The re-issue of Lea Vergines groundbreaking text on Body Art, with a new introduction. When it appeared in 1974, it was the first book to witness the birth and growth of one of the most singular and controversial artistic manifestations of our century, Body Art. The book contains Lea Vergines thoughtful insight on the golden age of the Body Art movement, the magic Seventies, and several writings by the artists themselves. Arisen and developed between the Sixties and the Seventies, Body Art embraces the artistic research that uses the body as expressive material: the body is no longer interpreted and represented by art materials, but becomes itself actor and material of the work of art, subject and expressive instrument. Featuring a large documentation of films, videotapes, happenings, actions, performances, the book by Lea Vergine (an acclaimed contemporary art critic) analyses in clear, compelling terms, the evolution of this artistic phenomenon through the works of sixty artists, including Gina Pane, Gilbert & George, Ben Vautier, Giovanni Anselmo, Richard Serra, Franco Vaccari, expounders of Body Art who have worked for years with and on the body, as well as artists for whom the use of the body has been a key moment, but only sporadic of their career. 250 illustrations