Performance Art and Revolution: Stuart Brisley's Cuts in Time - Paperback

by Sanja Perovic (Author)

Stuart Brisley is a pioneering multi-media and performance artist who developed performance art as a form of social action in the 1960s and 1970s. This book assesses his seminal influence on British art through a focus on his lifelong engagement with the histories and imaginaries of revolution.

Linking revolutionary history with material from a critical dialogue established with Brisley over the last decade, the book recognises Brisley's corpus as a fascinating stage for addressing important questions about the relationship of art, politics and history. How do we make sense of politically committed art in a contemporary context where revolution has supposedly died or is deemed impossible? What can the afterlives of performance art tell us about the historical past, including the promises and contradictions of revolutionary time?

Back Jacket

Stuart Brisley is a pioneering English multi-media artist who developed performance as a form of social action in the 1960s and 1970s. This book assesses his seminal influence on British art through a focus on his lifelong engagement with the histories and imaginaries of revolution.

Linking key aspects of revolutionary history with material gathered from a critical dialogue established between the author and Brisley over many years, the book views revolution as a rupture in time. It uses the 'trope' of the French Revolution to investigate Brisley's engagement with the idea of revolution as an ongoing and potentially permanent process. Brisley's work thus becomes a fascinating stage for addressing the relations between art, politics and historical discourse today.

Performance art and revolution demonstrates how we can continue to value political art even when the idea of revolution has supposedly died or is no longer deemed possible. It also provides a new historical model for situating the 'afterlives' of performance art, demonstrating how they can be used to reveal latent aspects of the past, including the historical experience of revolution.

Author Biography

Sanja Perovic is Professor of French Literature and Cultural History at King's College London