friends, collaborators, strangerswho were expected to provide for Lazard's physical and emotional needs throughout the day. As artist-in-residence, Lazard was living with me at Room & Board for about a month and planned the performance to take place in their bedroom, with the downstairs kitchen and living room to serve as staging areas for visitors. This work was part of Lazard's ongoing effort to, as they have said, "make art that doesn't hurt me." 1 Their perspective on disability has been sharpened by their own experiences, but their work implicates all of us, whether we see ourselves as sick or disabled or not. Lazard's work posits taking care of oneself and others as acts of resistance. In the context of contemporary performance, in which self-abnegation and feats of endurance are revered, care and rest are subversive. Lazard, born in 1987, falls under the category of "emerging artist," a perilous sort of prestige; though they are now considered a hot commodity and invited to participate in numerous exhibitions, artists like Lazard are expected to make sacri ces in pursuit of a narrowly de ned notion of success. Here, I would like to provide an account of Support System from both a personal and an art historical perspective, to chart its place in the art system in which it intervenes. Disability as resistance Everyone needs care, but Lazard has a privileged perspective on its significance. That Lazard often "passes" as a well person is one reason they address illness and debility in their art: to make it visible. They therefore chose a classic patient's costume-an antiseptically white robe and matching
Texte zur Kunst, 2021
Earlier this year, timed tickets to the Yayoi Kusama retrospective at the Gropius Bau were so dif... more Earlier this year, timed tickets to the Yayoi Kusama retrospective at the Gropius Bau were so difficult to come by that they were traded on social media like currency.
Dispositiv-Erkundungen | Exploring Dispositifs, 2021
This essay was originally written in 2017 with German readers in mind, in response to the controv... more This essay was originally written in 2017 with German readers in mind, in response to the controversies around art, censorship, and destruction that convulsed the American art scene that year. While the art world has since moved on to new scandals, it has failed to develop theoretical tools for understanding these protests. The arguments presented here are thus no less relevant today than they were three years ago. The fallout from the 2017 Whitney Biennial – and the simplistic invocations of “justice” and “censorship” that characterized it – continue to delineate the discussion. I believed then, as I do now, that these debates will remain stymied until we recognize the true stakes of destruction – and the cruel contingency of freedom.
Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 2020
Denkmäler sind für die Ewigkeit gedacht und sollen uns an die Vergangenheit erinnern. In den letz... more Denkmäler sind für die Ewigkeit gedacht und sollen uns an die Vergangenheit erinnern. In den letzten Monaten aber wurden viele Denkmäler und Statuen im Namen der Gerechtigkeit demontiert oder zerstört, sowohl in Nordamerika als auch in Europa, und das oft von Demonstranten, die die Sache selbst in die Hand nahmen.
Artforum, 2021
"Getting it as not getting it—this is a paradox for the art world, within which it is practically... more "Getting it as not getting it—this is a paradox for the art world, within which it is practically taboo to concede that one doesn’t comprehend a work of art. But perhaps deeply connecting with certain works might necessitate recognizing how the shapes and colors of our own subjectivities constrain those connections. This recognition, far from precluding a relationship with such works, actually demands a real engagement with the histories, cultures, and references from which they emerge."
Republik, 2021
In der Geschichte des Designs sind Frauen lange marginalisiert worden. Nun steuern Ausstellungen ... more In der Geschichte des Designs sind Frauen lange marginalisiert worden. Nun steuern Ausstellungen wie aktuell im Vitra De- sign Museum in Weil am Rhein dagegen. Das ist gut, reicht aber noch nicht.
Cache, 2020
This brief essay is a response to a text by Susanne Schmidt that appeared in the first issue of C... more This brief essay is a response to a text by Susanne Schmidt that appeared in the first issue of Cache. It discusses the role of so-called "female imagery" in American feminist art of the 1970s.
Artforum Online, 2020
Restitution is widely considered a just and appropriate form of deaccessioning. Might there be ot... more Restitution is widely considered a just and appropriate form of deaccessioning. Might there be other circumstances under which deaccessioning could be considered a form of restitution?
21: Inquiries into Art, History, and the Visual, 2020
"I propose another form of restitution: a restitution of significance – an effort that... more "I propose another form of restitution: a restitution of significance – an effort that, like restitution in the classic sense, requires not only
changing current practices but also redressing past mistakes, which
inevitably means some real sacrifice."
Deutschlandfunk, 2020
"Neben der Rückgabe von Kulturgütern brauchen wir daher noch eine andere Form der Restitution – e... more "Neben der Rückgabe von Kulturgütern brauchen wir daher noch eine andere Form der Restitution – eine Restitution von Bedeutung, die vergessenen oder ignorierten Kunstwerken ihren Platz in der Kunstgeschichte zugesteht. Ein derartiger Prozess mag emotional und ethisch nicht weniger belastend sein. Raum für neue Stimmen und Visionen zu schaffen heißt schließlich, einen geliebten und vertrauten Kanon der Kunst in Frage zu stellen. Und wo die Budgets von Museen so begrenzt sind wie der Platz an ihren Wänden, stehen schwierige Entscheidungen an. In Nordamerika suchen Museen neue Antworten auf diese Fragen."
Monopol, 2020
"Subtrahiert man das zufällig zugewiesene Geschlecht, was sollte da übrig bleiben als schlicht ei... more "Subtrahiert man das zufällig zugewiesene Geschlecht, was sollte da übrig bleiben als schlicht ein Gemälde? Aber tatsächlich wäre das Ergebnis kein 'geschlechtsloses' Werk, weil der gesellschaftliche Standard nicht geschlechtslos ist – er ist männlich. Wenn wir Identität von Werk trennen, bewerten wir das Kunstwerk noch lange nicht in einem neutralen Kontext. Vielmehr kehren wir zu jener Standard-Identität zurück – in der Regel weiß, männlich etc. –, die immer als neutral galt. Was wir manchmal fälschlicherweise für neutral oder universell halten, ist stets weit davon entfernt gewesen. Andere Identitäten zuzulassen bedeutet deshalb nicht, auf einen universellen kultu- rellen Kontext zu verzichten oder ihn zu zerstören. Es bedeutet einfach, anzuerkennen, dass dieser universelle Kontext nie universell, sondern immer eine Fiktion war."
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Selected publications by Jules Pelta Feldman
changing current practices but also redressing past mistakes, which
inevitably means some real sacrifice."
changing current practices but also redressing past mistakes, which
inevitably means some real sacrifice."
"Created in 2003, Mental Earth is a hanging sculpture in which a vibrant arabesque of earthy clay forms – resembling at once landscape, cloud, and man-made structure – floats in the air, detached from the terrestrial and architectural context of Simonds's early work in the streets," said Feldman, who also organized the upcoming all-day symposium on Simonds. "It is the opposite of site-specific in that it is able to create a new site for itself wherever it is exhibited. But despite this dramatic change from the artist's earlier work, Mental Earth represents powerful continuity with his entire oeuvre: it posits land, architecture, and the human body as a unified, living, and growing form."
The international art movement Fluxus has remained largely outside of mainstream art history in the United States. This paper examines how the first historical exhibition of Fluxus (which opened in 1981, three years after the death of Fluxus founder George Maciunas) encouraged this isolation and continues to dominate Fluxus scholarship and interpretation today. As Fluxus, Etc. exhibited the private collection of Gilbert Silverman, with Jon Hendricks as curator, the paper also explores how the collection’s view of Fluxus has been apotheosized by its 2008 donation to The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
--------This event aims at advancing the knowledge on this topic within the discipline of conservation on the one hand, while, on the other, locating the discourse of conservation within a broader field of the humanities disciplines concerned with the theories and practices of performance— performance studies, anthropology, art history, curatorial studies, heritage studies and museology.
---------We propose to contest the common-sense understanding of performance as a non-conservable form and ask questions concerning how, and to what extent, performance art and performance-based works can be conserved.
---------Keynotes: Prof Rebecca Schneider (Brown University), Prof Pip Laurenson (Tate/Maastricht University), Prof Gabriella Giannachi (University of Exter), Prof Barbara Büscher (University of Music and Theatre Leipzig).
--------Speakers: Hélia Marçal, Kate Lewis, Lizzie Gorfaine, Ana Janevski, Martha Joseph, Erin Brannigan, Brian Castriota, Farris Wahbeh, Louise Lawson, Rachel Mader, Siri Peyer, Sooyoung Leam, Karolina Wilczyńska, Iona Goldie-Scot, Claire Walsh and Ana Ribeiro.
-------The colloquium will feature two performance interludes by artists Frieder Butzmann (May 29) and Gisela Hochuli (May 30). We invite you to contribute to Gisela Hochuli’s performance by May 22 (please see the PDF for instructions).
------This colloquium is a part of the ongoing research project Performance: Conservation, Materiality, Knowledge funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation at Bern University of the Arts. The project focuses on the questions of conservation of performance-based works, their temporal specifics, the involvement of the human and non-human body, the world of their extended trace history, memory, and archive. Explored are notions of care, the ideals of traditional conservation and their relations to tacit or explicit knowledge, skill and technique. Taking as a starting point the necessity for conservators to access and deepen this area of study, and unlike queries that situate these questions within other disciples, in this project, we approach performance as a necessarily conservable form.
Keynote talks will be by Rebecca Schneider (Brown University) , Pip Laurenson (Tate and Maastricht University), Gabriella Giannachi (University of Exeter), and Barbara Büscher (University of Music and Theatre Leipzig).
Dedalus Foundation, September 11, 2018. Panel discussion moderated by Julia Pelta Feldman, with Anna Gurton-Wachter, Archivist, The Keith Haring Foundation; Kate Haw, Director, Archives of American Art; Melissa Rachleff Burtt, Independent Curator, and Clinical Associate Professor of Visual Arts Administration, New York University; and Paul Ramírez Jonas, Artist, and Associate Professor, Hunter College, CUNY.
What does it mean to conserve performance, to sustain its life into the future? What is performance, if investigated as an event, process, object, documentation, and as an ongoing life, a way of world-making or of producing knowledge? What does performance become, as glimpsed through the lens of distinct disciplinary perspectives?
This online colloquium, “Performance Conservation: Interdisciplinary Perspectives,” brings together artists and scholars of performance studies, anthropology, art history, musicology and conservation to approach the question of the ongoing life and afterlives of performance.
Confirmed speakers: Philip Auslander, Thomas Gartmann, Amelia Jones, Michaela Schäuble, and Dread Scott. The colloquium will feature a live performance by the Swiss artist Gisela Hochuli.
This colloquium is part of the ongoing research project Performance: Conservation, Materiality, Knowledge funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation at Bern Academy of the Arts. The project focuses on the questions of conservation of performance-based works, their temporal specifics, the involvement of the human and non-human body, and the world of their extended trace history, memory, and archive. Explored are notions of care, the ideals of traditional conservation and their relation to tacit or explicit knowledge, skill and technique. Taking as a starting point the necessity for conservators to access and deepen this area of study, and unlike queries that situate these questions within other disciplines, in this project, we approach performance as a necessarily conservable form.
This event is generously supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Department of Materiality in Art and Culture, Bern Academy of the Arts.
The event is free, but pre-registration is necessary. Please sign up by September 23.
Artist Gisela Hochuli is developing a Zoom performance, titled In Strange Hands II, which will be realized on the basis of instructions sent by the audience. When signing up, all attendees are asked to contribute a short, written event score or instruction for a performance.
Learn more and sign up here: https://performanceconservationmaterialityknowledge.com/2022/09/06/second-annual-colloquium/
1) Can performance be conserved? If so, how? If not, why not?
2) What does it mean to conserve performance?
The series contributes to the knowledge database of the SNSF Performance: Conservation, Materiality, Knowledge and is freely available at this link: https://performanceconservationmaterialityknowledge.com/two-questions/