(Un)Disciplined Bodies: Ascetic Transformation in Performance Art
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(Un)Disciplined Bodies: Ascetic Transformation in Performance Art Tatiana A. Koroleva A Thesis In the Department Of Humanities Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Humanities) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada April, 2014 © Tatiana A. Koroleva, 2014 ABSTRACT (Un)Disciplined Bodies: Ascetic Transformation in Performance Art Tatiana A. Koroleva, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2014 This dissertation investigates different modalities of self-transformation enacted in ritualistic performance art by the examination of the work of three contemporary performance artists – Marina Abramović, Linda Montano and Ron Athey. Drawing on theoretical models of ritual, in particular the model of ascetic ritual developed in the works of Gavin Flood and Richard Valantasis, Georges Bataille’s theory of sacrifice, concepts of wounded healing by Laurence J. Kirmayer and Jess Groesbeck, and recent studies of ascetic self-injury in psychiatry and psychoanalysis, I argue that ritualistic performance provides a useful model of the therapy of the body that undermines rigid models of the individual self. Ritualistic performance employs a variety of methods of re-patterning of the dominant standard of individuality and formation of alternative model of the body associated with the ascetic self. In view of significance of the transcendence of the body in the work of these artists I employ a theory of “transformation” to reflect upon performative methodology developed in the artworks of Abramović, Montano, and Athey. iii AKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the support and generosity I have received from my academic advisors: Mark Sussman, Tim Clark, and Shaman Hatley. Their work and contributions have been invaluable to the research and writing for this dissertation. I am grateful to professor Sussman for providing intellectual inspiration and feedback helping this project to grow and mature. The depth and breadth of his knowledge of multiple performative traditions has largely enriched my experience as a graduate student, while his guidance and supervision have deeply influenced the progress of this dissertation. I am profoundly grateful to professor Clark who has been a constant source of support to me, both intellectually and professionally. He has provided me the invaluable experience of presenting my work, inviting me to multiple artist talks and conferences; such opportunities have been crucial to the development of this project. My experience of co-teaching the undergraduate course Body, Art and the State with professor Clark was fundamental to my formation as a scholar and a teacher. I also deeply appreciate the support and contribution of professor Hatley who contributed an added layer of depth to this project. I am very thankful to professor Hatley for familiarizing me with the magical field of ascetic ritual. His thorough analyses of my work, constructive criticisms, and generous feedback have been invaluable to development of this project. I am very thankful to a former Director of the Doctoral Program in Humanities at Concordia University, Bina Freiwald, and to Sharon Fitch, Assistant to the Director at the Department of Humanities, for their continual help and guidance with the academic process, iv including applying for grants, participation in conferences, and overall logistical support of my development as an academic. I am profoundly grateful to my parents, Nina Koroleva and Anatolyi Korolev, for always believing in me and for providing their unconditional support. Their love and commitment have made this dissertation possible. I would like to acknowledge their immeasurable influence on the development of this project through their continuous encouragement that guided me during the years of my studies. I am deeply grateful to distinguished teacher of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy (school of Gelug), Buddha Budzhievich Badmaev, and a renowned teacher of Vipassana meditation, Satya Narayan Goenka, for introducing me to the teachings of Buddhist philosophy, analytical meditation and insight meditation. These teachings were crucial not only to the development of this project, but also for my growth as an interdisciplinary scholar, performance artist and a human being. I would like to thank Patrick Wingorond, a teacher of ashtanga yoga, who taught me the true meaning of discipline. Engaging in the intensive practice of ashtanga yoga, in parallel with researching and writing this dissertation, has been extremely fruitful to the development of my understanding of the ascetic transformation not only in theory, but in practice. I would also like to thank Shivananda Yoga Center in Montreal, Manjushree Buddhist Center in Longueil, Vipassana meditation retreat in Montabello, QC, and the Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Saint Petersburg, Russia. My participation in various Buddhist and yogic practices and retreats supported me in forming new understandings of religious asceticism, which have profoundly influenced the progress of my academic work. v I would also like to thank my friends Lindsay Harding, Sorouja Moll, Patricia Duquette, Alexis Emelianoff, and Jennifer Beth for their significant help with the proofreading and editing of this dissertation. Their wise suggestions have been invaluable to the progress of my writing. I am also very grateful to my friends Katla Isaksdottir, John Looye, and Gulli Harvaradson, for being my second family in Montreal and providing much needed emotional support and assistance. Last but not least I would like to thank the department of Fine Arts at Concordia University for the Fine Arts graduate fellowship that made this dissertation possible. vi DEDICATION: For my parents, Nina and Anatolyi vii TABLE OF CONTENTS: LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………….ix INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………....1 CHAPTER 1: Deathless Body and Ascetic Mind in Marina Abramović’s Performances of Endurance……………………………………………………………………………………….45 CHAPTER 2: Queer Martyrdom in the Sadomasochistic Performances of Ron Athey……………………………………………………………………………………………126 CHAPTER 3: Wounded Healing in the Performative Rituals of Linda Montano………………………………………………………………………………………...184 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………....243 APPENDIX I: Vipassana Meditation: Introduction to the Technique and Code of Discipline …………………………………………………………………………………………………..253 APPENDIX II: Linda Montano, Seven Years of Living Art, Chakra Drawing……...……………………………………………………………………………….....259 APPENDIX III: Linda Montano, Starved Survivors…………………………………………...260 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………....264 viii LIST OF FIGURES: 1.1 – Marina Abramović, Thomas Lips, 1975…………………………………………56 1.2 – Marina Abramović, Piece 0, 1974……………………………………………….68 1.3 – Marina Abramović and Ulay, Relation in Space, 1976………………………….79 1.4 – Marina Abramović and Ulay, Nightsea Crossing, 1981…………………………84 1.5 – Marina Abramović, The House with the Ocean View, 2002……………………..98 1.6 – Marina Abramović, The Artist is Present, 2010…………………………………109 1.7 – Marco Anelli, The Artist is Present (Portraits), 2010……………………………112 2.1 – Ron Athey, Martyrs and Saints, 1992……………………………………………140 2.2 – Andrea Mantegna, Saint Sebastian, Isola di Carturo, circa 1431………………...140 2.3 – Sano di Pietro, Martyrdom of Saint Agatha in an Initial D: Cutting from an Antiphonary, ca. 1470-73……………………………………………………………………….143 2.4 – Ron Athey, Four Scenes in a Harsh Life, 1993…………………………………..158 2.5 – Ron Athey, Divinity Fudge, Four Scenes in a Harsh Life, 1993…………………161 2.6 – Ron Athey, Four Scenes in a Harsh Life, 1993…………………………………..163 2.7-8 – Gian Lorenzo Bernini, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1647 – 1652……………..164 2.9 – Catherine Opie, Ron Athey/ The Sick Man (from Deliverance), 2000…………...169 3.1 – Figure 3.1 -- Tehching Hsieh, Linda Montano, Art / Life: One Year Performance, 1984…………………………………………………………………………………………….196 3.2 -- Linda Montano, “Jumpsuits and Skeletons” from Fourteen Years of Living Art, 2011…………………………………………………………………………………………….221 3.3 – Linda Montano, Seven Years of Living Art, 1984………………………………...221 ix 3.4 – Linda Montano, Sacramental Chakra Chaise (film still), 2003…………………223 x Introduction We may no longer be able to believe in the revolutionary power of extreme art, but we can recognize a need for contact and emotional intensity in a time of distress, frustration, and despair.1 Marla Carlson In one of my performances, Literacy (2010), I wash the feet of my spectators while reciting from memory letters I had written to my family and friends since leaving Russia in 2006. I speak only in Russian. I teach my audience some Russian words while washing their feet; we laugh, I sing songs, and I pray. People file onto stage one by one and I can feel their tension and discomfort at exposing their feet to a stranger who also speaks a language they cannot understand. They all appear somehow awkward and squirm on the chair uncomfortably waiting for their part to be over. The audience is always dead silent. This time suddenly I hear sobs and sounds of someone crying. I continue washing the feet of my spectator, making jokes as the sounds in the hall become louder and louder, until I can hear a woman crying at the top of her lungs. I finish with my “client” and invite the crying woman on stage. She is middle-aged with beautiful black hair and soft facial features. She sits on the chair for a moment, but then immediately gets up. She makes me stand up from the floor and insists on me sitting on the chair. I sit down. All this time, she never stops crying.