Performance art

Performance art is a unique genre of fine art created through actions. These actions are executed by the artist or other participants. It is often presented to a public in an interdisciplinary mode. This means it combines different types of art, like music or dance. The art can be witnessed live in person. It can also be seen through documentation like photos or video. Performance art is often used to generate a reaction from the viewer. Artists use it to share life experiences or to offer social criticism.

To understand how it works, one must look at its five basic elements. These elements are time, space, the body, the presence of the artist, and the relation between the artist and the public. The artist uses their body as a tool within a specific space. This happens during a specific period of time. The setting can be anywhere. Many artists work in museums or art galleries. However, they can also use any other kind of space. The goal is often to create an authentic experience. This experience is frequently ephemeral, meaning it is temporary and cannot be repeated or purchased.

Performance art can take many different forms. Some artists use a script, which is a written plan. Others rely on improvisation, where they make things up as they go. Some works use spoken word to communicate directly with the audience. In some cases, the artist might even ignore the audience's expectations. Performance art can also include robots or machines as performers. It can borrow elements from the circus, music, or dance. Some artists use ritualized elements in their work. Other genres include body art, happenings, and action poetry.

The history of performance art reaches back to the early 20th century. It emerged alongside movements like Futurism and Dadaism. Futurism began in 1909 as a literary movement. Its members held meetings and conferences in public spaces. This anticipated the live nature of performance art. Dadaism emerged in 1916. It was an "anti-art" movement. Dadaists wanted to destroy established norms in the art world. They used chaos, randomness, and provocation to challenge traditional ideas.

A very important location for these early actions was the Cabaret Voltaire. This was founded in Zürich, Switzerland, by Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings. It was a small space of only ten square meters. The Cabaret Voltaire was a place where new, experimental ideas were explored. It hosted the first Dada actions and hybrid poetry presentations. Although it only lasted about six months in 1916, it was fundamental. It provided the basis for the anarchist movement known as Dada.

In the mid-20th century, other movements helped shape the discipline. The Bauhaus art school, founded in 1919, held experimental workshops. These workshops explored the relationship between the body, sound, light, and space. In the 1940s and 1950s, action painting became an important influence. Critics like Harold Rosenberg saw this as an initiating process. Artists like Jackson Pollock treated the canvas as an area to act in.

Later, the term "performance art" became widely used in the 1970s. Art critic John Perreault credits Marjorie Strider with inventing the term in 1969.

Many famous pioneers have shaped this field. These include artists such as Marina Abramović, Joseph Beuys, and Yves Klein.

Other notable names are Carolee Schneemann, Ana Mendieta, and Nam June Paik. More recent exponents include Tania Bruguera and Melati Suryodarmo. Performance art is deeply linked to other concepts. It connects to the Fluxus movement and Viennese Actionism. It also intersects with architecture, religious practice, and theology. By breaking conventional ideas, performance artists challenge us to think in new ways.