Medialab Prado

Contemporary digital culture produces numerous copies, clones and aproppriations of the past artworks. Artists redefine the past, creating an intertextual relation between the original and its copy, reaching both for the legendary and the forgotten projects from the 70s. The art duo Eva and Franco Mattes from 0100101110101101.org, have so far conducted six Synthetic Performances (from 2007)i, based on seminal projects of various artists. Among them are: Joseph Beuys (7000 Oaks, 1982-1987), Vito Acconci (Seedbed, 1972), Valie Export (Tapp und Tastkino, 1968-1971), Gilbert & George (The Singing Sculpture, 1968), Chris Burden (Shoot, 1971) and Marina Abramovic (Imponderabilia, 1977). The performances do not duplicate their historical inspirations completely, as they take place in the Second Life. The main feature of such a gesture is the removal of palpability and the physical commitment of an artist (connected even with pain, as in Chris Burden’s case). Instead of a real event in a real time and place, we encounter a synthetic event, made of pixels and – onthologically – being just a file. However, this shift from the physical and analogue past to the virtual and digital present, causes an onthological consequence on what an art project is, and, specifically, what happens to a performance as such. It also affects the relation between an artist and an audience, which is now divided in two groups: viewers in a gallery and viewers online, both though perceiving the project on the screen. The latest group – the inhabitants of Second Life – often play the same role as their predecessors from the 70s – they encounter an art event without caution.

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