Performance Art

          I got the idea for this performance art piece from one of the videos we watched in class. I forget the name of the student, but we watched a video of a previous student who was putting on makeup in front of the camera and it inspired me to do something similar.
          First of all, we discussed how performance art is about the decontextualization of certain aspects of life. People put on makeup to hide their imperfections, and it is generally done at home in private so that no one sees their flaws. I decided to take the act of applying makeup and do it in a public area to decontextualize the act of enhancing the way I look with a ton of makeup. I never wear that much makeup in real life but I thought it was necessary to over-exaggerate the process.
          I thought the mall was the perfect place to do my performance art because the mall is place of materialism. Every store at the mall encourages buying beauty products and clothes that hide your flaws and enhance your appearance, even though nothing is more valuable than natural beauty. That's why after I caked on all that makeup, I immediately wash it off to show that I'm still the same person without any makeup. Basically I was trying to convey the message that putting on or taking off makeup has no effect on who you are as a person, and that there are much more important things in life than physical appearance and materialism.