INITIALLY consigned to the same bulging dustbin of bad 1970s ideas as CB radio, jazz fusion and canary-yellow Ford Capris, performance art has finally shaken off its ill-deserved reputation as the flared trouser of creative innovation, the purple loon pant of the galleries.
Until recently, the unfortunate image in the public mind was largely one of screaming, drug-addled longhairs indulging in violent fits of self-expression. Thankfully, this has dimmed somewhat, mainly due to the emergence of video as a simpatico medium for performance artists to work off and with.
Infusion '97, which runs in Limerick from March 6th to 9th, celebrates this trial marriage and is the first major Irish exhibition to focus specifically on video and performance work.
Mirroring a trend that has become increasingly evident on the Continent, it will push these still relatively new media as individual, worthy entities, not just web-toed inbreeds in the mutant backwaters of the art world.
Using a variety of spaces in the Belltable Arts Centre and at the University of Limerick, the exhibition will feature a nicely chosen mix of established names and fresh talent. Among tile star turns will be Nigel Rolfe - who enjoyed much success at last year's EV plus A - Belfast-based renegade Alastair MacLennon and (no relation) Scottish artist Oscar McLennon, whose highly individualistic efforts frequently spark tearful accolades in the well-appointed spaces of New York and San Francisco. New names staking a claim include Derrick and Darrin Towell, Emma Johnston and Cornelia O'Connell.
Infusion '97 is the brainchild of Limerick's increasingly-busy Real Art Project. Since forming last May, this freeform collective of 15 artists has been pursuing twin ambitions: to secure studio spaces and workshops for facility-starved creatives and to showcase challenging new work. There is a quiet confidence that Infusion can now become an annual event and a valuable addition to the mid-west's sometimes skimpy visual arts calendar.