Ron Athey
| Ron Athey | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 16, 1961 Groton, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Nationality | American (United States) |
| Field | performance art, body art, experimental theatre, video |
| Works | 4 Scenes in a Harsh Life (1994), "Deliverance" (1996), "Incorruptible Flesh" (1996), The Solar Anus (1998), "Joyce" (2002), Judas Cradle (2004) |
Ron Athey (born December 16, 1961) is an American performance artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally (especially in the UK and Europe). Athey's work explores challenging subjects like the relationships between desire, sexuality, and traumatic experience. Many of his works include aspects of S&M in order to confront pre-conceived ideas about the body in relation to masculinity and religious iconography.
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[edit] Life and work
Athey's work frequently explores religious subjects. For example, Athey concluded his 2005 operatic performance Judas Cradle (performed in collaboration with Juliana Snapper of the band Cypher in the Snow) by speaking in tongues, and his theatrical multi-media performance Joyce unpacks the feverish environment of his religious upbringing. He has staged himself as a modern era St. Sebastian. Some of these performances were re-staged for the photographer Catherine Opie.
Athey also engages directly with the ideas of queer philosophers and artists like Georges Bataille, Pierre Molinier and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Athey's performance Solar Anus refers directly to one of Bataille's essays, and in 2002 Athey curated an endurance/performance festival inspired by Pasolini's work. The Solar Anus performance is included as part of Athey's starring role in the Danish feature film HotMen CoolBoyz (2000), directed by Knud Vesterskov and produced by Lars von Trier's company Zentropa. The film was nominated for five GayVN Awards, including a Best Solo Performance nomination for Ron Athey.
He has also, with Vaginal Davis, curated performance art festivals in the U.S. and in Europe. These include Platinum Oasis (Los Angeles), Visions of Excess I (Birmingham, UK) and II (Ljubljana, Slovenia). A further co-curated event, Re-Visions of Excess, with Lee Adams, was presented in Birmingham in 2007. As a curator, Athey has brought together a diverse range of artists, including Bruce LaBruce, Ann Magnuson, Marisa Carnesky, Slava Mogutin, Udo Kier, Rick Owens, Ming Yuen S. Ma, Kira O'Reilly, Nicole Blackman, Franko B, Ernesto Tomasini and OTHON.
Athey has been a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers including Honcho and the L.A. Weekly, and occasionally teaches performance studies. He is currently living in England, in the London area.[1]
[edit] NEA Controversy
In 1994, Athey became the target of controversy over the use of federal funds to support art work with visible gay content. In a performance of an excerpt from Four Scenes in a Harsh Life at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Athey made cuts in co-performer Divinity Fudge's back, placed strips of absorbent paper towel on the cuts and then, using a pulley, hoisted the blood-stained cloths into the air. Local art critic Mary Abbe (who had not witnessed the performance) wrote a sensationalizing story about the performance which appeared on the front page of Minneapolis Star-Tribune. That story was picked up the Associated Press and quickly made national headlines. Widespread anxiety about AIDS created a perfect storm as critics and lawmakers including Jesse Helms falsely described his performances as exposing audience members to HIV-infected blood.[2]
Although this 1994 performance was supported only indirectly (via the Walker Center) by $150 from National Endowment for the Arts, Athey's name was frequently invoked in criticism of the NEA. Athey was not alone - performance artists Tim Miller, John Fleck, Karen Finley, and Holly Hughes would become the NEA Four as they fought a case regarding funding for their work before the Supreme Court. Unlike these other artists, Athey has never applied for federal funds to support his work. Nevertheless, in many ways the controversy of this incident continues to shape public perception of his work.[3]
