A Short History of Performance II

Ever gone to a lecture and felt like you stepped into the wrong class? Welcome to the Whitechapel's Autumn term of live performances. With some of the most influential artists of the 20th Century, A Short History of Performance - Part II spans over 40 years of performance art - from its explosion in the early 1960s to the present day. The week-long season of live performance showcases artists who use words and ideas as their raw material, this season infiltrates the academy to explore the lecture as a work of art.

From Robert Morris' investigation of Erwin Panofsky's art historical lectures to Martha Rosler's feminist take on the domestic, these will be the most exciting and unexpected lectures you have ever been to.

Tuesday 18 November Andrea Fraser, Official Welcome, 2001 Official Welcome opens the week with a drinks reception and unusually revealing speech by the artist.

Wednesday 19 November Robert Morris, 21.3, 1964 This rare screening of 21.3, in which Morris re-interprets the lectures of art historian Erwin Panofsky, is followed with a talk by the artist.

Thursday 20 November Carey Young, Optimum Performance, 2003 Optimum Performance features the launch of a new system of incentives designed to motivate and reward 'revolutionary' behaviour. & Martha Rosler, Semiotics of the Kitchen, 1975 Originally performed to camera, the now legendary TV cookery lesson Semiotics of the Kitchen will be enacted before a live audience for the first time.

Friday 21 November Inventory, Endless Sonic Mania, 2003 Endless Sonic Mania takes the form of an energetic and belligerent public broadcast combining music with political and philosophic texts.

Saturday 22 November Mark Dion, Notes Towards a Dystopian Dictionary, 2003 Mark Dion's findings are presented in traditional forms of museum display such as the hand-drawn illustrations used in this new lecture. & The Atlas Group, The Loudest Muttering is Over, 2003 Bringing humour and poetry to the traumas of conflict and displacement, The Loudest Muttering is Over presents some of the many fascinating documents from The Atlas Group's archives.

Sunday 23 November Joseph Beuys, Lecture Actions, 1972-80 During the 1970s Beuys performed and led a series of 'lecture actions,' participatory discussions in which the artist demonstrated his ideas by making elaborate diagrams on blackboards. The Whitechapel brings together some of these blackboards and films in a special one-day installation. Films screened at 12 and 4.30pm & Markings On and Off the Blackboard 2.30pm Critics, curators and artists look back at their experiences of Joseph Beuys' Lecture Actions to consider the impact of his ideas on art and society. Included in the ticket price of Joseph Beuys' Lecture Actions. To reserve your place please state at the time of booking.

A Short History of Performance - Part II

mit Robert Morris, Martha Rosler, Andrea Fraser, Robert Morris, Carey Young, Inventory , Mark Dion, The Atlas Group, Joseph Beuys ...