Performance practices in the context of criticism and resistance: between aesthetic gesture and social action

Abstract

The purpose is a justification for the claim that performative practices are a tool for social criticism. Thanks to the desire of art to transform social reality, a «politics of participation» is formed, which contributes to the expression of individual problems or situations and is largely capable of overcoming outdated, destructive or ineffective approaches in education, science and other areas of social life. The methods. An interdisciplinary approach is used, combining methods from philosophy, cultural studies, and sociology. Hermeneutic analysis allows for the interpretation of meanings embedded in performance, revealing a critical attitude towards social norms, institutions, or ideologies. Discursive analysis allows us to trace how power is embodied through body, space, and language, and how performance undermines this power. The method of critical theory, visual anthropological method, etc. The results demonstrate that the effectiveness of performative action is based on a calibrated simulation of reality, where the line between viewer and participant is constantly blurred. It deliberately de-energizes familiar behavioral scenarios: instead of the intended consumption of art, the viewer finds himself drawn into a social event that requires reaction, complicity, or even intervention. Performance art exposes the nervous system of the social order, its mechanisms through which power operates, corporate interests are broadcast, the repressive logic of the state is entrenched, or social indifference is masked. It does not simply expose, but forces us to physically and psycho-emotionally experience what is usually hidden behind the facades of culture, custom, or norm. The conclusions are based on the idea that performance is a powerful and flexible means of critical expression. Its peculiarity lies in its direct, emotionally charged interaction with the viewer, in its ability to transform everyday space in creating moments that draw people into the problem. From the absurdist antics of Dadaists to contemporary online performances, performative practice is constantly changing due to its own self-referentiality, seeking new forms of influence and adapting to the political, technological and cultural landscape.