Joan Jonas on Performing for an Online Audience at Tate Modern

In March 2013, Joan Jonas staged 'Draw Without Looking' at Tate Modern in London, her first performance specifically created for an online audience. In an interview with Amy Budd, Jonas discusses adapting her practice to the computer screen, the use of crystals and mirrors as mediums, and the fluid translation of her work across video, performance, and installation. She describes the performance as creating a miniature space, stepping into a video projection of crystals shot for her dOCUMENTA(13) installation 'Reanimation (In a Meadow)'. Jonas wore white to interact with the projection, disappearing and reappearing. She compares the experience to her earlier video 'Glass Puzzle' (1973), where she imagined the monitor as a box. The interview also covers her enduring fascination with literary sources like Borges, her use of mirrors since the 1960s, and the circular trajectory of her practice where works are constantly recycled and restaged. Jonas reflects on the loss of control over image quality when streaming online but accepts that viewers' experiences will differ. She emphasizes that her work builds a personal visual language, influenced by imagist poetry and Noh theatre.