Blog #18: 5 Body Artists

 Matthew Barney: now there's an interesting frude. I've seen pictures of him/his work and thought "Cool!" while simultaneously thinking "...creepy...". Based on a quick google search, he seems to be most well-known for his work with makeup/prosthetics. Just like special effects artist, Barney transforms people in the mythical and grim. However, while some of his pieces, which he deems as "sculpture", are performed live, it's usually captured in photography, film, and drawings. A Yale graduate, he is also the creator of the Cremaster Cycle, "an art project consisting of five feature length films, together with related sculptures, photographs, drawings, and artist's books" which is regarded as one of the greatest achievements in avant-garde cinema. He is a strange man. A strange strange man. I just watched the trailer for the Cremaster Cycle and I have no idea what it's about. No bloody idea. But it looks pretty and twisted. But in regards to our body project, Barney seems to specialize in costumes and sculpting upon the body to create something else. Both implying and transforming the human form. Did I mention he's married to Bjork?

Rachel Whiteread: here is one of those artists who has found her thing, her niche and is STICKING TO IT! She was made known famous for her empty space sculptures where she filled the area beneath chairs. With it she clearly illustrated the space in our lives that goes unused or perhaps wasted. Since then she has moved on to fill the spaces of bookshelves, stairways, to entire houses. Easily it can be seen as a commentary on the greed we in 1st world countries have for space in not just our homes but in our lives. She was the first woman to win the coveted Turner Prize in 1993 and currently one of the Young British Artists. She's almost 50 so I wonder how much longer she's eligible for that little club? But she's innovative in that she thought to capture a place no one and yet thought to, mostly because it was something that is so taken for granted it's hardly seen at all.


Rebecca Horn: Is an installation artist who is probably more known for her works that extend the body. We've covered her in class and she was the creator of those long-fingered gloves meant to expand one's presence in the room. While it added a sense of liberation from the normal confines of the human anatomy, it also became a burden through the unfamiliarity of having and using 4ft long fingers. Another piece of hers that I liked and almost chose to emulate was her mesh face mask with attached pencils. So rather than drawing with one's hands they can draw with their face. I wanted to take this and make a pair of denture from sharpened pencils but I felt it was just not original enough for my taste. She has also created a piece known as 'Unicorn'. The title informs the imagry of a horn strapped to a womans head. It has been noted that this strap suit is almost identical to Frida Kahlo's 'Broken Column' and I would just like to point out that this outfit was the inspiration for one of the costumes Milla Jovovich wore in the sci-fi fantasy film, The Fifth Element. It is erotic while simulating the confines of bars or straps used to secure potentially harmful patients.

Jana Sterbak: Speaking of artwork or artists that have been since used, Jana Sterbank is an artist who may have inspired another fashion icon. Probably her most noted piece is the meat dress properly titled: Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic. Any member of PETA's worst nightmare, the dress is stiched together with animal flesh and over time slowly rots, changing color, shape, size, smell, and so on. Another piece she's done is an armchair made from meat called  Chair Apollinaire. Animal activist appaul her work and I applaud it. It has so many potential meanings. For one, it replaces the idea of leather being a trivial luxury with identifying it as a part of a butchured creature. Can it reflect how women are objectified - seen as pieces of meat? Or is it a commentary on fashion itself; like the meat, it may seem appealing at one point but given time, a decades style becomes outdated, even repulsive. A near identical dress was donned by Lady Gaga at the VMA's as she accepted her Best Artist of the Year award. Gaga claims the dress was meant to represent how fashion is painful.

Nick Cave: While this mans work was by no means used by any fashion icon that I can think of it often represents some characters from pop culture. Nick Cave is known for his wearable outfits that particularly come to life when worn by a performer. In this way his work is similar to the muppets. Made from materials like hair, sticks, feather etc his constumes reflect or follow the movements of the person wearing them. Not only do the materials come into play but the colors add a new dynamic and brings new meaning to color and movement. Terms usually used to describe works like Van Gogh but in this case, the movement is literal. But looking at the given picture, whose mind doesn't think of Cousin IT from the Addams Family. His over hairy character was horribly restricted by the fact that he never moved and let his hair go wild or did anything funky with it like highlights or braids. Nick Cave satisfies our curiosity.