In Caught in The Act: Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women, artist Johanna Householder asserts that “There is a next generation of performance artists who are completely convinced that their medium is alive and well, that their bodily incursions in public space or technological space or intimate space are important, relevant and critically respectable.”
Evidence of her claim is Test, a bimonthly performance art event located in Boston, MA, begun by Travis Fuller and Paul Waddell. Seven events have been held since the group’s inception in 2004
The group studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) under Marilyn Arsem. Their audience consists of students from SMFA, MassArt, and other Boston-area schools.
Each show features between six and eight artists at a variety of stages in their practice. Their summertime show featured artists Dirk Adams, Gabe Duquette, Deva Eveland, Sandy Huckleberry, Bryce Kauffman, Sandi Schaefer, Rebecca Scheckman, and a duo called J’ambiance (Rob Carbone and Joe Moreau). Before moving to the Mass College of Art, shows were held at A Square Space, a non-profit artspace in South Boston.
Helen Pfann, a practicing performance artist explains, “There are so few venues for performance art in the US, especially in New England, we wanted to create a venue for the medium.”
Images courtesy of TEST.