The Art of Living: An Oral History of Performance Art (2017)
By: Dominic Johnson
Publisher:Palgrave Macmillan

Across a series of twelve in-depth interviews with a diverse range of major artists, Dominic Johnson presents a new oral history of performance art. From uses of body modification and physical extremity, to the creation of all-encompassing personae, to performance pieces lasting months or years, these artists have provoked and explored the vital limits between art and life. Their discussions with Johnson give us a glimpse of their artistic motivations, preoccupations, processes, and contexts. Despite the diversity of art forms and experiences featured, common threads weave between the interviews: love, friendship, commitment, death and survival.

Each interview is preceded by an overview of the artist’s work, and the volume itself is introduced by a thoughtful critical essay on performance art and oral history.

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