ABSTRACT
Performative and process artworks emerged from a synthesis of a movement away from the art object as well as an increasing involvement with nature and natural processes, which included the human body, sexuality, its ability for improvisation and serendipity, and other non-traditional materials not used in Western art since ancient times. In the words of Ana Mendieta: ‘My art is grounded on the belief in one universal energy which runs through everything … from insect to man, from man to specter, from specter to plant, from plant to galaxy’ (O’Hagan, 2013). Often rooted in indigenous rituals, shamanic rituals, or other actions inspired or born of traditional cultures that did not separate object and subject as ‘art’, the occidental art world shifted from Minimalism to a more anonymous abstraction that was movement and ephemeral. The focus on activity, presence, and improvisation can be traced to Dada of a generation earlier. Works of the 1960s were political and social, staging the way for today’s environmental artists whose projects engage community and embrace nature in a social sphere.
