RoseLee Goldberg

An updated edition of the pioneering study in the acclaimed World of Art series, this classic book surveys a full century of performance art, from the Futurist manifesto of 1909 through the second decade of the new millennium. Performance Art is a pioneering history of one of the most important art forms to emerge in modern times. Now in its fourth edition, it has been completely updated to reflect on performance in an age where digital technologies are increasingly dominant, and where live art stands out as an antidote to the overwhelming effects of our media world. Renowned art historian and curator RoseLee Goldberg explains the worldwide phenomenon of performance art, and outlines developments in the medium up to and within the second decade of the twenty-first century. The astonishing increase in the number of works testifies to the significance of the medium for new generations of artists entering the global conversation of art and culture and for articulating ‘difference’. Matthew Barney, Tania Bruguera, Nikhil Chopra, Nicholas Hlobo, Zhang Huan, Anne Imhof and Rashid Johnson are among the many artists whose work can now be seen in the context of innovators in the field, from the Futurists and Dadaists to Yves Klein, Marina Abramovic and Laurie Anderson.

The definitive illustrated overview of contemporary performance art. Performance Now charts the development of live art across six continents since the turn of the 21st century. It reveals how performance, so integral to the history of art in the 20th century, has become an increasingly essential vehicle for communicating ideas across the globe in the new millennium. Renowned authority RoseLee Goldberg discusses key themes in performance art practice, from beauty, global citizenship and political activism to performance's intersection with film and technology, dance, theatre and architecture. Each chapter is followed by illustrated profiles of the world's best-known performance artists, accompanied by extended captions that assess the importance of specific works to the practice of international performance art. A visually exciting and stimulating overview of this most varied art form, Performance Now is the go-to reference for artists, art students and historians as well as avant-garde theatre and movie goers.

Performance Now charts the development of performance by visual artists across six continents since the turn of the 21st century. It reveals how live art, so integral to the history of art in the 20th century, has become an increasingly essential vehicle for communicating ideas across the globe in the new millennium. Renowned authority RoseLee Goldberg discusses the key themes in performance art practice, from beauty, global citizenship and political activism to performance’s intersection with film and technology, dance, theatre and architecture. Each chapter is followed by illustrated profiles of the world’s best-known performance artists, accompanied by extended captions that assess the importance of specific works to the practice of international performance art. The book concludes with an extensive reference section. Providing a visually exciting and stimulating overview of this most varied art form, Performance Now is the go-to reference for artists, art students and historians as well as avant-garde theatre and movie goers. Table of Contents Introduction • 1. Performance as Visual Art • 2. World Citizenship: Performance as a Global Language • 3. Radical Action: On Performance and Politics • 4. Dance After Choreography • 5. Off stage: New Theatre • 6. Performing Architecture