Introduction to performance art

Performance art is sometimes carefully planned and scripted but can also be spontaneous and random. Although
it often takes place in front of an audience and may involve audience participation or the orchestration of other
participants by the artist it can also be an action performed privately by the artist.
Performance art has origins in futurism and dada, but became a major phenomenon in the 1960s and 1970s and
can be seen as a branch of conceptual art.

Further resources
Explore the relationship between photography and performance in Performing for the Camera at Tate Modern. In
the short film below, curator Simon Baker talks about key works from the show which includes the documentation
of art happenings of the 1960s and todays trend for selfies.
At the heart of performance art is a strong social critique. It asks important questions about how we perceive the
world around us and our place within it.
Frank Skinner

Performance art in America

An important influence on the emergence of performance were the photographs taken by the photographer Hans
Namuth in 1950 of the abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock making his so-called action paintings.
Performance art had its immediate origins in the more overtly theatrical happenings organised by Allan Kaprow
and others in New York in the late 1950s. By the mid 1960s this theatrical element was being stripped out by early
performance artists such as Vito Acconci and Bruce Nauman.

Performance art in Europe

In Germany and Austria performance art is known as actionism, though this term is usually specifically applied to
the Vienna-based group Wiener Aktionismus, founded in 1961, whose deliberately shocking performances were
intended to highlight the endemic violence of humanity. The German artist Joseph Beuys was a hugely influential
pioneer of performance art, making a wide impact with his actions from 1963 on. These were powerful
expressions of the pain of human existence, and explored complex social and political issues through a focus on
mans relationship to nature. In Britain the artist duo Gilbert & George made highly original performance
works from 1969.
A major problem for early performance artists was the ephemeral nature of the medium. Right from the start
performance pieces were recorded in photography, film and video, and these eventually became the primary
means by which performance reached a wide public.

Further reading
Performing for the Camera
What does is it mean to perform for the camera? This exhibition which is on at Tate Modern until June
2016, explores how performance artists use photography and how photography is in itself a performance.
BMW Tate Live
BMW Tate Live is a four-year partnership that features a series of innovative live performances and events
including live web broadcast, in-gallery performance, seminars and workshops. Find out upcoming events and
watch archive footage of past performances.
Art, Lies and Videotape: Exposing Performance
This exhibition, which was on display at Tate Liverpool in 2003, explored the history and significance of
performance art spanning the last century. Read the exhibition text and see which works were on display.
A Bigger Splash: Painting after Performance
This exhibition, which was on display at Tate Modern in 2012, looked at the dynamic relationship between
performance and painting since 1950. Read the exhibition text and see which works were on display.
Stuart Brisley | Studio Visit | TateShots
Watch this studio visit short film with artist Stuart Brisley, who is often hailed as the godfather of British
performance art. Brisley first achieved notoriety in the 1960s and 70s and is perhaps best known for his
disturbing physical performances. Please note that this film contains content which some viewers may
find uncomfortable.

Performance artists in focus

Gilbert & George
Gilbert & George adopted the identity of living sculptures in both their art and their daily lives, becoming not only
creators, but also the art itself. They performed THE SINGING SCULPTURE 1969, all over the world, sometimes
for eight hours at a stretch. Realising that they could reach only a handful of people at a time, they began to
create films and pictures that could extend the idea of living sculpture without requiring their physical presence.
Gilbert & George
This exhibition, which was on display at Tate Modern in 2007, brought together a range of artworks which span
their entire 40-year career. Read the exhibition text and see which works were on display.
In the film below, Gilbert & George discuss their involvement in the Gilbert & George exhibition at Tate Modern,
and talk about how their art practice began.