The Performance Art of Marilyn Arsem

Marilyn Arsem has created over 180 works of performance art since 1975, and in the process has helped to define the very genre. This monograph of her life’s work is the first of its kind to embrace the opportunity afforded by the e-book to present durational, live art. It grants access to privately commissioned videos and slideshows of Arsem’s past performances, as well as newly conducted audio interviews with the artist. Arsem defines performance art on her own terms in a preface, and an introduction and entries on selected works by MFA curators contextualize her practice and recurring themes, which include women’s work, cultures of violence, natural resources, and time and mortality. The multimedia-enhanced e-book, which features 8 videos, 4 audio clips and 21 slideshows, thus celebrates an artist who has spent her career pushing the boundaries of artistic experience, and at the same time pushes beyond established boundaries of how a book can present performance.