Raf's New Learning for Art Performance

    Performance art is a dynamic and immersive artistic practice that blurs the line between art and life. Unlike traditional art forms, performance art often emphasizes the artist's body, audience participation, and the ephemeral nature of the experience. It can be a powerful vehicle for activism, challenging societal norms and addressing pressing social issues.

    Both Yoko Ono and Shaun Leonardo use performance art to address pressing social issues. Ono challenges gendered violence and agency in Cut Piece, while Leonardo tackles systemic racism and police brutality in I Can’t Breathe. Their works remind us that art is not just something to be observed—it is something to be felt, experienced, and, most importantly, acted upon.

Yoko Ono – Cut Piece

One of Ono’s most well-known performances, Cut Piece (1964), involved her sitting motionless on stage while audience members were invited to cut pieces of her clothing away. This work addresses issues of vulnerability, objectification, and violence, particularly against women. By relinquishing control over her body to the audience, Ono forces participants to confront their own complicity in systemic violence and oppression.

“Ono’s work disrupts the idea of passivity in art; she places the audience in a position of power and forces them to grapple with their own ethical boundaries.” (Widewalls)

• This quote highlights how Cut Piece transforms the audience from passive observers into active participants, making them aware of their own capacity for harm or restraint. Ono’s work compels viewers to engage in self-reflection about consent and agency.

“Yoko Ono’s art is not about answers—it’s about questions that demand an emotional and intellectual response.” (Widewalls)

• This insight reinforces how Ono’s performances provoke thought rather than provide solutions. Cut Piece does not tell the audience what to think but rather makes them confront their own beliefs and actions in relation to gender, violence, and power.

Shaun Leonardo – I Can’t Breathe

In his performance I Can’t Breathe, Leonardo reenacts the final moments of Eric Garner’s life, where he was placed in a fatal chokehold by police. The piece highlights police brutality and systemic racism, using Leonardo’s body to viscerally communicate the pain and struggle of those who have been victims of state violence.

“My body is the site of debate. It’s where these issues play out, where resistance and resilience intersect.” (Hispanic Executive)

• Leonardo’s statement underscores the personal and political nature of performance art. By using his own body as the medium, he transforms abstract discussions about racial violence into an immediate, lived experience that audiences must confront.

“Performance is about presence, about making the audience feel the weight of reality through a shared experience.” (Hispanic Executive)

• This quote emphasizes why performance art is such an effective activist tool. Unlike static images or written accounts, Leonardo’s performance forces audiences into direct engagement with the issue, making it impossible to ignore.