10.7 Audience participation

Audience participation in art emerged as a reaction against passive spectatorship, challenging the separation between artist and audience. Rooted in early 20th-century avant-garde movements like Dada and Surrealism, it gained momentum with Happenings in the 1950s and 60s.

This approach redefined art as a collaborative process, empowering spectators and breaking down traditional artist-audience roles. It has influenced various contemporary art forms, from relational aesthetics to digital art, reshaping how we create and experience art.

Origins of audience participation

• Audience participation in art emerged as a reaction against traditional notions of passive spectatorship and the separation between the artist and the audience
• The roots of participatory art can be traced back to the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century, particularly Dada and Surrealism, which sought to challenge conventional art forms and engage the audience in new ways

Dada and Surrealist roots

Top images from around the web for Dada and Surrealist roots

• 

  Exquisite Corpse | Charles Haynes | Flickr View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Surrealist automatism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Dada - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Exquisite Corpse | Charles Haynes | Flickr View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Surrealist automatism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Dada and Surrealist roots

• 

  Exquisite Corpse | Charles Haynes | Flickr View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Surrealist automatism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Dada - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Exquisite Corpse | Charles Haynes | Flickr View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Surrealist automatism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Dadaists staged provocative performances and events that often involved audience interaction, such as the famous "Dada Season" in Paris (1921) where the audience was encouraged to participate in the chaos and absurdity
• Surrealist artists explored techniques like automatic writing and collaborative drawing games (exquisite corpse) that invited participation and chance encounters
• These movements laid the groundwork for later participatory art practices by blurring the lines between art and life and challenging the authority of the artist

Happenings of the 1950s and 60s

• In the post-war era, artists began to experiment with more immersive and participatory forms of art, known as "Happenings"
• Happenings were often improvised, multi-disciplinary events that took place in non-traditional art spaces (lofts, streets, parks) and encouraged audience involvement
• Key figures in the Happenings movement included Allan Kaprow, who staged seminal works like "18 Happenings in 6 Parts" (1959) and "Yard" (1961) that required active audience engagement
• These events paved the way for the rise of performance art and installation art in the 1960s and 70s, which further explored the possibilities of audience participation

Key concepts and theories

• Audience participation in art is underpinned by several key concepts and theories that challenge traditional notions of artistic creation and reception
• These ideas emerged in the context of broader cultural and social shifts in the 20th century, including the rise of postmodernism, feminism, and the democratization of art

Challenging traditional artist-audience roles

• Participatory art seeks to break down the hierarchical relationship between the artist as the active creator and the audience as passive recipients
• By inviting the audience to engage directly with the work, either through physical interaction, dialogue, or collaboration, participatory artists aim to democratize the artistic process
• This challenges the idea of the artist as the sole author or genius, and instead positions art as a shared experience and co-creation between artist and audience

Empowering the spectator

• Participatory art often aims to empower the spectator by giving them agency and choice within the artwork
• By requiring the audience to make decisions, take actions, or contribute their own ideas and interpretations, participatory works can foster a sense of ownership and investment in the artistic experience
• This empowerment can also have political and social dimensions, as participatory art can be used to engage communities, raise awareness about issues, and promote active citizenship

Art as a collaborative process

• Audience participation fundamentally redefines art as a collaborative and open-ended process, rather than a finished product created by an individual artist
• Participatory works often rely on the unique contributions and interactions of each participant, making each realization of the work a unique and unpredictable event
• This emphasis on process over product aligns with postmodern ideas about the contingency and multiplicity of meaning, and the role of the audience in constructing and interpreting art

Notable artists and works

• Throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st, numerous artists have explored the possibilities of audience participation in their work
• These artists have pushed the boundaries of what art can be and do, and have created some of the most iconic and influential participatory works in contemporary art history

Yoko Ono's instructional pieces

• Yoko Ono, a key figure in the Fluxus movement, created a series of "instructional" works in the 1960s that invited audience participation through simple, open-ended prompts
• Works like "Cut Piece" (1964), in which Ono sat passively while audience members cut away her clothing, and "Grapefruit" (1964), a book of poetic instructions for everyday actions, exemplify her approach to art as a collaborative and imaginative process
• Ono's works often blur the lines between art and life, and challenge traditional notions of authorship and control in art

Marina Abramović's endurance performances

• Serbian artist Marina Abramović is known for her physically and emotionally demanding performances that often involve direct audience participation and interaction
• In works like "Rhythm 0" (1974), Abramović placed 72 objects on a table and invited the audience to use them on her body as they desired, testing the limits of the artist-audience relationship and the potential for violence and vulnerability
• Her later works, such as "The Artist is Present" (2010), a 736-hour performance at MoMA in which visitors could sit silently across from Abramović, explore the power of presence, empathy, and human connection in art

Tino Sehgal's constructed situations

• British-German artist Tino Sehgal creates what he calls "constructed situations," ephemeral, participatory works that unfold through interpersonal interactions and dialogue
• Sehgal's works, such as "This Progress" (2010) and "These Associations" (2012), often involve trained interpreters engaging visitors in conversation and movement within the museum space
• By focusing on the immaterial and the experiential, Sehgal's works challenge traditional notions of art as object and commodity, and invite participants to co-create meaning and value through their interactions

Forms of audience engagement

• Participatory art encompasses a wide range of strategies and forms of audience engagement, from physical interaction to emotional and intellectual involvement
• These different modes of participation can be used to create diverse experiences and outcomes, from playful and immersive to challenging and transformative

Physical interaction with artworks

• Many participatory works invite audiences to physically engage with the artwork, either by touching, manipulating, or moving through the work
• Examples include interactive sculptures and installations (Felix Gonzalez-Torres' candy piles), as well as performances that require audience members to take specific actions (Yoko Ono's "Cut Piece")
• Physical interaction can create a sense of immediacy, intimacy, and embodied experience, and can also raise questions about the boundaries between art and the everyday

Verbal and emotional participation

• Other participatory works focus on engaging audiences through dialogue, storytelling, and emotional expression
• Artists may create situations or prompts that encourage participants to share their own experiences, ideas, and feelings, either with the artist or with each other
• Examples include Tino Sehgal's conversational works, as well as participatory projects that invite communities to contribute their own stories and perspectives (Suzanne Lacy's "The Crystal Quilt")

Co-creation and improvisation

• Some participatory works involve audiences directly in the creative process, either through collaborative art-making or improvised performance
• Artists may set up open-ended structures or scenarios that allow participants to contribute their own ideas, gestures, and interpretations, making each realization of the work unique
• Examples include collaborative drawing and painting projects (Tim Rollins and K.O.S.), as well as participatory theater and dance works that rely on audience input and interaction (Augusto Boal's "Theatre of the Oppressed")

Controversies and criticisms

• While audience participation has become an increasingly prominent and accepted part of contemporary art practice, it has also been subject to various criticisms and controversies
• These debates raise important questions about the ethics, politics, and aesthetics of participatory art, and the responsibilities of artists and institutions in creating and framing these works

Ethical considerations

• Participatory art often involves direct engagement with participants, which can raise ethical concerns about consent, safety, and exploitation
• Artists must navigate the power dynamics inherent in the artist-audience relationship, and ensure that participants are aware of the nature and expectations of the work
• Works that involve physical or emotional vulnerability, or that engage with sensitive social and political issues, may require particular care and accountability on the part of the artist and institution

Authorship and ownership debates

• Participatory art challenges traditional notions of authorship and ownership in art, as the work is often co-created and shaped by the contributions of the audience
• This can raise questions about who has the right to claim credit for the work, and how the work should be attributed, documented, and circulated
• Some critics argue that participatory art can exploit the creative labor of participants, or that it can dilute the authorial voice and intentionality of the artist

Accusations of gimmickry

• Participatory art has sometimes been accused of being gimmicky, superficial, or overly reliant on spectacle and novelty
• Critics argue that some participatory works prioritize the experience of participation over the depth and complexity of the artistic content, or that they pander to the desires of the art market and media
• These criticisms raise questions about the criteria and standards by which participatory art should be evaluated, and the role of criticality and rigor in participatory practice

Impact on contemporary art

• Audience participation has had a profound and lasting impact on contemporary art practice, influencing a wide range of movements, genres, and media
• From relational aesthetics to social practice art to digital and interactive art, the legacy of participatory art can be seen in the way artists continue to engage and collaborate with audiences in new and innovative ways

Influence on relational aesthetics

• In the 1990s, French curator Nicolas Bourriaud coined the term "relational aesthetics" to describe a new generation of artists who were creating participatory and socially-engaged works
• Artists associated with relational aesthetics, such as Rirkrit Tiravanija and Liam Gillick, often created convivial and open-ended situations that invited audiences to interact, converse, and co-create
• Bourriaud argued that these works represented a shift towards a more democratic and inclusive model of art-making, one that prioritized human relations and social context over individual expression

Participatory art in the digital age

• The rise of digital technologies and social media has created new opportunities and challenges for participatory art practice
• Artists are using online platforms, mobile apps, and virtual and augmented reality to create participatory works that engage audiences across geographic and temporal boundaries
• Examples include crowdsourced art projects, interactive online performances, and social media-based works that invite user-generated content and collaboration
• At the same time, the digital landscape raises new questions about privacy, surveillance, and the commodification of user data and participation

Legacies in performance and installation art

• Audience participation continues to be a key element of contemporary performance and installation art practices
• Many artists are building on the legacies of pioneering participatory artists like Yoko Ono and Marina Abramović, creating works that challenge and transform the relationship between artist, artwork, and audience
• Examples include immersive and site-specific installations that invite audiences to explore and interact with the work (Olafur Eliasson's "The Weather Project"), as well as durational and relational performances that blur the boundaries between art and life (Tehching Hsieh's "One Year Performances")
• These works demonstrate the ongoing relevance and vitality of participatory art as a means of engaging and empowering audiences, and of creating meaningful and transformative experiences through art