Performance Art in Estonia

Estonia.

Performance art virtually
exploded in the 1990s, for reasons yet unknown to me (but that I hope to sort
through when I start to write about it…). Estonia had a strong tradition of
nonconformist or underground activity during the Soviet period, with artist
groups such as ANK and SOUP-69 creating a sensation in the art world and beyond.

Happenings and performances took place as early as the 1960s
and 1970s, and the artist Juri Okas was fortunate enough to have a movie camera
so that he could document his performances, which took place outdoors, mostly
in the countryside, but sometimes penetrating into the public space. In the 1986,
Rühm T (Group T) came into being, a performance art group that
aimed to create a new, radical kind of art in a radical time period. In the
1990s, it seems that performance art was almost prescribed by the new
art scene in a new society, and artists were called on to create and present
performances, as one of the most avant-garde forms of art.” Performance Art Explodes in Estonia