Abstract
The article is devoted to problems of performance art as a manifestation of actionism. It is a continuation of the research «Happening and its place on the map of the terminology system of actionism» (published [9]). This research explores poetics, aesthetics and artistic means inherent for performance art. The author traces changes in the form and substance of the performance art in the period 1950–2010 and the corresponding metamorphoses in verbal definitions.Specificity of the performance art in the personal spontaneous author’s gesture that has a social and communicative significance. Understanding and mode of perception of an artistic work was changed under its influence. The performance art appeared as a phenomenon, in its modern sense, during the 1950s, but received the name and verbal definition only during the 1970s. However, already in the 1980s, it significantly modified its form and semantics, which led to new verbal definitions among researchers. After another metamorphosis in the 1990s, the phenomenon could only be conventionally named performance art. Most researchers began to use the expression «performative practices» and in this article the author substantiates the name «actionism of spectacularity» and proposes the classification of its manifestations: the general (integral) spectacularity is the reality on the background of which «actionism of spectacularity» exists. The manifestations of the latter differ on the basis of mass or individuality, by targeting different audiences and by measuring functionality. This is «author’s spectacularity» of social activists and dissidents, «professional spectacularity» of political consultants, collective «game spectacularity» of flashmobsGeneral spectacularity is becoming more and more important in culture and communication, it gradually supersedes all other forms and ways of communication, turns into an independent audio-visual universal «language» with signs of sensuality and alogism. Actionism of spectacularity produces new effective forms of communication, which are then used in all spheres of individual or mass (through media) communication. Preferably, these are visual or audio-visual forms of communication, which promotes to their convincing among the peoples of different countries. Actionism of spectacularity contributes to the formation of public opinion about the situation of general spectacularity and promotes the adaptation of people to this new reality of the XXI century.The article contains a brief overview of performance art’s development in Ukraine.