performance art

American  

noun

1. a collaborative art form originating in the 1970s as a fusion of several artistic media, as painting, film, video, music, drama, and dance, and deriving in part from the 1960s performance happenings.

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performance art British  

noun

1. a theatrical presentation that incorporates various art forms, such as dance, sculpture, music, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• performance artist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of performance art

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

That is, of course, assuming there is some kind of larger strategy in play here and this isn’t some kind of performance art.

From Salon • May 12, 2026

“For this initiative we’re asking, ‘How can we connect the history of performance art to contemporary artists?’”

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

Three years later, in a highly theatrical piece of performance art, he staged a live destruction of his Girl with Balloon at Sotheby's auction house - moments after it was sold for £1m.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Across the tent, in a display of performance art, Amanda Ross-Ho continuously pushes a giant, inflatable Earth around a soccer field, symbolic of “the labor it takes to just keep things going all the time.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

“Yeah, then we’re entering postfood, performance art territory. Which is not pathetic. I appreciate the thought, but please, follow my lead tonight.”

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner