Stuart Brisley is a pioneering multi-media and performance artist who developed performance art as a form of social action in the 1960s and 1970s. This book assesses his seminal influence on British art through a focus on his lifelong engagement with the histories and imaginaries of revolution.Linking revolutionary history with material from a critical dialogue established with Brisley over the last decade, the book recognises Brisley's corpus as a fascinating stage for addressing important questions about the relationship of art, politics and history. How do we make sense of politically committed art in a contemporary context where revolution has supposedly died or is deemed impossible? What can the afterlives of performance art tell us about the historical past, including the promises and contradictions of revolutionary time?
Sanja Perovic is Professor of French Literature and Cultural History at King’s College London
Introduction1 Into day one of the revolution2 Ghost dances in history and performance3 Revolutionising the living past: the Peterlee Project4 The monument and revolutionary time: the Cenotaph Project5 Time after history: collections, archives, museums6 Portrait of the artist en abîmeIndex