Fashion theory and practices

RAFFAELLA PERNA

This course offers a historical and theoretical exploration of 20th-century performance practices
through the critical lens of gender studies. It examines major trends in performance art, beginning
with the historical avant-gardes of the early 20th century, and engages with key debates and
landmark exhibitions related to Performance Art and Body Art. Students will investigate how
gender, identity, and embodiment have shaped performative practices, with particular attention to
the theoretical frameworks developed within Women’s Studies and Feminist Studies. The course
foregrounds the vital contributions of women artists to the evolution of performance as an artistic
and political medium.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Analyze the historical development of performance art within the broader context of 20th-century
visual culture.
Critically engage with feminist and gender theories as they relate to performance practices.
Identify and interpret key works and artists in the fields of Performance Art and Body Art.
Discuss the role of gender and the body in shaping performance as both an artistic and political
act.
Develop original, research-based arguments on performance practices using interdisciplinary
methodologies.

The course aims to provide a historical and theoretical knowledge of the Performance Art through the perspective of Women and Gender Studies. The course will study major trends in performance art since the turn of the century, critical debate and exhibitions devoted to performance art, body art and relational art.

No prerequisites required

The course explores the following topics:

- The origins of performance in the avant-garde: performance practices in Futurism, Dadaism and Surrealism.

- The birth of the Happening

- Performance in Neo-Dadaism, Nouveau Réalisme and Pop Art.

-Performance in Arte Povera

- Body Art in Europe and North America

- The relationships between Performance art, Relational art, and Public Art.

Students have to study:

RoseLee Goldberg, Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present, Thames & Hudson, 2001 (or other editions).
Students should also study the slides uploaded to Moodle Sapienza at the course page.

Asynchronous online lessons.
Synchronous online lessons.
E-tivities

Attendance is strongly recommended

Final oral examination.

The mastery of the content and skills acquired, linguistic accuracy and lexical property, and the argumentative ability demonstrated by the candidate will be taken into account in the evaluation of the examination.

The most frequently asked questions are about women artists, movements, and exhibitions. By way of example only:

Analysis of the performance by Yoko Ono.
Analysis of the performance by Marina Abramovic
Analysis of the work Dinner Party by Judy Chicago

• Critical Perspectives on Performance Art


• Women Artists in Dada


• Women Artists in Surrealism


• Women Artists in 1970s Performance Art


• The Italian art scene