Vanguard Performance Beyond Left and Right challenges assumptions regarding ldquo;radicalrdquo; and ldquo;experimentalrdquo; performance that have long dominated thinking about the avant-garde. The book brings to light vanguard performances rarely discussed: those that support totalitarian regimes; promote conservative values; or have been effectively snapped up by right-wing regimes the performances intended to oppose. In so doing; the volume explores a central paradox: how innovative performances that challenge oppressive power structures can also be deployed in deliberate; passionate support of oppressive power. Essays by leading international scholars pose engaging questions about the historical avant-garde; vanguard acts; and the complex role of artistic innovation and live performance in global politics. Focusing on performances that work against progressive and democratic ideas (including scripted drama; staged suicide; choral dance; terrorism; rallies; and espionage); the book demonstrates how many compelling performance idealsmdash;unification; exaltation; immersionmdash;are; in themselves; neither moral nor immoral; they are only emotional and aesthetic urges that can be powerfully channeled into a variety of social and political outlets.
2015-10-30 2015-10-30File Name: B017MOIDW8
Review
