This essay discusses issues of time and temporality in relation to performance art from the Dominican Republic. It contends that Dominican performance artists are advancing critical understandings of what is to be contemporary. The essay considers the work of David Pérez “Karmadavis,” Sayuri Guzmán, and José Ramia as expressing the role of artists in defining and delving into what it means to make art in and of the present, while simultaneously challenging the presentist understanding of time linked to neoliberalism. From this perspective, the article examines the potential of performance art for criticizing and expanding our understanding of time and temporality.
