Provocation in Popular Culture Bim Mason (Circomedia, UK) 9781138852501

What role can provocation play in the process of renewal, both of individuals and of societies? Provocation in Popular Culture is an investigation into the practice of specific provocateurs and the wider nature of cultural provocation, examining, among others:

• Banksy
• Sacha Baron Cohen
• Leo Bassi
• Pussy Riot
• Philippe Petit
• Archaos.

Drawing on Bim Mason's own twenty-five year career as performer, teacher and creative director, this book explores the power negotiations involved in the relationship between provocateur and provoked, and the implications of maintaining a position on the 'edge'.

Using neuroscience as a bridge, it proposes a similarity between complexity theory and cultural theories of play and risk. Three inter-related analogies for the 'edge' on which these performers operate - the fulcrum, the blade and the border - reveal the shifts between structure and fluidity, and the ways in which these can combine in a single moment.

Bim Mason is the Artistic Director and co-founder of Circomedia. Since 1978 he has worked in street theatre, masks, bouffon, clown and circus as performer, designer, teacher and award-winning director. Published works include Street Theatre and Other Outdoor Performance (Routledge, 1992).