Leigh Bowry

Leigh Bowry was a performance artist from Australia who was one of the first to create a female persona to use in his artwork. He transformed himself into a completely different person to perform and his influence echoed through the fashion, music and movie industry. Bowry became a well known figure bringing differnt light to what a performance artist can do, and the changing of oneself to become a new person in your art.

Some of his performances include him giving birth center stage to his partner who was dressed as a large baby covered in placenta. Bowry took performance art in a new direction with his novel ideas for transofrming yourself into the artist, or piece of art you wish to be. He showed us we can all deliver self-expression in any way we like, and we can do it to better ourselves and others.

Orlan

Many of the works by Orlan are not only shocking, but different from anything else in art. From her first works posing nude with manequins I thought she was a weirdo, but to me the most extreme of all her works is the plastic surgery she had to put horns on her head. Why would she want horns anyway? To look like...what? To me, it is a little extreme to transform your body as a piece of art, and to go under the knife in a life-threatening procedure to look like an animal with horns on your head. However, if its going to keep her top on, I think she's better off these days doing things of that nature than still to be posing with her boobs out when shes like 60.

Joseph Beuys

Beuys is considered one of the most influential artist of the 20th century. Not only was he an artist, but he was a social philosopher, humanist and anthropologist. Beuys aimed to help sculpt our social ideals, and give way for all people to stand up and voice their opinion in any way they choose. While addressing political instability, Beuys created art with a message and meaning. By taking art in a different way, Beuys helped pave the road for any artist trying to create something of their own and reflective of themselves or the culture on which they want to comment. 

     He was one of the first artists to setp outside the box and cahlenge what people called "art". Beuys was creative and thought in a new way about what is possible in the art world, and what would send a message through a different way. Beuys was truly a pioneer in not only performance art, but many other areas as well.