“The book analyzes performance art, defining it as a genre characterized by the use of unconventional media, a transitory nature, and a difficulty in sustaining a presence in the art market. It emerged at a specific—albeit hard-to-pinpoint—moment, marking a decisive break from what came before.

Thus, while traditional art prioritized the object over theory, this model establishes a balance that can shift toward extreme scenarios where theory outweighs the object (as a visual image). This creates an effect in which the receiver is no longer passive, but instead participates more actively in the artwork.

(…) Perhaps we could say that art and psychoanalysis share a common imperative: neither should disengage from the subjectivity of its era. The author draws a parallel between Lacan and the artist, noting that both can appropriate elements to create, to mock, to parody… to dematerialize.

(…) What this book emphasizes, from an artistic perspective, is that artists experimenting with this genre tend to produce works deeply connected to their contexts and sociocultural environments. In this sense, Latin American performance art—and specifically that of Ecuador, which Damián Toro highlights in particular—bears a political mark that historically distinguishes it.”

From the Foreword by Déborah Fleischer