Framing New Art: Performances by the Tribe of Avant-Garde

Performance art is a genre in which artists use their bodies as a medium of expression to create physical presence. Performances revolve around the ambition to create something that transcends existing frames of what is seen as art; its raison d’être is novelty and change. But how is new art established? This article empirically addresses this question by studying performance artists who take part in performance art festivals organized around the world. Drawing on fieldwork and employing Goffman’s frame analysis combined with the notion of transnational tribe, which refers to a mobile community of artists and audiences who travel across countries for performance events, it is shown under what conditions performances are accepted as new art. Artists create performances at organized art festivals, which positions their activities within the broader frames of art. The study details how artists may be appreciated for ‘doing things well,’ but new art emerges under the condition of ambiguity of frames creating a singular experience. This performance can be collectively legitimized within the tribe as new art, reshaping the broader frame of art within the tribe, entering their shared knowledge, and influencing future perceptions of what can be considered original or new.