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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In 1998, Alexander McQueen staged a frenetic moment of performance art when two robots spray-painted a dress worn by model Shalom Harlow. Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 21 May 2025 Maybe Belichick has decided to turn his life into contemporary performance art. Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 18 May 2025 But season one degenerated into self-indulgent performance art when Fielder chose to place himself at the center of the action as part of an extended exploration of his readiness to be a parent. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2025 Fame itself became a performance art for him, as well as a way to prove that there was no limit to the worlds that hip-hop could conquer or the spoils that Mr. Combs could earn. Ben Sisario, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for performance art

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

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

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Cite this Entry

“Performance art.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/performance%20art. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

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