RE For “Retort”

This issue on the theme of re-enactment arose from the desire to cast a critical eye on the not-so-new but very current trends of restaging cult exhibitions or re-enacting historical events, on the one hand, and “reproducing” performances that have marked art history, on the other. Whereas in the art world re-enactments are frequently motivated by a reactualization or critical rereading of a social or political event, restagings of exhibitions or performances seem more oriented toward the valorisation of an ­artist’s work or of a significant moment in art history — toward an homage of sorts. Two quite distinct directions therefore emerged as this issue was put together.

The most eloquent cases of restagings of historical performances are certainly the renowned re-enactments of Marina Abramović. Although frequently motivated by the desire to uphold the memory of mythical works, the practice of re-enactment raises numerous questions concerning the resulting repetition, representation, and spectacularization — theatrical specificities initially questioned by the performers — and the inevitable decontextualization of the works and their reinterpretation by another artist. The latter aspect also serves to relaunch the debate around authorship and intellectual property, as Amelia Jones clearly emphasizes: “By redoing earlier works, the artist draws on the previous artist’s name to further her own career.” These re-enactments also give rise to the commodification — real or symbolic — of the traces of “new” performances, a phenomenon exacerbated when original archival material (sometimes missing or of questionable quality) is overshadowed by the highly polished documentation of the re-enacted works.