Electricity

Electric performance art can be deŽfined as the theatrical display of electrically manipulated human bodies.
Three types of Electric Performance exist:  pieces that treat the human body as a material object and demonstrate its electrical properties, pieces that  deal with the vulnerability of the human body and how much electrical shock it can take before damage is done, and finally cybernetic standpoint and view the human body as a kinematic system whose motions can be steered by means of electrical control signals.

The first Electrical Performance is The ElectriŽfed Human Body.
Greeks are to thank for kick starting this discovery, after studying the conductive qualities of amber, they gave this phenomenon a name...electricity.
For thousands of years, the word did not mean much more than that.
Fast forward to 18th century France, were a man by the name of Stephen Gray had just announced a discovery that would blow the field of science off its feet.
His discovery was that  the electric power to attract small particles can be transferred from one object to another by simply placing these objects close together.
This is now known as Electrical Induction.
These performances employ the human body as a prop...as a static and passive object. They are used to demonstrate the properties of tissue and of other organic and inorganic materials.

Next is the type of performance that tests the body's limits. Once the true power of electricity was known, it wasn't long before scientists set out to do all manner of 'humane' experiments...mostly on animals. While a shock that would cause only a headache or bleeding nose to a human didn't seem like much, to a small animal such as a rat or rabbit, the effects could be quite detrimental, prehaps even fatal.
Perhaps the most famous and well known example of animal electrocution is the case of Topsy the Elephant. Topsy was an Elephant who had preformed on Coney Island, but had gone on a rampage that had resulted in the deaths of 3 people. Her execution was decided, she would face death by electrocution. In 1903, the Electrocution of Topsy the elephant was filmed, and showed just how powerful and scary electricity could be.

The final type of Electric Performance is Muscle control signals. Basically, one could stimulate certain nerves and muscles with a small shock, garnering a reaction of say, a leg kick or a smile. It's pretty creepy once you think about it, as the reactions are done completely involuntary of the subject, dehumanizing them in a way.