Resumo:
This thesis aims to present performance art both in its being held and remaining in the
world via a collaborative flow between actors, artists, audiences, producers, public
policy, and both traditional (e.g. galleries and museums) and non-traditional (e.g.
streets and public spaces in general) art spaces. The terms to hold and remain are used
both in the sense of its being sustained throughout a duration as a live event, and its
longevity through traces such as photos, videos, written instructions and its material
remains etc. These elements were gathered into an empirical research study, realized
mainly in Brazil, but also during brief periods in Chile and Peru, and later in London,
where the time devoted to research was more extensive, mostly consisting of
documentary research at LADA – Live Art Development Agency. From the theoretical
point of view, the approach aligns itself with the newer developments in sociology of
art, but also highlights some insufficiencies of this sociology in thinking about
performance art. Consequently, it has become necessary to explore concepts from
outside the area, not only in sociology itself and anthropology (only making some
indications regarding that issue), but also from philosophy, in terms of the resources it
has recently offered the social sciences. Authors from the field of the arts were invited to discuss this sociological study.
