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In 1918, New York City laid claim to 20 Yiddish theaters, with one seating 2,500. Chicago possessed four, Philadelphia three and Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Newark and St. Louis one each. Today, just two companies remain, both in Manhattan, the New Yiddish Rep and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.
Ethnic and immigrant theater, once a staple of many urban neighborhoods nationwide, is not quite a thing of the past. Currently, New York City boasts the Ma-Yi Theater, an incubator for new works by Asian American playwrights; Teatro Latea, Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and Repertorio Español; and the Irish Rep and Irish Arts Center.
Outside the Big Apple, there’s Los Angeles’s East West Players, which focuses on Asian American experiences, and Native Voices at the Autry, the only Equity theater company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American, Alaska Native and First Nations playwrights. Chicago claims Teatro Vista and St. Paul the Penumbra Theatre, which promotes African American voices.
New York City also boasts vibrant Russian and Slavic theater, including, recently, a Russian language reimagining of Anna Karenina, Aleksey Aleksandrovich. The most important venue for theatrical performances based on Russian and Slavic literature is Theater 86, formerly known as the Russian Arts Theater and Studio, which stages performances in a second floor walk-up ballroom seating 75, called Pushkin Hall.
It was there that I saw the Serbian-born pianist and actress Danijela Popovic perform a one-woman show entitled When It Hurts, You Play. In the piece, part performance art, part spoken and acted soul-bearing, she recounts her life story and her quest to find spiritual meaning under Serbia’s oppressive Communist regime. She explains how the piano provided her with solace and how that instrument became the medium through which she dealt with her loneliness and isolation and expressed her deepest fears and disappointments. When she hurt, she stroked the piano’s keys.
However, her performance was anything but dour or depressing. With humor and graphic detail, she describes various episodes in her life, including being stood up at the altar as well as a series of torrid, often comic, love affairs.
Interestingly, she doesn’t recount her later graduate studies at Juilliard, her role as the principal pianist and head of the piano department of the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem or her many later stage performances.
Performance art is a live art form that combines elements of visual art, theater, dance, music and other disciplines to create a unique and often ephemeral experience. It emphasizes the artist’s actions, the use of the body as a medium and the interaction with the audience. Performance art can be scripted or improvised and frequently challenges traditional artistic boundaries and conventions.
Performance art has roots in the early 20th century avant-garde movements, including Dada, futurism and surrealism. These movements experimented with new forms of artistic expression, often involving live, performative elements. In the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s, artists like Marcel Duchamp and the Futurists used performances to challenge conventional art forms and explore new modes of creativity.
But it was during the two decades following World War II that performance art began to take shape as a distinct art form. Influential artists like John Cage, Allan Kaprow and Yves Klein pushed the boundaries of art through happenings and action paintings that blurred the line between art and life.
I came culturally aware during the 1960s and 1970s, the period that saw the emergence of notable performance artists such as Yoko Ono, Marina Abramović and Chris Burden. Their work often addressed political, social and personal themes, using the body as the central medium. During the 1980s and 1990s, performance art gained broader recognition and institutional support. Artists like Laurie Anderson and Robert Wilson brought performance art to mainstream audiences, integrating technology and multimedia into their work.
In this century, performance art has continued to evolve, incorporating digital media, virtual reality and various interactive elements. It remains a vital and dynamic form of artistic expression, with artists like Tino Sehgal and Ragnar Kjartansson gaining prominence.
Unlike traditional visual art forms like painting or sculpture, performance art exists in the moment of its performance and is frequently documented only through photographs, videos or written descriptions. It also combines various forms of artistic expression, including visual arts, theater, dance and music, which distinguishes it from more narrowly defined art forms. Performance art often involves direct interaction with the audience, breaking the fourth wall and engaging viewers in the artistic process.
Central to performance art are the artist’s gestures and physical presence and gestures, differentiating it from other forms of performance like traditional theater, which may prioritize narrative and character. Performance art tends to emphasize concepts and ideas over aesthetics. The meanings behind the performance and the experience it creates for the audience are typically more important than the visual appeal. It often challenges societal, cultural and artistic norms, questioning established conventions and exploring taboo or controversial subjects.
Performance art challenges traditional notions of what art can be. It pushes boundaries and, often with irony and satire, addresses social, political and cultural issues. But it also gives profound expression to the artist’s personal experiences and emotions.
Performance art has experienced periods of greater and lesser prominence over the decades. The 1960s and 1970s were particularly vibrant, with a surge of experimental and groundbreaking works. But this art form subsequently shifted to art and theater’s sidelines.
Among the most famous examples of performance art are:
- Marina Abramović’s “The Artist Is Present” (2010), in which the artist sat silently at a table in the Museum of Modern Art, inviting visitors to sit across from her and engage in a silent exchange of gazes. Lasting for three months, this work stressed the importance of presence, endurance and human connection.
- Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece” (1964) invited the audience to cut pieces of her clothing with scissors while she sat on stage. This work addressed themes of vulnerability, trust and the relationship between the artist and the audience.
- Chris Burden’s “Shoot” (1971) explored themes of violence, risk and the body as a site of artistic expression, as the artist had himself shot in the arm by an assistant with a .22 rifle as part of a performance.
Personal storytelling is central to Popovic’s When It Hurts, You Play, drawing upon her own life experiences and memories and exploring such themes as identity, vulnerability, trauma, love, lust, loss and self-discovery. She also repeatedly breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience directly, making this format a compelling medium for self-revelation, reflection and social commentary.
She also employs nonlinear storytelling techniques, using flashbacks, flash-forwards, fragmented narratives and lyrical, even poetic language blurring the lines between prose, poetry and drama to create a uniquely innovative and expressive form of storytelling. Yet, while rooted in her personal experiences, her performance also explores universal themes that resonate broadly, such as human connection and betrayal, displacement and dislocation, and loss and grief.
For Popovic, performance art is an act of self-reflection and artistic expression, of healing and empowerment and of self-revelation and therapeutic expression. Through music and storytelling, she reclaims her narrative and regains a sense of agency and control. Her performance is an act of resistance and resilience, underscoring art’s role in personal and collective survival and healing.
Also, for someone who has undergone culturally displacement, performance is a way to preserve and communicate her memory, personal history and identity. And, of course, her performance is also a medium for social commentary. By recounting personal and historical traumas, she challenges her audience to confront uncomfortable truths and engage in critical reflection about issues such as war, displacement and resilience.
My students, many of whom are first- and second-generation immigrants, would benefit enormously from this work of performance art, which reflects on issues of identity, displacement, loss and adjustment. They would quickly see that the experiences they or their parents have undergone, while deeply personal, are broader themes that many people across the world face.
The self-reflective nature of performance art might inspire them to reflect on their own identities, experiences and the factors that have shaped them, resulting in greater self-awareness. The students might also find that engaging with such a performance offers therapeutic benefits, helping them process their own experiences of loss or identity struggles. In addition, the students might gain a better understanding of the feelings of displacement and the search for belonging that many people experience, whether due to migration, social changes or personal circumstances.
They might benefit in other ways that go beyond learning how to understand narrative structures, symbolism and the interplay among various artistic elements. Seeing how complex themes can be expressed through performance art can inspire students to use creative expression as a means of exploring and communicating their own ideas and experiences. Engaging with the emotional depth of performance art can help students better understand their own emotions and the emotions of others.
At the same time, learning about how individuals cope with and overcome loss, migration and displacement can provide students with models of resilience and empowerment. They might feel empowered by seeing how the performer uses art to heal and express themselves, encouraging them to find their own ways to use creativity for personal growth.
At a time when many students feel anxious, depressed and lonely, art can provide a therapeutic outlet, promoting their mental well-being and supporting their emotional and psychological health, while fostering resilience, self-awareness and empowerment.
Performance art often evokes strong emotions, providing a safe space for viewers to release pent-up feelings. Witnessing the artist’s emotional journey can lead to a sense of catharsis and relief. Seeing emotions similar to their own reflected in the performance can validate students’ feelings, making them feel understood and less isolated in their experiences.
The immersive nature of performance art can draw students into the present moment, encouraging mindfulness and temporarily alleviating anxiety and depressive thoughts. Engaging with a live performance stimulates the senses and can shift focus away from internal distress, offering a mental break from their struggles.
At the same time, performance art invites viewers to reflect on their own lives and experiences. This reflection can lead to deeper self-understanding and insights into their emotional states and provide new perspectives on coping with their own challenges.
Some students may identify with the artist’s story and struggles, making them feel less alone in their own battles. Observing performance artists convey resilience and strength through their work can inspire students to find their own inner strength and resilience.
Artists who transform their pain into creative expression can serve as role models, demonstrating constructive ways to deal with emotional pain and adversity. Seeing how artists use performance to express and cope with their feelings can encourage students to explore their own creative outlets, lead to new ways of managing their emotions and help them find their voice and feel a sense of agency in their lives.
Attending a performance art event can provide a sense of community and shared experience, reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness.
By providing emotional catharsis, validating their feelings and offering new perspectives and coping strategies, performance art can help students navigate their emotional and psychological challenges more effectively. It can also foster a sense of connection, resilience and hope.
Artistic performances should be integral to college education and not treated merely as entertainment, enrichment or texts to be explicated. The arts can help our students address deeply felt emotional, psychological and existential issues. They can serve as tools for personal growth and promote emotional and mental well-being. They offer a mirror through which students can reflect on inner turmoil and a lifeline that can contribute to healing and self-discovering.
We are remiss if we relegate the arts to the academic sidelines.
