On the Compatibility of Body Art and Museums
Abstract
The chapter examines Bodyworks at the MCA Chicago in 1975, the first museum exhibition dedicated to body art. Bodyworks played a pivotal role in shaping exhibition strategies for body- and time-based art through its hybrid approach that bridged liveness and mediation. The chapter also explores key elements of a uniquely American perspective on body art, characterized by a rational and conceptual emphasis on media and materials. The diverse strategies of mediation, coupled with the intensive collaboration between body artists and galleries, indicate that body art was conceived from the outset as an art form intended for museum display.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Art
Politics
and Modernism
Libraries and Information Services
Museums and Cultural Heritage
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 85–131
- Publication date
- 3 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter