Performance Art

Performance Art

An art form that is based on actions performed by the artist or other participants.

Performance art, coined in the 1960s, encompasses a wide variety of live presentations by artists, such as actions, movements, gestures and choreography. Performance art can be live or recorded, as well as spontaneous or scripted.

Although the terms 'performance' and 'performance art' gained widespread recognition in the 1970s, the origins of performance in visual arts can be traced back to futurist shows and dada cabarets in the early 20th century.


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painted bronze carrot reclining seductively on a white marble countertop

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Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.
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