Festival Riam – aix en provence

http://riam.info/08/ – Festival in Aix en provence

Directly copy pasted from: http://riam.info/08/a-propos/

It is undeniable that performance art as an artistic expression is experiencing an important renaissance at this turn of the decade. Newly asked questions demand various new forms of artwork. It is this fertile moment that asks for some reflection and takes us directly to the 2011 “Rencontres Internationales des Arts Multimédia” edition. The encounter has no intention of revisiting history neither of the “happening” nor of performance art in general, but to explore the outline of this ongoing transformation.

This year’s festival likes to think of the potential performances might have in art; how it could reinvent objects, instruments or scenic devices in order to bring the artwork meanings into motion. Nowadays the idea of performance crosses more or less all domains of the creation of art, going from music to paintings. There is a sense of mergence between art and everyday life, therefore performance art dares to cross borders by using new contexts, both spatial and intellectual. Instead of having a “moment of truth” this reflection is more about pointing out the combination of norms and rules that define our society. This in turn is illustrated through the artistic reconstruction of situations that restage and test our reality.

Also auditory art in its performative dimensions plays an important role in this year’s festival. There is a struggle to question the spatialization and the habit of listening to sound, while encouraging personal reflection on voices and acoustics, across all environments, whether vocal performances or contemporary poetry.

This year’s artistic, poetic and acoustic selections of the RIAM use not only stages but also other kind of exhibition places as their playground. Presenters don’t hesitate to integrate theatrical elements, question the functionality of space and to simply use them as backdrop, to do role-plays. Their proper identities are reinvented and artistic boundaries are redefined