Performance art - provocative art with profound meaning

Performance art is a form of visual art and a branch of actionism in which the artwork consists of a series of actions by the artist or a group of invited individuals following a pre-planned script. Four defining elements hold significant importance in a performance: the venue and time of the event, the artist themselves, and the relationship between the artist and the audience.

Performance. Yves Klein. Le Saut dans le vide, 1960

In essence, performance art shares similarities with theatrical art, but unlike the latter, the artist selects the most unexpected locations as the stage, and the audience often actively participates in the performance.

Types and Characteristics of Performance Art

Performance art is an original and often highly provocative means of engaging the audience. It can boldly be classified as non-material art because the artwork itself is not an object, such as a painting or sculpture.

Performance. Yoko Ono. Cut Piece, 1964

Performance art represents a blend of various styles and genres, incorporating elements of dance, painting, and acting. While spectators often perceive the performance as entertaining, the artist embeds profound meaning into it.

In art, there are several types of performance:

• Individual performance. The artist independently executes all actions, interacting with surrounding objects and items.
• Collective performance. Involves a group of actors under the guidance of the author.
• Performance art. The human body serves as the basis for creating the artwork.
• Folk performance. A mass presentation involving a large number of spectators as participants, such as processions, demonstrations, or other collective actions (flash mobs).
• Internet performance. An action broadcast online via video equipment to viewers worldwide.
• Quest performance. Essentially a theatrical presentation (game) with scenery and a plot. Hired actors interact with participants, helping them experience strong emotional impressions and a sense of the reality of the unfolding event.

Performance. Joseph Beuys. I Like America and America Likes Me, 1974

Performance art completely defies the boundaries of traditional art. In its manifestation, the artist establishes a unique relationship with the audience, imbues the action with hidden meaning, and skillfully coordinates the unfolding events. Through performance art, artists engage in a dialogue with authority, express protest against its actions, and address society's relevant social, political, and ideological aspects.

Performance. Chris Burden. Shoot, 1971

History of Performance Art

The roots of performance art can be traced back to the early 20th century, specifically in two avant-garde art movements: Dadaism and Futurism. Even then, revolutionarily inclined artists sought to create a new form of performing arts.

Performance. Marina Abramović. In Relation in Time, 1977

In Zurich in 1916, the famous "Cabaret Voltaire" opened, hosting innovative performances involving musicians, painters, and poets who were supporters of Dadaism. Futurists also organized meetings and conferences in public places, where they propagated their ideas. These were the early attempts to create performance art with active audience participation and numerous scandalous antics.

Performance. Carolee Schneemann. Fresh Blood, 1986

In the mid-1940s, in the United States, within the circle of abstract expressionism followers, action painting emerged. Its proponents believed that the main focus in creating paintings should be on the process of creation, not the end result.

Performance. Pussy Riot. Putin Zassal, 2012

In the early 1960s, performance art was fully born as a form of visual art. Its founding figure can rightfully be considered the brilliant French artist Yves Klein. He created numerous performances that shocked the European audience.

Performance. Petr Pavlensky. Segregation, 2014

From this moment, performance art began to rapidly gain popularity in creative circles. Artists actively experimented with materials and proposed original creative ideas. Extravagant performances became fashionable, and their creators became globally famous.

Performance. Emma Sulkowicz. Carry That Weight, 2015

Interest in performance art only intensified with each subsequent decade. Since the early 1990s, leading museums worldwide began dedicating separate exhibitions and retrospectives to this new form of art. Talented artists gained not only numerous admirers but also patrons among the wealthiest individuals on our planet.

Performance. Banksy. Destruction of the painting Girl with Balloon at Sotheby's auction, 2015

Today, performance art is not just a recognized form of visual art. It is at the forefront of global culture, in the center of universal attention, and helps us look at life differently.

Performance. Women's mass performance in Mexico City. A Rapist in Your Path, 2019

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