Couple In The Cage
The performance art piece of a Couple in the Cage is of two people living in a cage pretending to be Amerindians for the audiences that come to see them. The artists Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena. Underneath the performance that the artists put on is a satire of institutional racism that took place in the past while also calling to attention the fact that it is still somewhat present today. The audience of the performance contained a mix of reactions between some believing that the performance was real and other knowing that it was fake. The Couple in the Cage is a performance art piece that relates directly the history of violence and abuse against primitive people by westerners and western culture while alluding to current problems
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in society such as racism and homophobia. During the Couple in the Cage the artists are pretending to be Amerindians who are being put on display around the west.
They are pretending to be fascinated by the culture they see and the people who are watching them. The couple take pictures with people, tell stories along with other actions and are also being fed fruit from those who are “in charge of the cage. The performance artwork took place in 1992-1993 throughout many major cities from London to Chicago to Irvine and others. It consisted of Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena in the cage pretending to be natives or ‘savages’ that are unfamiliar with western culture touring different cities. Coco Fusco is a 32-year-old, at the time, female Cuban-American artists and Guillermo Gomez-Pena is a 37-year-old, at the time, male Chicano performance artist. With them were others who pretend to be their handlers and tell the audience what is happening. The parameters of the piece are, Coco and Guillermo remained silent except when Guillermo was asked to tell a story in his native language, and they seemed to not interact with the audience except when a member of the audience paid for a photo, story, or to see the male’s genitals. The artists themselves are dressed up in simple and primitive clothing along with clothing relating to western culture such as a cheetah luchador mask and baseball hats. Coco and Guillermo also perform tasks such as reading, watching tv, drinking Coke and being fed fruit by the
guards.
There is a mixed reaction from the audience toward the performance from some people believing that it was in fact real to others understanding that it was just a performance. Whether or not people believed it there were mixed reactions all around. Many of those who thought the performance to be real were swayed into the conformity, the idea that since everyone else seems to be okay with the couple in the cage, taking pictures with them, and with the situation in general then they are too. On the opposite side there were a few people who still believed that the performance was real but were disgusted and upset by what they were seeing. They could not believe that something like this would be allowed to happen. Of those in the audience that realized and understood that it was a performance there was general agreement in the point that the artwork was conveying. One audience member drew the relation between the performance and to the United States’ treatment of the native Americans. Other audience members while understanding that the performance was not real were upset and offended that a piece like this was done as if the artist were making fun of the past and the audience members who believed that is was real. The reactions that the audience portrayed were diverse but they all help to understand the different ideas behind the performance artwork.
This performance art directly alludes to the exhibition of less industrially developed people and their culture that happened around the world for the past few hundred years. The tone of the piece is satirical, and light hearted in the way the artists are wearing and interacting with objects of western culture such as sunglasses and Converse shoes but has dark under tones when looking deeper into the back story. The artists are trying to show the previous history, exploitation and abuse of other peoples that was very prevalent in the Europe and America. Coco and Guillermo are making the point that even though the act of showing off primitive people in cages is no longer something that happened people are still okay with it. The work addresses the history of locking people in cages and showing them off. It also alludes to the modern-day oppression of those that are different than that of societies standards. The reaction of many people being curious and not openly critical of the performance when they thought that it was real shows that we still have further to go toward equality. This piece relates to other works such as Yoko Ono's Cut Piece and Marina Abramovic's Rhythm 0. Both these pieces create a link to a person being an object. These performances draw parallels to past and present ideas of misogyny and racism and how they relate to seeing people as objects. This performance art piece brings up critiques of both present and past societal problems that the artists want addressed. From Madrid to New York, Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena brought the artwork of a primitive couple from an unknown tribe to life. From inside their cage, behind the designer sunglasses that they were wearing, Coco, Guillermo and the show they put on brought to light the different views and beliefs that people have and share. While some people would never be fooled into believing that its real others do believe and are content with it because everyone else seems to be too. This piece like Cut Piece and Rhythm 0, show how society can treat people like objects with at times few people speaking out against it.
in society such as racism and homophobia. During the Couple in the Cage the artists are pretending to be Amerindians who are being put on display around the west.
They are pretending to be fascinated by the culture they see and the people who are watching them. The couple take pictures with people, tell stories along with other actions and are also being fed fruit from those who are “in charge of the cage. The performance artwork took place in 1992-1993 throughout many major cities from London to Chicago to Irvine and others. It consisted of Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena in the cage pretending to be natives or ‘savages’ that are unfamiliar with western culture touring different cities. Coco Fusco is a 32-year-old, at the time, female Cuban-American artists and Guillermo Gomez-Pena is a 37-year-old, at the time, male Chicano performance artist. With them were others who pretend to be their handlers and tell the audience what is happening. The parameters of the piece are, Coco and Guillermo remained silent except when Guillermo was asked to tell a story in his native language, and they seemed to not interact with the audience except when a member of the audience paid for a photo, story, or to see the male’s genitals. The artists themselves are dressed up in simple and primitive clothing along with clothing relating to western culture such as a cheetah luchador mask and baseball hats. Coco and Guillermo also perform tasks such as reading, watching tv, drinking Coke and being fed fruit by the
guards.
There is a mixed reaction from the audience toward the performance from some people believing that it was in fact real to others understanding that it was just a performance. Whether or not people believed it there were mixed reactions all around. Many of those who thought the performance to be real were swayed into the conformity, the idea that since everyone else seems to be okay with the couple in the cage, taking pictures with them, and with the situation in general then they are too. On the opposite side there were a few people who still believed that the performance was real but were disgusted and upset by what they were seeing. They could not believe that something like this would be allowed to happen. Of those in the audience that realized and understood that it was a performance there was general agreement in the point that the artwork was conveying. One audience member drew the relation between the performance and to the United States’ treatment of the native Americans. Other audience members while understanding that the performance was not real were upset and offended that a piece like this was done as if the artist were making fun of the past and the audience members who believed that is was real. The reactions that the audience portrayed were diverse but they all help to understand the different ideas behind the performance artwork.
This performance art directly alludes to the exhibition of less industrially developed people and their culture that happened around the world for the past few hundred years. The tone of the piece is satirical, and light hearted in the way the artists are wearing and interacting with objects of western culture such as sunglasses and Converse shoes but has dark under tones when looking deeper into the back story. The artists are trying to show the previous history, exploitation and abuse of other peoples that was very prevalent in the Europe and America. Coco and Guillermo are making the point that even though the act of showing off primitive people in cages is no longer something that happened people are still okay with it. The work addresses the history of locking people in cages and showing them off. It also alludes to the modern-day oppression of those that are different than that of societies standards. The reaction of many people being curious and not openly critical of the performance when they thought that it was real shows that we still have further to go toward equality. This piece relates to other works such as Yoko Ono's Cut Piece and Marina Abramovic's Rhythm 0. Both these pieces create a link to a person being an object. These performances draw parallels to past and present ideas of misogyny and racism and how they relate to seeing people as objects. This performance art piece brings up critiques of both present and past societal problems that the artists want addressed. From Madrid to New York, Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena brought the artwork of a primitive couple from an unknown tribe to life. From inside their cage, behind the designer sunglasses that they were wearing, Coco, Guillermo and the show they put on brought to light the different views and beliefs that people have and share. While some people would never be fooled into believing that its real others do believe and are content with it because everyone else seems to be too. This piece like Cut Piece and Rhythm 0, show how society can treat people like objects with at times few people speaking out against it.