Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The limits of art have been pushed for centuries. The Salon de Refuses became a cultural touchstone, John Cage went from ridiculed to world renowned, and performance art continues to push the boundaries of what can be considered art. The Happenings of Allan Kaprow challenged even these boundaries by creating an artform out of interactable physical experiences, however, these pieces were only performed in galleries. Escape Rooms carry on this legacy even today, but they too are limited in their space, and their static nature takes attention away from the “experience as art” mentality of Kaprow. Cage suggested with 4:33 that music was everywhere, and encouraged audiences to listen, but this too was limited by time. Art can be silence, an experience, a visual sensation, a taste. However, we limit these to official capacities. Happenings took place in galleries, 4:33 was only 4 minutes and thirty three seconds long, escape rooms are bound to their titular room, and food is only seen as art in restaurants. Time and place have cornered art, but what if art could transcend these obstacles? This is the final form of the gesamtkunstwerk, or “total art”, suggested by Richard Wagner in his Artwork of the Future. A form of art without limits, to be art, and to live art. In so doing, people can find purpose in the mundane, and kinship with their surroundings. With just a shift in perspective life could be art, and this full realization of Wagner’s ideals could change the world.