Expanded from the 2014 eponymous conference organized by Para Site, Is the Living Body the Last Thing Left Alive? Is dedicated to the renewed encounter between dance and performance and the institutions of global contemporary art, making one of the most significant developments in the art field over the second decade of our century. This book proposes that a “new performance turn” has emerged and looks at its correlations with other shifts in practices, discourses, and broader society. While the resources associated with contemporary dance and museum programs make these phenomena primarily visible in the centers of cultural power, these developments are seen around the world. Moreover, a loosely related history of performance as part of visual art has been written for a longer period of time and in geographically dispersed contexts, often making its own turning points and periodizations. The authors and artists unravel these interconnected stories, and in the process point out and extend the boundaries of what is possible in the paradigm of art and performance today.

Please email info@para-site.art to place an order.