A study on Effective Factors in Body Use among the Works of Performance and Environmental Artists: The Case of Three Woman Artists

The present research proceeds to the works of three woman artists who are active in the fields of “performance art” and “environmental art”. Ana Mendieta, Karin Van der Molen, and Tara Goudarzi, the artists selected for this study, applied their feminine bodies as the main medium to create their artworks in nature. The general objective of this research is investigating effective factors in appearing similarities and differences in the manner environmental artists use and offer their body in installations and performances comparing to the presence or the role of body in works of performance artists. These are the questions of present research: What similarities and differences are seen between the works of study case artists in respect of presenting the body in nature. How is the element of body used in the work of study case artists? The research is carried out to answer these questions in descriptive-analytic method and the data are also collected in library and field study methods .To respond the research questions, descriptive and analytic research methods are applied and the data are collected through library and field study. Along with research objectives interviews and questionnaires are conducted as well. Interviews and questionnaires are also conducted in consistency with research objectives. Data analysis is done in qualitative and content analysis methods. Findings indicate that body is used in works of all three artists as an object and plays the role of the main medium, but cultural, geographic, and specifically religious beliefs had an essential effect in different symbolic offering ways of their art-works. The results also show that although these three artists emerged in different time, geographic, and religious conditions, common womanish thoughts and the concern of offering their art through body in the nature is clear in their works, but in totally different expression ways.