Performance Artists on Mortality: “Edge” and “Near Death”

“Edge” by Marilyn Arsem. Photo credit: templeofmessages

On April 21, 2013, a group of performance artists gathered in Boston for “Near Death,” an experience built around the notion that “Life is as much a part of near death as death itself.” Performance art offers a unique opportunity to make use of space, time and physicality to explore and present endless concepts. “Near Death” invited artists to examine the proximity of life to death, shifting the perspective from life and death as opposing concepts to life and death as inextricably-linked states of being. As described by curator Vela Phelan, “Near Death is a moment of absolute existence, where one receives life and death equally.”

Among the artists present was Marilyn Arsem presenting “Edge,” her seven-hour performance art piece. Viewers observed as she moved two water glasses from one edge of a wooden table to the other, until both glasses inevitably crashed to the ground below. In an interview, Arsem expressed the desire that her work “be more open and more conversational, so that [she’s] not making a judgment but simply asking questions.” The questions asked in “Edge” allow us to consider death anew, recognizing — maybe for the first time — that life and death are companions rather than separate entities.

The movements of the glasses are imperceptible but steady, mirroring the progression of life from birth to death. The space that remains after the glasses are lost over the edge is stark and decidedly empty, an accurate depiction of the way one might feel after losing a loved one. Still, that empty table is an open and receptive canvas, calling forth new glasses in the same way that death calls forth new life in its place. By taking a wider, more inclusive view, we can perceive that what initially comes across as resounding finality is in fact fertile ground, vibrating with possibility.

Related Links:

• http://life-near-death.tumblr.com
• http://blog.sevenponds.com/soulful-expressions/a-book-about-death-the-ties-that-bind
• http://blog.sevenponds.com/opening-our-hearts/%E2%80%A8putting-it-back-together