Contemporary Art, 1960s–present

Conceptual Art and Other Modern Art Movements

What is body art?

In body art, the artist’s body becomes the medium. Body art overlaps with many other forms and styles, such as performance art. It became popular during the 1960s, likely as a reaction against the cold austerity of minimalism. Examples of body art include Bruce Nauman’s photograph, Self-Portrait as a Fountain (1966–1967), in which the artist’s body takes on the characteristics of a fountain as water squirts from his mouth. An example of conceptual body art is Piero Manzoni’s Living Sculpture (1961), in which the artist signed the bodies of living women.



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