Performance Arts definition

Performance Art is defined as artworks that are created through actions performed by the artist or other participants, which may be live or recorded, spontaneous or scripted. The purpose of performance art is to seek a connection with the audience with the mere goal of providing them some sort of insight or knowledge. Some people confuse theater as being performance arts, and it is, but there’s a key difference between the two. The difference between performance art and theater is that theater is meant to be performed and viewed at the same time. This is opposed to a piece of visual art because it is created first and then viewed. Performance art is a hybrid of theater and fine art. Examples of performance art include (but are not limited to) dance, music, opera, magic, illusion, puppetry, and circus arts. It involves four specific elements: time, space, body, and presence of the artist in relation between the creator and the public. Art historians cite Futurists and Dadaists among the first performance art practitioners and the movement gained traction in the early ‘50’s. It is still very popular today.