Provocation In Popular Culture

This essay discusses provocation in popular culture, focusing on the work of key artists Leo Bassi, Sacha Baron Cohen, Banksy, Archaos, Pussy Riot, and others. The essay argues that these artists use comedy and playfulness to subvert the antagonistic relationship between the public and political provocateurs, and that their work can be applied to teaching and creative practice.

Provocation in Popular Culture is a study of provocative artists who use comedy and playfulness to subvert. Bim Mason draws on his decades of practice as a performer, director and teacher in the fields of street theatre and circus to inform his analysis of the work of key artists Leo Bassi, Sacha Baron Cohen, Banksy, Archaos, Pussy Riot and others. Unlike political provocateurs who are serious and confrontational these cultural provocateurs attract and animate the wider public with a lighter tone that takes an otherwise antagonistic relationship into a more creative, populist space. Mason also shows how the provocative model can be applied to teaching and creative practice, working with individuals and improvisational methods.