“Allumatud kehad” (“Disobedient Bodies”) is a genealogical study of radical artistic, post-artistic and trans-artistic performative practices through the transformation of their formats, strategies and tactics. The coincidence of the subject with performance art and its history is great, but not exhaustive. The question that the author posed when planning this study was actually simple: “If the current approaches to the history of performance are not satisfactory, what would be the conceivable alternative narrative that would be more in line with the internal logic and development of these practices?”
The only thing that, in the opinion of the author, seemed to be common to all these performative acts from different times and committed for different motives is the motive of disobedience: the actionists rebel, break the rules regardless of whether these acts of disobedience are followed by repression (by the authorities) or not. These are practices that are present, intervene, disturb, displace, but are also sometimes playful, entertaining and sexualized.
It is a study that offers a different way of looking at the history of performative practices and creates an alternative general approach model. The book is based on a doctoral thesis defended on February 21, 2023 at the Estonian Academy of Arts, supervised by Andres Kurg.
Edited by Neeme Lopp
Language editor: Maret Nukke
Designed by Martin Pedanik
560 pages, in Estonian
Estonian Academy of Arts Press, 2023
ISBN 978-9916-619-90-2