{"product_id":"performance-of-art","title":"Performance of Art","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA close analysis of the \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e“\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eTen O\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eClock” lecture in which Whistler\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e declared an end to the public\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003es participation in art. Also reveals the role played by Oscar Wilde.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn 20 February 1885, James McNeill Whistler delivered his celebrated \u003ci\u003e“Ten O’Clock”\u003c\/i\u003e in Piccadilly, opposite the Royal Academy. More than a lecture, it was a witty, provocative monologue attacking conventional taste and asserting art’s independence from public opinion. Fashionable London society attended, including Oscar Wilde, whose own speaking tours partly inspired Whistler to take the stage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe event was hailed as a triumph and repeated in Oxford, Cambridge and other venues. Whistler even considered an American tour, combining the talk with an exhibition to strengthen his reputation as a professional artist – distinguishing himself from Wilde’s perceived dilettantism – but instead focused on publishing the text, enlisting Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé for its French translation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Performance of Art\u003c\/i\u003e reassesses this episode, examining why Whistler sought the podium, the cultural context of his polemic and Wilde’s role. Through close analysis, it argues that \u003ci\u003e“Ten O’Clock”\u003c\/i\u003e stands as a work of art in itself, illuminating Whistler’s aesthetic philosophy while anticipating the widening divide between fine art and popular culture.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Paul Holberton Publishing Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56408637440344,"sku":"9781915401229","price":38.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781915401229_1bca3be7-72b6-4ab3-81df-46601b5965b8.jpg?v=1780428619","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/performance-of-art","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}