When the black box meets the white cube: spatial shifts and postdramatic aesthetics in performance art

Research Article
Open access

When the black box meets the white cube: spatial shifts and postdramatic aesthetics in performance art

Zhihan Ren 1*
  • 1 University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins, London, The UK    
  • *corresponding author rara481846778@gmail.com
Published on 11 June 2025 | https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7080/2025.23851
AHR Vol.12 Issue 2
ISSN (Print): 2753-7099
ISSN (Online): 2753-7080

Abstract

This study explores the spatial transformation of contemporary performance art between theater and art museum. By tracing the adaptive changes of performance works in different locations, this article reveals how Black Box Theater and White Cube Gallery foster the transformation of aesthetic expression and creative logic. Combining the perspectives of drama theory and spatial criticism, this article proposes that performance space is not only an artistic container but also a co-creator of meaning generation. Typical cases of traditional theater, contemporary art museum, and remade industrial space are selected to analyze how the site characteristics reconstruct performance relationships, narrative strategies, and institutional discourse. Iconic works such as Marina Abramovich's The Artist is Present, along with site-specific creative practices, demonstrate the revolutionary challenge of mixed spaces to theater and visual art paradigms. It is found that different spatial forms can profoundly affect the perceptual intensity, emotional transmission and political metaphor of performing arts, which opens a new possible avenue for interdisciplinary artistic practice.

Keywords:

postdramatic theatre, performance art, spatial design, black box, white cube

Ren,Z. (2025). When the black box meets the white cube: spatial shifts and postdramatic aesthetics in performance art. Advances in Humanities Research,12(2),118-122.
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References

[1]. Bishop, C. (2020). Black Box, White Cube, Gray Zone: Dance Exhibitions and Audience Attention. TDR: The Drama Review, 64(2), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1162/dram_a_00920

[2]. Hann, R. (2020). Beyond Scenography. Routledge (London, UK; New York, NY).

[3]. Goudouna, S. (2021). Beckett’s Breath: Anti-theatricality and the Visual Arts. Edinburgh University Press (Edinburgh, UK).

[4]. Hannah, D. (2020). Event-Space: Theatre Architecture and the Historical Avant-Garde. Routledge (London, UK; New York, NY).

[5]. Dirmoser, G. (2020). Performance Art Kontext. Transcript Verlag (Bielefeld, Germany).

[6]. Filmer, A. (2020). The Way We Perform Now. TDR: The Drama Review, 64(3), 10–25.

[7]. Ernst, W.-D. (2020). Mapping Intermediality in Performance. Routledge (London, UK; New York, NY).

[8]. Bay-Cheng, S. (2020). Virtual Realisms: Dramatic Forays into the Future. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/

[9]. Hassabi, M. (2020). PLASTIC: Live Installation at MoMA. Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY).

[10]. Milev, Y. (2020). A.O.B.B.M.E. – Microtopic Enterprise. Edition Eigen+Art (Leipzig, Germany).

[11]. Bishop, C. (2020). Black Box, White Cube, Gray Zone: Dance Exhibitions and Audience Attention. TDR: The Drama Review, 64(2), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1162/dram_a_00920

[12]. Chukhrov, K. (2021). The Postdramatic Theater's Misadventures in the Age of Contemporary Art. e-flux Journal, (120). https://www.e-flux.com/journal/120/415768/the-postdramatic-theater-s-misadventures-in-the-age-of-contemporary-art/

[13]. Ho, C. (2022). Black Cube: The Stage for Performance in Singapore, 1995–96. Theatre Research International, 47(1), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0307883321000439

[14]. Guy, T. J. (2021). Theatre as Installation in the Syndemic Architectures of Rimini Protokoll's “Black Box”. Performance Research, 26(7), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2021.1987987

[15]. Van Baarle, K. (2019). Cally Spooner: Between Language and Body. The Theatre Times. https://thetheatretimes.com/cally-spooner-between-language-and-body/


Cite this article

Ren,Z. (2025). When the black box meets the white cube: spatial shifts and postdramatic aesthetics in performance art. Advances in Humanities Research,12(2),118-122.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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About volume

Journal:Advances in Humanities Research

Volume number: Vol.12
Issue number: Issue 2
ISSN:2753-7080(Print) / 2753-7099(Online)

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References

[1]. Bishop, C. (2020). Black Box, White Cube, Gray Zone: Dance Exhibitions and Audience Attention. TDR: The Drama Review, 64(2), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1162/dram_a_00920

[2]. Hann, R. (2020). Beyond Scenography. Routledge (London, UK; New York, NY).

[3]. Goudouna, S. (2021). Beckett’s Breath: Anti-theatricality and the Visual Arts. Edinburgh University Press (Edinburgh, UK).

[4]. Hannah, D. (2020). Event-Space: Theatre Architecture and the Historical Avant-Garde. Routledge (London, UK; New York, NY).

[5]. Dirmoser, G. (2020). Performance Art Kontext. Transcript Verlag (Bielefeld, Germany).

[6]. Filmer, A. (2020). The Way We Perform Now. TDR: The Drama Review, 64(3), 10–25.

[7]. Ernst, W.-D. (2020). Mapping Intermediality in Performance. Routledge (London, UK; New York, NY).

[8]. Bay-Cheng, S. (2020). Virtual Realisms: Dramatic Forays into the Future. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/

[9]. Hassabi, M. (2020). PLASTIC: Live Installation at MoMA. Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY).

[10]. Milev, Y. (2020). A.O.B.B.M.E. – Microtopic Enterprise. Edition Eigen+Art (Leipzig, Germany).

[11]. Bishop, C. (2020). Black Box, White Cube, Gray Zone: Dance Exhibitions and Audience Attention. TDR: The Drama Review, 64(2), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1162/dram_a_00920

[12]. Chukhrov, K. (2021). The Postdramatic Theater's Misadventures in the Age of Contemporary Art. e-flux Journal, (120). https://www.e-flux.com/journal/120/415768/the-postdramatic-theater-s-misadventures-in-the-age-of-contemporary-art/

[13]. Ho, C. (2022). Black Cube: The Stage for Performance in Singapore, 1995–96. Theatre Research International, 47(1), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0307883321000439

[14]. Guy, T. J. (2021). Theatre as Installation in the Syndemic Architectures of Rimini Protokoll's “Black Box”. Performance Research, 26(7), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2021.1987987

[15]. Van Baarle, K. (2019). Cally Spooner: Between Language and Body. The Theatre Times. https://thetheatretimes.com/cally-spooner-between-language-and-body/