Philippa Snow Examines Performance Art in the Instagram Age for Somerset House Studios Anniversary
In the publication celebrating the 10th anniversary of Somerset House Studios, critic Philippa Snow explores the intersection of performance art and Instagram in her piece "The Eros of it All." She recounts a personal experience from art school where she was labeled unphotogenic, emphasizing the disparity between real-life experiences and their photographic representations. Snow quotes Marina Abramović regarding the transient nature of performances and highlights Florentina Holzinger's viral work SEAWORLD VENICE showcased at the 61st Venice Biennale. She argues that recordings fail to convey the raw power of live art. With the advent of Instagram, artworks are frequently simplified to mere images. Snow also references ArtNet's Kate Brown on the necessity for conciseness in performance art, mentioning innovative artists like Candela Capitan and Nina Davies.
Key facts
- Philippa Snow wrote the essay "The Eros of it All" for Somerset House Studios' forthcoming 10th-anniversary publication.
- The essay examines performance art in the age of Instagram and the impact of live encounters made for the feed.
- Florentina Holzinger's SEAWORLD VENICE at the 61st Venice Biennale featured nude performers, a jet-ski, and a urine-filled tank, and went viral on Instagram.
- Marina Abramović's 2025 performance Balkan Erotic Epic banned all cameras.
- ArtNet senior editor Kate Brown wrote in 2024 that performance art content gains traction if it makes sense in under ten seconds.
- Göksu Kunak's Berlin performance VENUS was watched by audiences through illuminated screens, and Kunak's political speech went unnoticed.
- Candela Capitan uses an iPhone as a medium in her performances, including a 2025 piece for Somerset House Studios' Hyper Functional Ultra Healthy series.
- Nina Davies, a Somerset House Studios resident, explores online dissemination of dance and the body as a three-dimensional meme.
Entities
Artists
- Philippa Snow
- Marina Abramović
- Yves Klein
- Thomas McEvilley
- Florentina Holzinger
- Göksu Kunak
- Sarah Nicole Prickett
- Candela Capitan
- Nina Davies
- Kate Brown
- Antonia Blocker
Institutions
- Somerset House Studios
- Artforum
- ArtNet
- Bookforum
- Art Monthly
- Venice Biennale
- TikTok
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Berlin
- Germany
- Austria