Performance artist Andrea Fraser on the dangers of calling Trump a performance artist
'Demagogues work through enthralling citizens. Performance art is about trying to break that kind of spell'
Andrea Fraser is one of the most provocative performance artists of her generation, and at this week's AGO Creative Minds conversation on art and truth, she cautioned us against seeing Donald Trump's approach to politics as performance art. "It's dangerous, calling Trump a performance artist," she said. "It is a way of diminishing it — dismissing its importance or its relationship to reality."
Watch the video:
Fraser understands why people call him that. "Trump is clearly an extraordinary performer. I think, like most demagogues, you know...demagogues work through enthralling citizens and turning them into super-fans."
So why not call him a performance artist? "Performance art is about trying to break that kind of spell and create a reflection of what that dynamic is, what that kind of fascination is — not to exploit it, which is what I think Trump does."
The conversation at the heart of this edition of AGO Creative Minds examined art's place in exposing the truth in this age of fake news and filter bubbles. Fraser was joined by celebrated author Salman Rushdie, award-winning filmmaker Charles Officer and Juno-nominated musician IsKwé.