Joan Jonas: New York Performances | Art21 "Extended Play"

Episode #219: From her Manhattan studio, artist Joan Jonas discusses her decision to begin staging performances in the late 1960s. As a child growing up in New York, Jonas's mother brought her to see performances such as Richard Wagner operas at The Metropolitan Opera and a George Balanchine production of "Afternoon of a Faun" starring Tanaquil Le Clercq. Describing her experiences of seeing operas and ballets in her youth, Jonas recalls, "Things like that make a big impression on you when you're young." For her own performances, Jonas invited artist friends such as Gordon Matta-Clark, Tina Girouard, and Pat Steir to abandoned lots and empty streets in Lower Manhattan where, while being filmed by artist Peter Campus, she would give them props and simple choreography to perform. "In a way we all helped each other and worked together and people really enjoyed being in other people’s works," says Jonas of her artist friends. "Everybody knew that that moment was special in the 60s and 70s." Four of Joan Jonas's earliest works are featured in this episode, including "Wind" (1968), "Songdelay" (1973), "Organic Honey’s Vertical Roll" (1973), and "Street Scene" (1976).
Working in performance, video, installation, sculpture, and drawing, Jonas finds inspiration in mythic stories, investing texts from the past with the politics of the present. Wearing masks and drawing while performing on stage, Jonas disrupts the conventions of theatrical storytelling to emphasize potent symbols and critical self-awareness.
Learn more about the artist at:
art21.org/arti...
CREDITS: Producer: Ian Forster. Consulting Producers: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Ian Forster & Susan Sollins. Camera: Jarred Alterman. Sound: Richard Gin. Editor: Morgan Riles. Artwork Courtesy: Joan Jonas & Electronic Arts Intermix, New York. Archival Images Courtesy: Kino Lorber, The Metropolitan Opera Archives, The New York Times. Theme Music: Peter Foley.
"Extended Play" is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; 21c Museum Hotel; and by individual contributors.
TRANSLATIONS
Translated subtitles are generously contributed by our volunteer translation community. Visit our translation team at Amara for the full list of contributors:
amara.org/en/v...
#JoanJonas #Art21 #Art21ExtendedPlay

[@williamwhite999]

Beautiful

[@art21org]

Joan Jonas discusses her decision to begin staging performances in a special new episode from the ART21 "Exclusive" series. "I wanted to develop my own language, and the minute I started performing, I began to invent in a different way-through my body movements," says the artist in the episode. "'How do I use music, sound, and three-dimensional space?'" #JoanJonas #performanceart #art

[@RanBlakePiano]

Epic!

[@clarkwinfield646]

Wow... I'm really digging this.

[@MichaelAlanAlien]

Great stuff!

[@hundredcaws]

"you cannot do that anymore" she says. but why is that? who says you can't?

[@zannedaglio]

Public space has been privatized and is policed with video cameras and security guards. In general, there's more paranoia, particularly since 9/11, it's a police state the US. Besides, there are millions more people and less space and cool places have been gentrified and/or destroyed by corporate greed.

[@DavidBolg]

I have never seen performance art that isn’t complete bullshit.