This updated edition of a pioneering book first published in 1979, is supplemented by a definitive account of the current technological, political and aesthetic shifts in performance art that mark its transition to the 21st century. Performance art is now at the forefront of contemporary art world-wide. An astonishing increase in the number of works and venues testifies to this art form being the chosen medium for articulating "difference", whether dealing with issues of identity, multiculturalism or globalism. The desire for direct engagement with today's most prominent artists explains the wide appeal of performance art to the expanding audiences for new art. Artists such as Mariko Mori, Paul McCarthy, Matthew Barney and Forced Entertainment can now be seen in the context of previous innovators, from the Dadaists to Laurie Anderson.