performance art

noun

: 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
performance artist noun

Examples of performance art in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web At that time, all the art sort of melded together—performance art, graffiti art, dance. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 16 June 2024 Cynthia Carr, a longtime former culture writer at The Village Voice, has written books on artist David Wojnarowicz, performance art, and a 1930 lynching in her Indiana hometown. The Week Us, theweek, 14 May 2024 The Trunk Space: A meeting place for the culturally curious and a space for art, music, experimental theater, performance art, circus side shows, vaudeville and more. Meredith G. White, The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2024 This new festival unites burlesque and alternative performance art communities in Cincinnati, Dayton, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 24 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for performance art 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'performance art.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of performance art was in 1971

Dictionary Entries Near performance art

Cite this Entry

“Performance art.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/performance%20art. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.

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