Unlimited Action: The Performance of Extremity in the 1970s

The book "Unlimited Action" explores the limits imposed on art and life through performance art in the 1970s, featuring six artists who challenged the boundaries of aesthetics and artistic practice. It offers a counter-history of actions to rethink and rediscover the history of contemporary art and performance.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 28 December 2018
Publisher: Manchester University Press

Unlimited action delves into the boundaries imposed upon art and life, exploring the ways in which artists have challenged, subverted, or otherwise reshaped the realm of aesthetics and artistic practice. It examines the concept of "performing extremity" as practices that push the boundaries of performance and art history, particularly during the fertile and visionary decade of the 1970s. In his comprehensive account, Dominic Johnson recounts and analyzes game-changing performance events by six influential artists: Kerry Trengove, Ulay, Genesis P-Orridge, Anne Bean, the Kipper Kids, and Stephen Cripps. Through intimate encounters with these artists and their works, as well as a broader contextual milieu of artists and their creations, Johnson weaves a counter-history of actions, offering a fresh narrative of performance art in the 1970s. This reimagining aims to rethink and rediscover the history of contemporary art and performance, shedding light on the transformative power of artistic expression in shaping our understanding of the world.

Weight: 530g
Dimension: 242 x 166 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780719091605