The Art of Living

'A must-read. Johnson is a sensitive and well-informed interviewer, who manages to solicit from his conversation partners extensive and frank accounts. They remind us that for these artists performance is not just an ephemeral act but a life-long practice that has profound material and immaterial consequences for those who commit to it.' - Heike Roms, Aberystwyth University, UK 'Dominic Johnson demonstrates admirably how asking performance artists the right questions can be a highly effective critical research tool. Acutely attuned to broader issues of contemporary live art and performance culture and its histories, as well as intimately acquainted with the distinctive practices of his interlocutors, he succeeds in drawing out rich oral testimonies from a range of landmark figures which form their very own, immensely engaging living history of performance art.' - Nicholas Whybrow, University of Warwick, UK

Dominic Johnson is Senior Lecturer in Drama at Queen Mary, University of London. He is Assistant Editor of Contemporary Theatre Review and is the author of Glorious Catastrophe: Jack Smith, Performance and Visual Culture and Theatre and the Visual.

Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- 1. The Escape Artist: An Interview with Ulay.- 2. Hiding in Plain Sight: An Interview with Anne Bean.- 3. Boxing Clever: An Interview with Kipper Kids.- 4. Positive Surrender: An Interview with BREYER P-ORRIDGE.- 5. Slave to Love: An Interview with Sheree Rose.- 6. The Designated Mourner: An Interview with Penny Arcade.- 7. Capricorn on Fire: An Interview with Ann Magnuson.- 8. The Accidental Goddess: An Interview with Joey Arias.- 9. Perverse Martyrologies: An Interview with Ron Athey.- 10. The Skin of the Theatre: An Interview with Julia Bardsley.- 11. You Made Me Love You: An Interview with David Hoyle.- 12: Held: An Interview with Adrian Howells.- Epilogue.- Further Reading.- Bibliography.