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Module 3 Commentary: The Body

The Body: Audio Commentary

What does it mean to be human? How can, or should, we define "life" and "living"? What is the nature of the human condition? Questions such are these are ones that are deeply philosophical and, perhaps, unanswerable. Nevertheless, it is these questions, or ones quite similar, that are at the heart of many of our contemporary discussions about medical care, bioengineering and genetics, reproductive rights, environmental pollution, spiritual and moral beliefs, human rights, etc.

These questions complement a query posed by author William Ewing (1994) in his book, The Body: Photographs of the Human Form, when he wrote: "Why is it today that the human body is at the center of

so much attention?" (p. 9). In his query about today's attention to the body, Ewing notes that these questions are asked not just by medical professionals, scientists, artists, and political and spiritual leaders but by ordinary people as well. Why, indeed, are questions about the "body"--how it looks, how it functions, and how it is controlled--so much a part of our public and private concerns? And, most pertinent to our purposes in this module, why (and how) is the body's presence evident in the work of so many contemporary artists? Perhaps it's because it is principally through our bodies and our self-awareness of existing within a physical body that we understand the world

and locate ourselves in relationship to it and to others.

I remember a scene from an old episode of the television series Star Trek in which an alien life form characterizes human beings as "ugly bags of mostly water." This is an apt although highly simplified, description of our physical existence in that it acknowledges the human body as a type of biological "bag" for our life fluids and substances, which are, indeed, mostly "water." But our bodies are decidedly not neat "containers." At various times, and under different conditions, we weep and seep and ooze and leak--leaving behind all kinds of deposits and secretions and substances. We can be very messy and smelly and, at the end of our lives, we noticeably deteriorate. Much to our dismay and consternation, the human body seems incapable of maintaining a beautiful and neat existence. We are, quite simply, too alive, too volatile, and too organic for such an idealized state of containment. Yet we persist in our

desires and efforts to achieve an ideal state of containment (existence) and, consequently, we engage in an ongoing rethinking--in art, science and technology, religion, and social policies--of what that means, for ourselves and for others.

When we look at the images and objects regarding the body that humankind has created over time, we find timeless concerns that are manifested not only in direct, overt means but through symbolic and metaphoric expressions as well. It's important to contemplate that questions asked about the body (and its representation in art) do not focus solely on the physical body but, instead, extend to a consideration of the body as a social and cultural site for commentary. In the opening pages of Chapter Three: The Body (the assigned reading for this module), authors Robertson and McDaniel (2009) acknowledge this when they observe that, like "identity," the body functions as a recurring subject in art and that it is not just the physical body that is explored or represented. They write:

[c]ontemporary artists show the human form as a material, corporeal entity, a tissue of flesh and bodily fluids; they also explore the many ways in which the body, like identity, is a cultural artifact, reflecting a society's views of proper behavior, social and economic roles, and power relationships. (p. 76)

Throughout this module, we will examine myriad ways in which contemporary artists explore and express their interests in and concerns about the human body and its physical and social conditions. Perhaps through this examination we can begin to better understand why authors such as Ewing (in 1994) and Robertson and McDaniel (in 2009) suggest that contemporary concerns about the body sometimes seem to be particularly urgent.

We'll begin our examination of the body in contemporary art by considering yet another quote by Ewing (1994), in which he explains why he believes the human body to be so much at the center of our attentions:

What puts the body squarely in the center of debate is not fashion, but urgency. The body is being rethought and reconsidered by artists and writers because it is being restructured and reconstituted by scientists and engineers. In an era when parts can be routinely detached from one body and plugged into another;...when certain machines can appropriate the functions of human organs, while others are invested with intelligence; when the life of the body can be prolonged when the body has ceased to function; when a fetus can be nurtured in an artificial womb, or jobbed out to a surrogate; when...[we are informed] that contrary to what most of us believed, there are three, four, or possibly five genders; when we capriciously rebuild faces, breasts, or thighs to conform to the moment's ideal of beauty...."YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND," [as] a work by artist Barbara Kruger emphatically reminds us. (p. 10)

Special Focus: Janine Antoni

Featured Link: Janine Antoni's Art 21 Multimedia Profile (http://www.art21.org/artists/janine-antoni)

Artist Janine Antoni is featured in Season 2 of the series in an episode titled "Loss and Desire." Antoni's work frequently incorporates aspects of both performance and sculpture and the artist is known for " [t]ransforming everyday activities such as eating, bathing, and sleeping into ways of making art, Antoni's primary tool for making sculpture has always been her own body" (Art:21 Biography of Antoni). Visitor's to Antoni's Art:21 Multimedia Profile will find numerous opportunities to explore the work of this artist. The profile includes a detailed biography, slideshows of her work, several video clips that include interviews with the artist, and an interactive feature that includes external links to sites related to the artist. For educators, PBS offers an online lessons library and an Art:21 learning guide. You can learn more about Antoni at the artist's ART:21 profile (http://www.art21.org/artists/janine-antoni) .

The video below includes a discussion by the artist about an exhibition of her work at Pittsburgh's Mattress Factory (http://www.mattress.org/) .

Janine Antoni: Milagros | Art21 "Extended Play"

Janine Antoni discusses the sculptures in her solo exhibition "Within" at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Artist Profiles: Renee Cox and Zhang Huan

Following the discussion of each theme, the chapters in the Themes of Contemporary Art textbook include extended profiles of select artists whose work is discussed in the context of that particular theme. The profiles present discussion of the different ideas and approaches used by each artist. This section of each course module represents an online extension to the profiles provided in the textbook by presenting

each course module represents an online extension to the profiles provided in the textbook by presenting access to multimedia and external links that are relevant to each artist and which provide further illumination about his or her work.

Renee Cox

The artist's website (http://www.reneecox.org) provides extensive documentation of the artist's controversial pieces, including Yo Mama's Last Supper. In 2001, in the midst of the controversy over Yo Mama's Last Supper, Cox was interviewed by Karen Croft of Salon.com. In the interview, Cox asserted that her work is not about sex but, instead, is "about the body and the form." Read the full interview here (http://www.salon.com/2001/02/22/renee_cox/) .

The videos below provide the opportunity to learn more about Cox as an artist, activist, and curator.

"After Hot-En-Tot: A Conversation with Artist Renée Cox"

"After Hot-En-Tot: A Conversation with Artist Renée Cox"

Renee Cox - Photographer, Political Activist & Curator

Renee Cox - Photographer, Political Activist & Curator

Zhang Huan

The video provided here gives us a glimpse into the artist's thinking and creative mind. The video was originally presented on the Bloomberg "Brilliant Ideas" series and shows the artist in his studio. A brief biography of Huan is provided below:

Born in 1965 in China’s rural Henan Province, Zhang Huan was part of Beijing’s East Village community in the 1990s, whose performance pieces would eventually mark him as a critical figure in the history of contemporary art in China. Zhang is known primarily for performance art that focuses on universal themes such as poverty, individual freedom, and cultural differences. Zhang's recent work has featured sculptures and paintings that explore themes of memory and spirituality and how these relate to Buddhist practice. (Source: Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-12-31/artist-zhang-huan-on-brilliant-ideas-) )

The video takes you "inside the studio and creative mind" of Zhang Huan. In the video, you'll hear the artist speak about his different and varied works, which include photography, performance, and sculpture.

China’s First-generation Performance Artist: Zhang Huan | Brillian…

Artist Zhang Huan on 'Brilliant Ideas'

You can also read a critical review (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/arts/design/23gall.html) of Huan's 2008 exhibit "Blessings" held at the PaceWildenstein Gallery. In the article, critic Roberta Smith discusses the "jaw-dropping" results of Huan's exploration of scale in unexpected materials.

Commentary Sources

1. Ewing, W. 1994. The Body: Photographs of the Human Form (http://www.amazon.com/Body- Photographs-Human-Form/dp/B0009A2OLO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244557945&sr=8-1) . New York: Chronicle Books.

2. Hartranft, J. 2000. The Uneasy Alliance: The Relationship of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Public Sphere. Unpublished dissertation. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University

the Public Sphere. Unpublished dissertation. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University

3. Leppert, R. 1996. Art and the Committed Eye: The Cultural Functions of Imagery (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Committed-Eye-Cultural-Functions/dp/0813315409/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244558008&sr=1-1) . Boulder, CO: Westview Press. (This book may be previewed online (http://books.google.com/books? hl=en&lr=&id=shZxFH7WOMgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=art+and+the+committed+eye&ots=_wpj_nntvX&sig=o UQXD6bbn5DPlmqv-LVCf0z_2Ik) through Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/) )

4. Robertson, J & C. McDaniel. 2009. Themes of Contemporary Art. 2nd. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.