Performance Art is a multimedia art form originating in the 1970s in which performance is the dominant mode of expression.

Performance art may incorporate such elements as:
instrumental or electronic music
song
dance
television
film
sculpture
spoken dialougue
storytelling

Performance art can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer's body and a relationship between performer and audience.

Where it Began:
The roots of this art lie in early 20th-century modernist experiments with mixed media, particularly in Dada performances. Some even go as far back as saying it began in the Renaissance when artists began putting on public performances.The direct antecedent of performance art, however, can be found in the happenings of the late 1950s and the 1960s. Among the most obvious differences between the two is that the later movement tends to be much less spontaneous in nature than the earlier and that happenings were almost always created by visual artists, whereas performance artists generally have more varied backgrounds, many in theater, writing, or dance. Primarily an avant-garde form, performance art is often emotional and topical, frequently dealing with political and personal matters and with issues such as race, class, and feminism. Probably the best-known contemporary American performance artist is Laurie Anderson. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05.)

The above image is of performance artist Laurie Anderson during one of her latest performances entitles The End of the Moon.This piece combines music and stoies in an intimate setting.

Ravi Jain
Born 1971 in Stockholm Sweden
Received M.F.A 2001 from MassArt in Studio for Interrelated Media
Lives and Works in Boston

Transportation Pioneering:

"In the fall of 1999, I began seeking out opportunities to be the first to use new transportation systems, such as high-speed trains and bridges. It was only in the spring of 2000 that I realized that this “transportation pioneering” was the basis for a body of work.

Following the realization, I began assuming different personalities for each new adventure. Drawn from literary and historical sources, these personae celebrate the romance of explorations past.

In Janurary 2003, we pioneered the new tunnel connecting the Mass Pike (1-90) with the Ted Williams Tunnel. We closed that year by being the final vehicle to soar over downtown Boston on the I-93 elevated highway." (http://ravijain.org/pioneering.html)

Summary:
It is directed by the artist Ravi Jain. It is a performance piece about "three transportation pioneers" on the first ride of a high speed Amtrak Train. It is humorous, because they dress up like astronauts and wear race car helmets when they aboard the train. Everyone looks at them like they are strange, and don't share the same enthusiasm for the journey like they do. They appear on all the local news stations, and proudly talk of their heroic journey.

Is This Art?

Yes. It falls under the categories of Performance Art, New Media Art, and Conceptual Art.

What is Performance Art?
Performance Art It is live, and has no rules or boundaries. It is art if the artist intended on it being art. Actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work. It is a way of taking art directly to the public, without bringing it to a museum or gallery. It is often documented.

How does it fall under category of New Media Art and Conceptual Art?
It is New Media Art because it is being filmed. It is Conceptual Art because of the idea and meaning behind the journey.

What do you interpret is the meaning of this performance?
I interpret it to make a statement about the lack of excitement society has over new technological advances compared to those of the past. He used the media to sound his voice, knowing that it his information would be available to everyone.

Do you think because he used sarcasm and humor in his message, that it looses its importance? Is it harder to take performance pieces more seriously if they incorporate humor and sarcasm than if they didn't use those things or used them to a lesser degree?

How is this different from most performance pieces which occur in front of a live audience?

Do you think that this performance is more about people experiencing his piece/message and less about his own documentation?