A single dramatic overhead shot captures the artist covered in a viscous mud, struggling to free his left leg from the thickly piled muck atop which he lies.
Conceptual and Performance Art: c. 1960 – 1975
Gordon Matta-Clark’s interventions explored modernist architecture and urban decay.
Gordon Matta-Clark, Splitting
Sometimes art is paintings, and sometimes it's a chair. Why?
The Case for Conceptual Art
The artist asks us if maintaining can be as important as creating.
Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Washing/Tracks/Maintenance: Outside (July 23, ...
Inserting live bodies into artworks unsettles the delusion that a universal perspective exists.
The Case for Performance Art
Conceptualism questions art’s role as a showcase for the creative genius and technical abilities of the artist.
Conceptual Art: An Introduction
Kosuth wrote that “being an artist now means to question the nature of art.” Take a seat to find out how he did it.
Joseph Kosuth, One and Three Chairs
Yoko Ono issued instructive prompts in both her art practice and anti-war activism.
The Case for Yoko Ono
Kusama’s experiments with infinity have earned her regard in New York, Japan, and the world over.
Yayoi Kusama (Tate)
Haacke documents the provenance of a Seurat sketch held in a bank vault to lay bare the commodification of art.
Hans Haacke, Seurat’s “Les Poseuses” (small version), ...
Is staring into the eyes of one of the world’s most renowned performance artists scary? Transcendent? Boring?
Marina Abramović, The Artist is Present
Baldessari adopts a familiar school-room punishment as a promise to himself.
John Baldessari, I Will Not Make Any ...
In this stalkery piece, Acconci questions space, time, and the human body on the streets of New York.
Vito Acconci, Following Piece
What happens when art intersects with life?
Performance Art: An Introduction
These metal balls draw attention to the economic system embedded in art, and the vanity of its viewers.
Yayoi Kusama, Narcissus Garden
Using the medium of mass culture, Nauman brought high-brow questions about the role of art to broader society.
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
