Violence in Performance Art: A Historical Analysis

On November 19, 1971, in front of a small audience in Santa Ana, California,

performance artist Chris Burden shot himself. Or rather, this was his original idea for his
infamous performance piece titled Shoot. What actually occurred, after trying to design
a mechanism to allow him to fire a gun at himself, and then deciding that method would
be too mechanical, was that Burden decided to have his friend shoot him. So on that
night in November, Chris Burden was shot in the left arm, with a copper jacket 22 long
rifle, by his marksmen friend who remained unnamed. Since then, though he has created
countless other performance pieces, Burden has had to remind the public and critics, I
wasnt the artist who shot himself(qtd in Ward 114). More accurately, Burden was the
artist who shot himself, electrocuted himself, crucified himself, stranded himself, cut
himself, and often harmed or endangered himself. Burdens extensive use of violence in
his performance work has caused some critics to label him as a masochist, or attribute
his actions to a pathological state (Ward 114). However in analyzing Burdens work, it is
important to recognize that it is not radical, or the first of its kind. Using the body as the
subject, incorporating blood or violence, putting the audience in an uncomfortable
position, and attracting controversial attention are all elements of performance art. In
fact, elements such as violence and controversy have been an integral part of
performance art since it began developing across Europe in art movements such as
Futurism, Dadaism, and Surrealism, and continue to be incorporated into performance
art as we know it today.

The Vietnamese Family: A Dialogue of Religious, Political, and Foreign Rhetoric

The helicopter descended into a throng of people, crowded atop the United States
embassy in Saigon. As Communist tanks wheeled their way into the center of the capital,
the crowd pushes forward in hopes of escaping the ever-increasing influence of the
Communist regime. As the selected few are chosen to ride the helicopter, fathers and
sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives gathered on the roof push in hopes of
a new freedom in the new world. But few are chosen, and many are left standing in the
remains of a once-democratic nation. This image, documented during the fall of Saigon
in the Vietnam War, is similar to a number of other escapes by Vietnamese all around
Vietnam. Men, women, and children were packed onto boats and helicopters in a
massive diaspora of Vietnamese citizens, interrupting the lives of families, of villages in
Vietnam. These refugees were looking to begin a new life outside of Vietnam, armed
only with a few family treasures that were packed hastily into their bags. But these
helicopters and boats were carrying a treasure much more valuable than the material
treasures of the wealthiest refugee family. Within these vehicles, the Vietnamese identity
was being transported. Its customs and its traditions were transported by rotor and by
boat across the Pacific Ocean to countries such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia,
and most importantly the United States of America. Here in Southern California the
Vietnamese community has established an identity among the suburbs of Orange County
in an area known as Little Saigon. Within this center of Vietnamese activity, the
Vietnamese traditions and customs are revealedits festivals, its food, its music. But the
Vietnamese culture comprises of more than just food and art. From across the ocean,
the refugees also brought the Vietnamese perception of family to the United States, a
familial identity created under the influences of both religion and state.