Body, which is a concrete appearance of artistic existence, became a target of the artistic creation in the 20th century, predominantly symbolized the representation of identity within the art practices of female artists and as a result of the action of the artist turned into a performance. In the post-modern age where art experienced a metamorphosis, the new art has now been based on thought, while the artist has begun to use his/her body as an object of art so as to pass the thought onto the receiver and to make enquiries on political, psychological, economic, sexual and social identity. Within this context, the leading names such as Shigeko Kubota, Marina Abramoviç Carolee Schneemann, Ana Mendieta, Gina Pane, Hannah Wilke, Chris Burden, Yoko Ono, Yves Klein, Orlan, Stelarc, Claude Cahun, Yasumasa Morimura, Barbara Kruger and David Nebreda have transformed their artistic discourses into a performance within the framework of subject-society. According to Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptual development habitus, body which is molded together with the society in which the individual resides cannot be dissociated from the society. Therefore, the individual forms the societal habitus along with the objective existence assimilated within his/her body. This research in this respect aims to analyze within the scope of Bordieu’s habitus concept the indication of the process aimed at the art and the artist, whose subject has been the human body throughout the history. The research sample has been chosen in accordance with the purposive sampling from among the avant-garde representatives of body and performance art in the world and evaluated in line with the bodily actions of these artists, society-body relationship and the manifesting indications.
Key Words: Performance art, Pierre Bourdieu, habitus, society, body