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> mail-art & street art / |
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> mail-art &
street art documentation centre / |
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> Body Art / Dr. Rachel Armstrong - England / interview by sztuka fabryka (2008) / |
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> Introduction: Author, medical doctor, multimedia producer, television presenter and artistic maverick specialising in the relationship between technology, the body, biology, space and the future of human society. As medical doctor specializing in the evolution of humankind through 'unnatural interventions' she has worked with radical body artists such as Orlan and Stelarc advising them on the practicalities of their proposed medical metamorphoses. Armstrong has written many essays on the above subjects and has released recently a science fiction novel that is heavily influenced by her academic interests called 'The Grays Anatomy' and is published by Serpents Tail.
Dr. Armstong:
However, in the time I knew her, Orlan's work blew open many of the prejudices and hierarchical way of looking at 'the body' and particularly 'the aging female body'. We experienced a lot of misunderstanding owing to the contemporary prejudices about 'cosmetic surgery' but gradually Orlan's revolutionary approach made an indelible imprint in contemporary art in its view of the body and in my opinion, cannot be repeated. Interestingly Orlan's surgery is now outmoded, it has been replaced by new developments in cosmetic surgery which are now much more subtle, almost 'invisible'. Many people will know Orlan's official presentation because it is part of her 'performance' but my version of events is a more back stage view of the issues, difficulties and triumphs of some of the leading and most shocking body artists from a medical point of view. > Sztuka Fabryka: "Surgery for artistic aesthetic reasons or a doctor in service for a piece of art is not the general idea we have about the medical world. Was it a difficult step to take for you or did you some time to think about the moral grounds of this step?" Dr. Armstrong: My fascination for alternative aesthetics and different anatomical paradigms began when I was a medical student. I went on sabbatical before my final exams to Poona, India where I gained experience in a number of different styles of hospital, national, private, military and also a leprosy rehabilitation centre. Leprosy is a terribly disease caused by Mycobacterium Leprae a bacterium that is quite similar to tuberculosis. Mycobacterium Leprae first appears as depigmented patches on the skin and then gradually travels though the body to destroy the peripheral nerves leading to a loss of protective reflexes and of cartilage that causes the facial stigmata of leprosy or "lion face". This experience made me ask questions about who sets aesthetic standards and why are alternative aesthetic appearances so difficult for people to accept? As a doctor I was instrumental in setting standards of performance and appearance, it is essentially the basis for the entire practice of medicine, making judgements on people's differences is called a "diagnosis". Some diagnoses require intervention, some don't. So I wanted to rethink, for myself the grounds for doing what I was trained to do and think again from first principles what the "diagnostic" process actually means on a very personal level. When I came across Orlan's work in 1994 I was impressed by her complete subversion of the whole spectacle of the Operating Theatre. I regarded her work as being akin to my desire to think about my entire medical practice from first principles. Orlan completely went against traditions. She was not a passive subject but ran the entire show, completely down staging the surgeon! Not only that her unveiling of her body was burlesque, hedonistic and suggestively orgiastic! This was not my experience of the operating theatre where Puritanically sober obedient attendants respectfully deferred to the whim of an often petulant and soberly dressed male surgeon. Orlan was a revolution. She challenged everything that was assumed about conventional medical practice and the more of her work I saw, the more my head spun with questions. We also looked at the possibility of changing her skin colour maybe using methylene blue or Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone. The former would not produce the effect she was looking for and the latter had potentially carcinogenic effects. Both ideas were discussed and abandoned. At the time we worked together I concluded that even the latest technology could not achieve Orlan's ambitions and she went on to use computer technology to morph her image with aesthetic standards from non-western cultures. I was delighted to discover that she has since completed a residency with SymbioticA a laboratory in Perth, Australia who support artist working with biotechnology from which she produced Harlequin Coat which is a patchwork life-size mantle, which contains fused in-vitro skin cells from various cultures and species. Orlan is not the only performance artist I have assisted. I also petitioned for Stelarc's third ear at a Surgical Grand Round at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK in the presence of 150 of Britain's most eminent surgeons. The audience was split into two main groups one of which was hostile to the idea whilst the other group were more curious and took an atypically psychoanalytic approach about Stelarc's motives for the surgery. So, I do not see my interest as being anything other than supporting people who have a particular need of knowledge and access for legitimate artistic reasons, which is the most judgemental decision I have to make and respond to their needs by using my own skills to move with the times in which we live. We are a much more technologically advanced society than we were even ten years ago and I hope these artists that I work with help to provoke questions about technology, interventionist procedures and the body to everyone. This is something we are all a part of and I hope to use my position of privilege to engage society in informed discussion about these rather uncomfortable but exciting possibilities. > Sztuka Fabryka: "Does body art deserve more attention?" Dr. Armstrong:
I especially found Franko-B's work compelling. In the "I Miss You" performance in 1993 Franko-B walked naked, bleached and bleeding through the Tate Modern like a tortured ghost. It was a beautiful, unsettling and deeply moving experience reminding everyone present of their own mortality and how too they, at some stage in their lives, might end up bleeding, naked and alone. I have always found it hard not to run up to Franko-B and cuddle him during a performance because the sense of abjection he creates is almost unbearable! http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/H/human_canvas/franko_b.html > Sztuka Fabryka: "If we talk about body art what is more important: the result or the different steps towards the final result?" Dr. Armstrong: The process is a critical part of the end result. Many people think artists are frivolous and work impulsively but I have come to learn that no one worries more or put more of their body and soul into their work more than artists. Many of us can walk away and forget about work at the end of the day but artists are on a continual journey of self-evolution. Every piece they engage with matters. They are always working and the final result is hugely stressful and the result of months of preparation. Someone like Stelarc is akin to an athlete as when he "hybridises" his body with computer interfaces. In doing so he has to retrain his brain to interpret signals differently and this takes practice. His "EVOLUTION" piece written with three hands was no mean feat!
> Principal Works: http://libarynth.org/becoming_plant_people > Contact: grayanat@yahoo.co.nz > Links: |
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Politically
the climate within medicine became too controlled to make any more
groundbreaking biotechnological or medical statements. I had come to a
grinding halt with some of Stelarc's difficulties with indemnity with a
stomach sculpture performance and with the implementation of his third
ear, and Orlan, I believe, turned to generate images to complete her
'reincarnation'. We lost touch for nearly ten years.
Our
bodies are central to our being. Through religious and social conditioning
we are taught to deny our bodies and find them shameful. We are also under
a lot of pressure to conform to standards of beauty that come from outside
medicine, notably the media and the Hollywood Glamour Machine.