Against authority: Performance art in 1980s China

Abstract

This article investigates the origins of performance art in China. Early forms of performance art showed a rebellious attitude against authority in the context of social and cultural change in the 1980s. This article examines the social and art historical contexts of xingwei yishu in China and its development as an art form. Through analysing early performance practices, particularly the art group Concept 21, it discusses how performance art was used as a practical approach to reform artistic creation and reception and subvert dominant cultural norms. Given China’s hierarchical art system, this article also addresses the factors that created spaces for radical performances under the art bureaucracy, including administrative reform, ambiguous guidelines, art education reform and exhibition policy.