The definitive pictorial overview of contemporary performance art. Performance Now tracks the evolution of live art across six continents from the beginning of the 21st century. It reveals how performance, so essential to art history in the 20th century, has become an increasingly important medium for communicating ideas globally in the new millennium. Renowned authority RoseLee Goldberg discusses key themes in the practice of performance art, from beauty, global citizenship, and political action to the interaction of performance with film and technology, dance, theater, and architecture. Each chapter is accompanied by illustrated profiles of the most renowned performance artists worldwide, accompanied by extensive captions that assess the significance of specific works for the practice of international performance art. A visually captivating and stimulating overview of this most diverse art form, Performance Now is the default reference for artists, art students, and historians, as well as for viewers of avant-garde theater and film.