Time Zones: Hybrid Art in a Global Context

The phrase “time-based art” is used in visual art contexts to track the movement from so-called “static” art into durational forms. For some in the performing arts, however, duration is already a traditional element of the form. Even as we celebrate this interdisciplinary field, many still view it (and review it) from the perspective of particular disciplines. While the history of 20th and 21st century artistic experimentation is one that challenges these divisions, we find that the habits and divisions of labor within different institutions—the museum, the theatre—persist. Moreover, the training of artists and of critics separate skills and evaluative barometers within different art fields. Everyone may be making, curating, and evaluating “hybrid” art work, but our sense of its innovation will be different depending upon whether it is housed in a museum or a theatre, or whether it is written about by a critic of dance or a critic of visual arts.