Buzz
Performance art is celebrated for many reasons, with its oddity being a key feature. While this selection highlights some of the more bizarre aspects of artistic expression, we intentionally avoid works that are overtly provocative or controversial, which are often associated with the genre.
Instead, we focus on ‘the strange’ as a reflection of an artist’s personal vision and emotions. According to one definition of performance art, it’s described as “[a] live artistic practice that evolved as artists sought to push the boundaries of traditional media,” revealing that the essence of this form lies in its expressive freedom.
These 10 performances were conceived to transcend the limits of convention and censorship, offering new and limitless ways to communicate and experience creativity.
10. Butoh
Butoh is a form of Japanese contemporary performance art that emerged in the late 1950s. Created by choreographer Tatsumi Hijikata after World War II, it was influenced by the arrival of art movements such as French Surrealism and Dadaism, which reshaped views on traditional Japanese performance art.
Originally, Butoh was defined as ‘anti-traditional’ and ‘anti-establishment,’ distancing itself from classical art forms that emphasized strength and uniformity. Instead, Butoh embraces ‘weakness,’ with some practitioners comparing its essence to mercury poisoning, a significant issue in post-war Japan.
The first known presentation of Butoh, titled “Forbidden Colours,” was an adaptation of the novel by Mishima Yukio. The performance featured Yoshito Ohno alongside Hijikata.
9. Parade (1917) by Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau
This ballet, first performed in 1917 by Ballet Russe and later recreated by Europa Danse for contemporary audiences, was a collaboration between French composer Erik Satie and poet Jean Cocteau. Notably, the sets and costumes were designed by the iconic Pablo Picasso.
Given that ballet is traditionally strict and conventional, Picasso's avant-garde costumes, such as a two-person horse, sparked significant criticism from viewers. The dancers found their movements restricted by the shape and size of Picasso’s designs, making the performance an unconventional experience for audiences in 1917.
This marked Satie’s debut in ballet and his first collaboration with Picasso. The performance was met with disdain from both critics and audiences, with the premiere even inciting a riot. Rumor has it that Satie was slapped by an angry audience member following the show.
8. Interior Scroll by Carolee Schneemann
The inaugural performance of Interior Scroll took place in 1975 during the Women Here and Now exhibition in New York. Multidisciplinary artist Carolee Schneemann climbed onto a table, stripped off her clothes, painted her body, and then read from her book Cezanne, She Was a Great Painter (to be published the next year). She then pulled a scroll of feminist discourse from her vagina.
This performance was repeated once more at the 1977 Telluride Film Festival. Though Schneemann was initially invited to introduce a series of erotic films by women, upon arrival, she chose to perform Interior Scroll instead, expressing her frustration with the way the collection was labeled.
7. Gavin Krastin’s BODY/BAG
Gavin Krastin
BODY/BAG, one of his notable works, is said to be a commentary on race and politics, though Krastin refrains from providing a clear explanation of its meaning. In this performance, as well as in his piece EPOXY (2016), he seals his naked body in a human-sized vacuum-sealed plastic bag.
Some of his other performances include having people eat food from his naked body, attaching himself to a chair and dancing, and filling his lips with clothespins while holding a pig’s head.
6. Payau #2 Waterproof
Payau #2 Waterproof is a dance performance choreographed by Yola Yulifianti, an alumna of the Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ). Premiered at the 2012 Indonesia Dance Festival, it served as the festival's main highlight. The performance features movement synchronized to the sound of dripping water, along with a solo dance in which the performer wears a pink bucket on their head.
Yulifianti’s choreography delves into the social issues within communities, and Payau #2 Waterproof is no exception. The piece was created through collaboration with the residents of Penjaringan, North Jakarta, Indonesia.
5. Allan Kaprow’s Yard (1961)
The legendary performance artist Allan Kaprow created the interactive piece Yard in 1961. The installation filled the Martha Jackson Gallery with car tires and other objects wrapped in tar paper. The audience was encouraged to climb the tires and move them around freely.
Kaprow is credited with pioneering the concept of “Happenings” in performance art. The Routledge Performance Archive defines Happenings as “cross-disciplinary non-text-based events that utilize all media and means at an artist’s disposal, often from outside the maker’s own field, to blur boundaries between art and life.”
In 2009, three artists recreated Yard as part of an event celebrating the opening of the Hauser & Wirth Gallery in New York.
4. Bobby Baker’s Cook Dems (1990)
Bobby Baker, a British performance artist, uses food as a medium for her art. Her well-known performances, such as Kitchen Show and Drawing on a Mother’s Experience, are celebrated for their sharp, satirical critiques of gender roles and domestic life. However, it’s in Cook Dems that she truly leans into the eccentricity of her craft.
In a later piece titled How to Live (2004), Baker takes a frozen pea through an 11-step recovery process based on cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)—therapies she herself underwent in the late 1990s. In an interview with the Guardian, she candidly discusses her struggles with mental health, self-harm, and her time in the Pine Street psychiatric hospital.
Cook Dems is performed live, where Bobby Baker decorates a man in a speedo as though he were a cake. The man stands still, expressionless, following Baker’s instructions as she paints him and smears icing over him.
3. Senga Nengudi’s R.S.V.P.
Senga Nengudi is an African-American visual artist with an extensive and remarkable career. According to MOMA, her journey began alongside other pioneering black avant-garde artists from New York and Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. She exhibited in renowned galleries like Just Above Midtown (JAM) and the Pearl C. Woods Gallery in LA, laying the groundwork for future black women in both visual and performance arts.
R.S.V.P. is a collection of performances and installations featuring “previously worn, dark-hued pantyhose, partially knotted into heavy, sand-filled sacks, then stretched and affixed to the wall in various shifting formations.” These installations became interactive vessels, where Nengudi and collaborators such as Maren Hassinger would entangle themselves and engage with the pantyhose.
Honorable Mentions
Though we had to limit this list to ten, here are some honorable mentions that almost made the cut (just to keep things a bit more family-friendly):
- Pope L. performing Eating the Wall Street Journal (2000)
- Cabaret Voltaire (1916) by Various Artists
- Trans-fixed (1974) by Chris Burden
- Self Obliteration by Ron Athey
- Testicle Banquet (2012) by Mao Sugiyama
- Rhythm 5 by Marina Abramović
2. Wafaa Bilal’s …and Counting (2010)
Wafaa Bilal is a prominent Iraqi-American performance artist and art professor. After his brother Haji was killed by a missile in Kufa, Iraq, Bilal began to explore the deep emotional pain and trauma of war through his art. Other works, like 3rdi, in which a camera was surgically implanted into the back of his head, are intended to spark a discussion about the pervasive nature of American surveillance.
In his 24-hour performance titled “…and Counting,” Bilal undergoes a tattooing process in front of a group of visitors at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York. This performance not only became a piece of art but also helped raise $105,000 to fund scholarships for Iraqi and American students who had lost family members in the war.
1. Lukas Avendaño
Lukas Avendaño’s art transcends description through words alone. It is a live performance that incorporates dance, movement, sound, and props. Avendaño, a Muxe artist and anthropologist born in Oaxaca, delves into themes of sexuality, gender, and Muxe identity in their work. A significant aspect of their performances includes partial nudity, with the body serving as a vessel for personal expression.
According to Siwarmyu, “Muxes are a community of indigenous people who are assigned male at birth but take on traditional women’s roles, presenting not as women, but as muxes.” Furthermore, Muxe is a gender identity unique to Be’ena’ Za’a (Zapotec) culture.
