holy spirit
March 2013 Performance at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, Kansas
In this performance documentation video, the artist explores the performative aspect of production-based megachurch events while in character as a cheerleader and performing cheer routines on the floor of the largest United Methodist Church in America. The strange, rigid motions make the performer seem like a rubber doll, expressionlessly going through the motions of the routine. The centrality of the cheerleader, combined with poses with outstretched arms echo the iconography of the Christian church, while subverting it.
After completing the floor poses, the cheerleader character runs around the perimeter of land that the has been obtained by the institution since it was founded. The performative actions become metaphors for both religious routines and land use practices in the suburban Midwest.
JaNae Contag 