Hacia una redefinición de la performance a partir de su documentación. Una sospecha sobre su ingreso en el museo

Abstract

Since its inception at the end of the 1950s, performance has been defined as an ephemeral action that takes place in the physical co-presence of both the artist and the spectator in a certain place and at a specific time. This ontological definition of performance has o%en resulted in it being impossible to document, on the grounds that this would be contrary to its own raison d’être. But the truth is that this paradigm has been debunked in practice in two ways: firstly, by the history of performance art itself, which has resisted permanent disappearance, and secondly, by the treatment afforded to performance art in contemporary art museums. By raising awareness of this situation and acknowledging the debate generated by the permanence of performance, this study proposes a new understanding of performance that takes into account the importance of its materialisation.