Dedication

In ‘Dedication’, Steffi Weismann reflects upon her encounters with other performance artists and their works. Her confrontation with the influences of her artistic environment manifests itself in a process of realisation. Steffi Weismann refers to solo performances by colleagues from the last fifteen years that left a lasting impression on her. Most of these works were witnessed by a small audience.

‘Dedication’ is a personal collection of quotations, although the term ‘quotation’ is not quite apposite, since Steffi Weismann relies on memory alone and neither uses notes nor gathers information from the artists themselves. The subjective viewpoint and fragmentary nature of her recollections make the performance works appear as loose ‘re-makes’, which sometimes merely hint at the original. She tries to replay some performances in their entirety, while in others she concentrates on a single moment or action. Often she uses other objects or tells the audience something about the idea or the stance that makes it interesting to her.
Dedication consists of a sequence of performance miniatures and always begins with the words ‘Dedicated to...’ naming the author, title, place and year – as far as she remembers them – with the dedication going to the artist who inspired Steffi Weismann to the interpretation in question. The collection is still incomplete and is expanded and modified with each performance. It may be regarded as a kind of living archive.

concept and performance: Steffi Weismann
performed at: Performancefestival OFK, Offenbacher Kunstraum 2003; Fernwärme-Verbindungen, ausland Berlin 2004, Theater-Symposion “Leaving the Route” Frankfurt a. M. 2005, Kunsthaus KuLe "swimminginapooloffriends" 2017

videostills on the right:
Dedication at Kunstraum Offenbach(2003):
dedicated to Emmett Williams, Nina Sidow, Uta Kollmann