Karen Finley:
Karen Finley is an American performance artist who claims to have a varied and eclectic mix of influences including Billie Holiday and Adam Ginsberg. Finley’s art includes music, poetry and books which she uses as forms of activism. One thing I noticed about Finley’s work is that she uses hysteria very well, particularly in her singles Lick It! (1988) and Jump in the River (1988). This use of hysteria and extremely explicit content is something I don’t think I will use in my performance as I to create a more naturalistic piece of theatre. Despite Finley’s work being something that I wouldn’t explore further personally, I can see why people would enjoy her art as it deals with themes of female dis empowerment, a topic which is not commonly addressed.
Annie Sprinkle:
Annie Sprinkle has taken many career paths throughout her lifetime including pornography, television host and writer. Sprinkle now works as a performance artist and sex educator with her most famous piece of theatre claimed to be Public Cervix Announcement (1992), a piece in which Sprinkle asked audience members to view her cervix to symbolise celebration of the female body. Sprinkle and her wife also identify as ecosexuals and are authors of The Ecosex Manifesto which states that ecosexuality is a love for The Earth. Sprinkle and her wife Beth Stephens perform ecosex weddings, weddings in which ecosexuals marry the Earths natural creations such as the Sea and soil.
To take inspiration from Sprinkle’s work for my performance is something that I doubt will happen, however, I really enjoy Sprinkle’s art and after watching this video I felt happy and uplifted. I can say that Sprinkle’s art is something I may possibly explore further in the future although probably not for my performance.
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