Mike Parr- Performance Artist

There are no limits to what art can be. In particular, performance art is no longer contrived in the traditional format; it can be portrayed in any form of medium, it could have personal meaning only to the artist or it could represent social and political issues. Performance art can be described as a form of theatrical art featuring the activity of the artist and the works represented in a variety of media.

Mike Parr is a renowned Australian performance artist; born in Sydney, 1945, Parr spent his childhood in rural Queensland He commenced a law/arts degree at the University of Queensland in 1965 but dropped out the following year. Parr's work is autobiographical because he places himself in the surroundings that reflect his personal history through ideas and images. Throughout his works, he is continually challenging the ideals of what Ð''real' art is. In an interview with Carrie Lumby from Sherman Galleries, Parr defined his performances as a genre; "I think performance art serves to separate itself out form experimental theatre, video art etc, via notions of the realÐ'... [performance art] represents the Ð''represtentational' as a perpetual; cross for the real." This insight is significant, as it shows how Parr perceives modern day performance art and what his views on it are.

Parr sees his works as having strong historical connections with the Dada movement, Cubist and Surrealist artworks. He seeks to explore the withdrawn self, to draw from his own physical and emotional pain. His works are highly confronting challenging or shocking to the audience who views them. Performance art to Parr is Cathartic; he deals with his own physical and mental problems through his art for self-healing, making each artwork highly valued and personal to him. Images embedded in his works not only give a strong personal insight but also challenge the conventions of society, with a wider social and political relevance.

Performance art is Ð''ephemeral'; once performed, it essentially cannot be performed again. Parr states that he Ð''Never repeats a performance, because repetition means the performer becomes and actor, because an actor is one who knows in advance what will happen; not just propositionally but psychologically, emotionally, and one can therefore prepare. This statement shows how each performance gives and aspect or quality that can only be delivered during its first showing; a sense of the unknown and experimental. If the audience knows what is coming, what will happen, it loses the very element that drew them to the work in the first place. This is also linked to Parr's idea of Ð''Photo-death'. Photo-death his how Parr describes the loss of impact, meaning and relevance once a performance is recorded by a photograph or video; the heavy reality of the work is dispersed as the performance becomes something two dimensional and tangible. Performance art engages all senses with its immediacy and once recorded by photograph (though the image is still confronting) loses the crucial element that gives the work meaning.

In Parr's works he is deliberately trying to shock his audience by means of self mutilation, displaying such brutality challenges and creates doubts in the audiences own minds about whether or not what he is creating is art. Parr Ð''doesn't like a passive audience' and doesn't appreciate how in some galleries people just walk by works without stopping and thinking about he art; he wants people to be critical and voice their opinions. After most performances Parr remains to engage his audience in conversation and receive all feedback; he discusses his work with his audience and encourages an understanding and openness about the issues it bought up for them. He is clever in manipulating the audience's minds and encouraging them to step outside of the traditional idea of Ð''what art is'.

Parr's works refer to the post-modern frame and relevant issues depicted in today's society. Once such work is Ð''Malevich (a political arm) performance for as long as possible'. In 2002, from the 3rd till the 5th of May, Parr sat in the artspace gallery with his one good arm nailed to a wall for 30 hours; he had gaffa tape over his eyes,