14 November 2003 - 25 January 2004

Image as Icon    In the history of performance a single image often becomes iconic, that is, it comes to represent an entire event. This section of the exhibition explores the relationship between the still and the moving image and considers the photograph as a partial, constructed and subjective medium.

Although these images are very important in their recording of key events, repeated reproduction of one photograph is not without its problems. A single viewpoint doesn't provide enough detail. Was the venue a theatre space, a studio, or an abandoned warehouse? Was there an audience, or perhaps the entire event was staged specifically for the camera? All would give a different context to the performance.

Performance documentation has developed in tandem with technological advances. Film and, in the 1960s and 1970s, the portable video camera led to a proliferation of work created for the camera. Many live art archives are now available on the internet. However, the most common medium for recording live events remains the photograph.