performance art

Definition of performance art

: a nontraditional art form often with political or topical themes that typically features a live presentation to an audience or onlookers (as on a street) and draws on such arts as acting, poetry, music, dance, or painting

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Examples of performance art in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Cave, a dancer as well as an artist, is known for creating fabric sculpture and other visual and performance art that addresses issues of racial inequality in the United States. — Karen Martin, Arkansas Online, "OPINION | KAREN MARTIN: Nick Cave’s insights into humanity," 11 Oct. 2020 The three-day event includes art activities for kids, performance art in the Old Swedish Bank, skateboard demos, a live painting demo and live music, and food trucks with tacos, Caribbean food, and more. — Alicia Eler, Star Tribune, "Three-day outdoor art fest on St. Paul's Payne Av. highlights justice & solidarity," 2 Oct. 2020 While most artists stick to creating art for gallery walls, Theaster Gates’s involved multidisciplinary work twists space theory and land development, sculptural installation, and performance art all into one. — Alison S. Cohn And Ariana Marsh, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Culture Lover’s October Guide," 1 Oct. 2020 Along with Allan Kaprow, Claes Oldenburg and others, Mr. Dine was an impish instigator of Happenings, performance art pieces that both rattled and inspired the art world. — Penelope Green, New York Times, "Nancy Dine, Filmmaker and Muse of Artist Jim Dine, Dies at 83," 14 Sep. 2020 The text of For ——> forever… recalls a performance art piece Ukeles did during New York’s fiscal crisis in 1970s, when the city was in the throes of a severe economic downturn, high crime rates, and low morale. — Anne Quito, Quartz at Work, "The most poignant art in New York right now is from the city sanitation department," 11 Sep. 2020 The Kentucky Opera announced a new initiative Thursday that will produce high performance art for the masses. — Andre Toran, The Courier-Journal, "'Amplify Your Voice.' Kentucky Opera to crowdsource poetry submissions for original scores," 10 Sep. 2020 This event anticipates Hassinger’s related performance next spring, commissioned by National Portrait Gallery as part of its IDENTIFY series dedicated to performance art and portraiture. — Charlotte J. Ickes, Smithsonian Magazine, "Artist Maren Hassinger Has Spent Her Entire Career Mediating the Current Moment," 9 Sep. 2020 Lady Midnight, the ethereal Twin Cities vocalist with a flair for performance art, will perform at noon on Sept. 24. — Jon Bream, Star Tribune, "University of Minnesota presents free concert series with Lady Midnight, DJ Keezy, others," 2 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'performance art.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near performance art

per formam doni

performance art

performance-enhancing drug

Statistics for performance art

Last Updated

17 Oct 2020

Cite this Entry

“Performance art.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/performance%20art. Accessed 29 Oct. 2020.

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