Leslie Hill, Author of the writing Suffragettes Invented performance Art, claims that long before the 60’s-70’s performance art, a political movement has started the art of performance in the late 19th and early 20th century. The movement by members of the Suffragette, were mainly in the United Kingdom and as well as the United States. She mentions that performance art is a practice of ongoing events in need of expressed. Theater and performance art the differences may be closely connected, but in fact and two separate entities.
Suffragettes, a feminist group, invented performance art. Being the first to “organize arts on a massive scale into a political sword and shield”(151), they used the political injustice of the turn of the century as an act of justice, expressing their beliefs with a “ ‘outrageous-up-front-in-your-face’ art ”. With this feminist movement they have pushed the boundaries of what might have been thought as a political performance. All of them have shown extreme ways to been seen on a large public scale. Although this was a political movement, Hill mentions that this was very close to the act of “Orlan’s surgically implanted horns “(Pg. 150), considering that “simply everything is up for grabs”(150).
Performance art is considered “live art” being that of live performance with a audience, as well as theater. But Leslie Hill says that the “boundaries between theatre and performance art appear to be very clear until they are approached too closely, at which point the distinct impression seems to vanish” (150). Mostly, both art forms are based on things that characterize, instead of defining. But in fact the differences are mainly that, as she describes, the difference is the use of form and content. Theater is usually easily described, and normally in a fixed setting. Performance art, on the other hand, has a world of exploration, without “precedent of form and a piece may be described as an event, performance, a happening, a time-based or durational piece, and installation, a video, a website, etc … ”(150). With the performance art being so loose it is not too hard to understand that the political movement of the Suffragettes has easily opened the doors to other public acts in which it could be considered art.
Having being shown that performance art has no close-ended way of presenting itself, nor any restrictions, just need of true content. These women of the Suffragettes have shown the ways of different means of expression, they have made a strong impact on performance art. Making way of the boundaries of how to express and where to have a “stage” to present the true passion.
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