Joan Jonas Performance Gratis . Trained in art history and sculpture, jonas was a central figure in the performance art movement of the late 1960s, and her experiments and productions in the late. Two of the performance works in the exhibition, which is curated by kelly. 1936, new york, ny, usa) is a pioneer of video and performance art, and an acclaimed multimedia artist whose work typically encompasses video, performance, installation, sound, text, and drawing. Joan jonas (born july 13, 1936) is an american visual artist and a pioneer of video and performance art, and one of the most important artists to emerge in the late 1960s and early 1970s.