Art as Activism: Political Activism

Why Actionism Became a Defining Trend of the 20th Century

Actionism emerged as a pivotal art form in the 20th century, driven by several powerful cultural and social forces:

1. Social and Political Upheaval: The period was defined by world wars, revolutions, and profound social crises. In this climate of turmoil, traditional art forms felt insufficient. Actionism provided a means for immediate, direct, and often visceral political statement, mirroring the chaos and urgency of the times.

1. Fatigue with Classical Form: A growing number of artists actively sought to break down the entrenched boundaries between art and life. They rejected the idea of art as a precious, static object to be displayed in museums. Instead, they embraced the fleeting moment of performance, arguing that true art was not a product to be consumed but an experience, an action, or a process.

1. The Rise of Mass Media: The rapid growth of television, photojournalism, and mass culture created a new arena for art. Actions were perfectly suited for this new landscape; they were often brief, spectacular, and highly photogenic. This made them an incredibly effective tool for capturing media attention and disseminating an artistic or political position to a mass audience far beyond the traditional art world.

1. The Desire for Direct Impact: Actionism allowed artists to bypass the conventional gatekeepers of galleries and critics. By taking their work directly into the streets and public spaces, they could engage with—and provoke—a diverse public directly. This democratization of art sought to create an immediate reaction and make art a potent, unavoidable force in everyday life.

Precursors: Were There Actionists Before the 20th Century?

While Actionism as a defined artistic movement is a product of the 20th century, its strategies of using art for public provocation and political critique have clear historical precedents. Throughout the 16th to 19th centuries, several practices shared actionism’s spirit, though they differed in form and intent.

• Satirical Printmaking: In 18th-century England, artists such as James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson employed viciously humorous engravings to ridicule monarchs, politicians, and social conventions. These works were mass-produced and widely circulated, functioning as a potent form of visual propaganda and public shaming.

• Agitprop Painting: During the French Revolution, painters such as Jacques-Louis David created works designed to serve the revolutionary cause. His paintings, like The Death of Marat, were not merely depictions of events but were conceived as powerful political tools to inspire patriotism, martyrdom, and collective action.

• Religious and Political Allegory: Artists of the Reformation, such as those following Martin Luther, created woodcuts and paintings that directly attacked the Catholic Church and its corrupt authorities. These images were explicit instruments of ideological struggle, designed to sway public opinion and mobilize followers.

However, these historical examples are best understood as forms of visual propaganda and criticism. They primarily resulted in static objects—a print, a painting, a pamphlet. The core element of 20th-century Actionism—the live, often unrepeatable event happening in real time and space, with the artist’s body as the medium—was not yet present. Therefore, we can consider these earlier practices as important forerunners that laid the groundwork for actionist strategies, but not as Actionism itself.

Propaganda, Actionism, and Political Provocation: Three Languages of Power

When societies face crises, art and politics often collide. The struggle to shape public opinion has produced three distinct yet intertwined forms of expression: propaganda, actionism, and political provocation. Each reflects a different way of speaking to power — and to the public.

• Propaganda: The Voice of Authority

Propaganda is the most familiar tool of persuasion, rooted in repetition, symbolism, and emotional appeal. States and political movements have long relied on it to promote ideology, whether through monumental posters, patriotic films, or orchestrated slogans. Its purpose is not dialogue, but compliance — to speak with one voice and suppress ambiguity.

• Actionism: The Artistic Counterpoint

In contrast, actionism uses the language of art to provoke thought rather than impose belief. Emerging from avant-garde movements of the 20th century, actionist performances occupy public space, disrupt routine, and demand reflection. Unlike propaganda, they thrive on ambiguity, leaving room for interpretation. A body covered in paint, a monument draped in fabric, or a silent gesture in a city square may not dictate meaning — but they force the viewer to confront questions.

• Political Provocation: Scandal as Strategy

Political provocation lies somewhere between politics and performance. It deliberately violates norms to create scandal, often with the aim of drawing media attention. Sometimes it intersects with actionism — as with performances by groups like Pussy Riot — but it does not always carry an artistic dimension. Provocation is about visibility; actionism, ideally, about critical engagement.

Transformation in Times of Crisis

In moments of upheaval, these three languages adapt. Propaganda intensifies, flooding media with simplified messages. Actionism migrates to new platforms — from streets to balconies to livestreams. Political provocation escalates, feeding on heightened tensions. As one art critic noted, “In crisis, gestures don’t disappear — they mutate, reminding us that every society negotiates its conflicts not only through words and laws, but through symbols and actions.”

Actionism in the Age of Epidemics

How the COVID-19 pandemic redefined performance art

When the world came to a standstill in 2020, art did not. The global lockdown forced artists to abandon galleries and theaters, searching instead for new stages: digital platforms, balconies, and the everyday intimacy of online communication. As The Guardian and The Atlantic noted at the time, the pandemic transformed private spaces into arenas of public expression, creating unprecedented formats for performance art.

Europe: From Intimacy to Public Stage

At the very start of the lockdown, Marina Abramović recorded her video message “Italy, I love you”. Critics interpreted this gesture as a symbolic act of solidarity — a reminder that performance can reach audiences even without physical presence.

Meanwhile, Italy witnessed the rise of the now-famous “balcony performances”. Neighbors staged impromptu concerts and poetry readings from their windows, turning the silence of quarantine into a shared urban stage. These ephemeral acts of community support were widely covered by global media and later analyzed as examples of spontaneous, participatory performance art.

Artist Leni Smoragdova, in her project Transaction in Selfie.

Street Art as a Symbol of Solidarity

Across Europe and the USA, street artists responded with powerful symbols. Banksy’s Game Changer (2020) — a simple yet moving tribute to medical workers — was gifted to Southampton Hospital and later auctioned for charity. Art critics praised the work for its clarity: a boy discarding his superhero toys in favor of a nurse in a protective mask. The piece, widely circulated online, quickly became an icon of pandemic solidarity.

China: Artistic Resistance and Memory

In China, Ai Weiwei created the MASK project (2020), producing limited-edition face masks with activist designs. Sold online through eBay for Charity, the initiative raised funds for organizations like Human Rights Watch and Médecins Sans Frontières.

That same year, Ai released his documentary Coronation — one of the earliest artistic attempts to capture life inside Wuhan during lockdown. Critics in Artforum and other outlets described it as a stark testimony to state control, but also as a human document of fear, resilience, and everyday survival.

USA: Zoom as a Stage

The American performance scene migrated almost entirely online. Theaters and independent groups staged productions through livestreams and Zoom. What was once a tool for corporate meetings became a stage for experimental art.

Platforms such as HowlRound and WHYY documented these efforts, framing video-conferencing windows as a new artistic environment. Scholars of performance later argued that these experiments blurred the boundaries between domestic space, digital interface, and theater — creating a hybrid language that still influences artists today.

A New Map of Actionism

The pandemic revealed that performance art is not bound by walls. Balconies became public theaters, Instagram and Zoom evolved into stages, and artworks like Game Changer or MASK turned into global symbols of care and resistance.

As one critic in Frieze observed, COVID-19 redefined the very notion of presence in performance: “It taught us that art can survive, even thrive, when its audience is everywhere and nowhere at once.”

Symbolic Gestures During Wars: Monuments, Street Actions, Graffiti

During times of military conflict, artists and activists often resort to symbolic gestures. They transform monuments, reclaim urban space, and create graffiti to protest and remind society of the cost of war.

Monuments

• David Černý, Pink Tank (Prague, 1991) — The artist repainted a Soviet tank monument pink. This bold intervention became a symbol of liberation from the militaristic legacy of the past.
• Berlin, Victory Monument (2009) — An action that temporarily draped the column in red fabric, symbolizing the bloody sacrifices of war.
• London, Trafalgar Square (2004) — Anti-war banners and installations appeared on Nelson’s Column as part of protests against the Iraq War.

Street Actions

• Joseph Beuys (Germany, 1960s–1970s) — Performances that used military materials such as felt, fat, and symbols, directly referencing the trauma and memory of World War II.
• Pussy Riot, Punk Prayer (Russia, 2012) — A performance that became both an anti-war and political gesture, criticizing militarization and state repression.
• Chris Burden, Doomed (USA, 1975) — A performance in which the artist lay beneath a glass sheet, interpreted as a metaphor for human vulnerability in the face of the war machine.

Graffiti and Street Art

• Banksy, CND Soldiers (London, 2003) — Graffiti depicting two soldiers painting the symbol of nuclear disarmament, created in response to anti-Iraq War protests.
• Jean-Michel Basquiat (New York, 1980s) — Graffiti works incorporating military symbols and critiques of the arms race during the Cold War.
• Shepard Fairey (USA, 2000s) — A series of anti-war posters and graffiti produced during the Iraq War, reinterpreting images of power and propaganda.

China: Challenging the State and Traditions

In China, political actionism often emerges in confrontation with censorship and strict state control. Artists employ radical forms of expression to question both the system and long-standing traditions.

• Ai Weiwei — One of the most renowned actionists in the world, Ai is known for his sharp criticism of the state apparatus and its mechanisms of censorship. Works such as Sunflower Seeds have become enduring symbols of collective resistance and solidarity.
• Zhang Huan — An artist who uses his body as the primary instrument of protest. His performances frequently explore themes of memory, trauma, and suffering, making the physical body a site of both vulnerability and defiance.

Europe: Radical Practices and Social Experiments

European actionism is closely linked to the history of protest movements, radical art, and the philosophy of freedom. Here, artists often speak out against political violence, repression, and bureaucracy, using their bodies and actions as instruments of resistance.

• Joseph Beuys (Germany) — A legendary figure of actionism, Beuys proclaimed that “every man is an artist.” His performances combined political and social engagement, aiming at the democratization of society and rethinking the role of art in civic life.
• Günther Brus (Austria) — One of the leading representatives of Viennese Actionism, Brus used his own body and radical gestures as forms of protest against oppressive structures. His performances challenged notions of morality, discipline, and authority.
• Otto Mühl (Austria) — A co-founder of the Viennese Actionism movement, Mühl staged provocative performances that exposed the hypocrisy of social and cultural norms, pushing the boundaries of art and morality.
• Marina Abramović (Serbia) — Her performances often explore themes of power, violence, and resistance. Through endurance-based works, Abramović has shaped a new understanding of the political body and its capacity for confrontation.
• Santiago Sierra (Spain) — Known for stark and confrontational works, Sierra criticizes capitalism, exploitation, and social inequality. His projects often involve marginalized individuals, highlighting systemic injustice and the commodification of human labor.

Actionism in Cinema

Cinema has often documented or reimagined actionism, capturing its radical spirit and political charge. Several films stand out as key references for understanding performance and protest in the moving image:

• “Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present” (2012) — A documentary that follows the legendary action artist during her major MoMA retrospective in New York, exploring her endurance-based practice and its impact on audiences.
• “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer” (2013) — A film documenting the Russian feminist punk collective, their iconic performance Punk Prayer, and the political trial that followed, which sparked international debates about freedom of expression.
• “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” (2012) — A documentary about the Chinese dissident artist, portraying his political activism, confrontations with censorship, and the role of social media in his global influence.
• “The Square” (2017, dir. Ruben Östlund) — A satirical feature film about the contemporary art world, its institutions, and the absurdities of socially engaged art. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the film uses actionist strategies as both subject and narrative device.