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Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 2023, 6(5); doi: 10.25236/AJHSS.2023.060520.

Body, Time, Ritual—Performance Art and Zen Practice

Author(s)

Lyu Wen1, Liu Yihong2

Corresponding Author:
Lyu Wen
Affiliation(s)

1Xianda College of Economics and Humanities, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

2Xianda College of Economics and Humanities, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

Abstract

Performance art based on the three elements of body, time and ritual can enable artists to achieve a life experience similar to that of a Zen practitioner beyond the rational dimension. This essay first explains the relationship between performance art and Zen practice from the perspective of author's own artistic practice, then analyses how artists can achieve the state of Zen through performance practice in terms of the three dimensions of body, time and ritual in relation to the works of Marina Abramović, Xie Deqing and He Yunchang respectively, and goes on to argue that performance art practice and Zen practice have something in common, namely, the path to the realm of “perfection of consciousness and action”.

Keywords

Performance art; Zen Buddhism; Body; Time; Ritual

Cite This Paper

Lyu Wen, Liu Yihong. Body, Time, Ritual—Performance Art and Zen Practice. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2023) Vol. 6, Issue 5: 126-131. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2023.060520.

References

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