ABSTRACT
In this chapter we examine the connection of performance with life history/autobiography and we discuss the different ways in which artists have explored the self though their performances. Performances of the self include the performance of gender through masquerade, the narratives of personal histories, the exploration of the multicity of the self and the investigation of identity against stereotypical selves. The discussion incorporates the introduction of terms such as autobiography, life history, alter ego, confessional art and cross-dressing. The aim is that artists, through discussion and the final project, realize the multiple and contradictory sides of themselves and experiment with props and masquerade/cross-dressing to create their persona in a work of performed photography or a durational piece.
