Leiden University Student Repository

Dolk, Sanne (2024)

Performing A Protest: Staging and rhetoric applied to Nan Goldin’s performance protests regarding her goal of gaining political power.

Bachelor thesis | Kunstgeschiedenis (BA)

This paper has researched what the power of a performance protest is when making use of artistic means. Artist Nan Goldin constructed performance protests against the Sackler family, a pharmaceutical dynasty partly responsible for the opioid crisis in the United States. These protests served the purpose of getting museums to cut their ties with the Sackler family, thus also refusing funding from the Sackler’s. This paper has investigated how Nan Goldin has succeeded in doing so, using theories from performance studies to visual rhetoric. This research hopes to have illustrated how these previously mentioned powerful performance tools can help build a community to fight against big institutions.

Performance, Rhetoric, Staging, Protest, Activism

Author

Dolk, Sanne

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Arts, Media and Society

Supervisors

Crucq, A.K.C

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en