Devora Neumark's Interventions and the Concept of Flesh
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HOW DOES WHAT'S BRED IN THE BONE COME OUT IN THE FLESH? DEVORA NEUMARK'S INTERVENTIONS AND THE CONCEPT OF FLESH by Vera Kiriloff Department of Art History and Communication Studies McGill University, Montreal August 2005 A the sis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts, Art History. © Vera Kiriloff (2005) Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-24881-2 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-24881-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell th es es le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada ABSTRACT How Does What's Bred in the Bone Come Out in the Flesh? Devora Neumark's Interventions and the Concept of Flesh Vera Kiriloff This thesis examines seven of Devora Neumark's artistic interventions that activate an embodied transfer or continuity of knowledge. 1 am inspired by phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty's notion of "the flesh of the world," that is the element enabling a reversibility between subject and object, specifically with regard to the body. Neumark draws from a repertoire of her everyday activities like crocheting or peeling beets to make a stew. She resituates the activity from one which is traditionally practiced in the private sphere of the home, often undervalued, to one which critically engages passersby in various urban settings. 1 study the repefitive capacities of these everyday activities, how they are negotiated in the public sphere, and how they remain (re)productively in the flesh through body-to body transmission. Flesh becomes the operative concept in this thesis and activates a phenomenology in Neumark's interventions that goes beyond Merleau-Ponty's and which engages with both aesthetic and socio-political questions. 2 SOMMAIRE How does what's bred in the bone come out in the flesh? Les interventions de Devora Neumark et le concepte de la chair Vera Kiriloff Ce mémoire cherche à examiner sept des interventions artistiques de Devora Neumark qui activent un transfert incarné ou une continuité de connaissances. Je puise mon inspiration dans le concept d'une "chair du monde" du phénoménologue Maurice Merleau-Ponty, c'est-à-dire l'élément favorisant une réversibilité entre sujet et objet et ce particulièrement en ce qui concerne le corps. Prenant inspiration d'un ensemble d'activités quotidiennes comme le travail au crochet ou l'épluchage de betteraves, Neumark transforme une activité qui se fait traditionnellement dans la sphère privée de la maison, en une autre qui engage les passants en divers milieux urbains. J'étudie les capacités répétitives de ces activités quotidiennes, comment elles sont négociées dans la sphère publique et comment elles restent (re)productivement dans la chair par une transmission de corps à corps. La chair devient le concept opératif dans ce mémoire et aide à établir une phénoménologie par rapport aux interventions de Neumark qui dépasse celle de Merleau-Ponty et qui active simultanément des questions d'esthétique et des éléments sociopolitiques. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks go out first and foremost to Baba, my grandmother, who taught me the principles of unconditionallove, and strength in the face of life's challenges. She has inspired me indirectly to continue in the best ways 1 possibly cano It is Cynthia Hammond to whom 1 owe direction though: my undergraduate professor who patiently showed me that feminist scholarship can be done in the narne of grandmothers like mine. AIso, 1 extend many thanks to my thesis supervisor, Professor Christine Ross, who enthusiastically supported my ideas and my future plans. Of course 1 am extremely grateful to Devora Neumark, who se passion, quirkiness and devotion to people cornes through in aIl her work. 1 thank the faculty and staff in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies here at McGill for their help and support. 1 am extremely grateful to aIl my friends who offered advice and often that "extra push," as weIl as to my godmother, Natasha llliesco, for her curiosity and my sister Elena, for listening to me from Australia at 3 am. 1 thank most of aIl, my partner Andrew Gibson for his endless support. He has edited, given advice, listened and always made sure that 1 think about doing things "for the right reasons." Finally, writing this thesis would not have been possible if it weren't for my mother and father who have offered their loving financial support throughout the years. Marna, thank you for telling me that you're proud of me, and for your advice - 1 do appreciate it. And Papa, my "m.p." - there just aren't any words that could thank you, your presence, phone calls, 'vibes,' jokes, support and advice (let' s not forget the incentive of your "Burberry fund"). This is for both of you, thank you. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. 2 How Does What's Bred in the Bone Come Out in the Flesh? Devora Neumark's Interventions and the Concept of Flesh SOMMAIRE .................................................................................................. 3 How does what's bred in the bone come out in the flesh? Les interventions de Devora Neumark et le concepte de la chair ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................••......................•••••...•••.......•.........•...•. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER ONE: EMBODIED INTERACTIONS ........................................ 19 Appropriation and (in)visibility 21 A critique of the mind/body dualism 29 Intersubjectivity and interobjectivity 30 Conclusion 39 CHAPTER TWO: INTERACTIONS IN URBAN SPACES .......................... 41 Being home (or dwelling) 43 The public sphere 47 The Everyday 51 Intertwining the intersubjective and the interobjective 57 Conclusion 60 CHAPTER THREE: FLESH .....................•.•...........................••••................ 62 Being flesh 65 5 Responsibility/ability and sensibility/ability 72 Reproduction and difference 766 Conclusion 84 CONCLUSiON ............................................................................................ 86 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................ 92 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................ 96 6 INTRODUCTION « Comment pouvons-nous apprécier le merveilleux sans être capable de vivre les banalités? Le merveilleux étant une perle, le banal est son sable. Aurions nous toujours besoin de nous éloigner du sable pour connaître la beauté de la perle? »1 Ying Chen "Where are we to put the limit between the body and the world, since the world is flesh ?,,2 Maurice Merleau-Ponty 1 first came into contact with Devora Neumark's art work through one of my undergraduate classes and was fascinated by the simple daily activities that she would adapt in quirky yet approachable ways for her interventions. Neumark has crocheted, peeled beets, meditated, pulled the petaIs from daisies, set up a living room for conversation and even toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She did this, not in convention al ways - in a kitchen, in her hou se, alone or in the country - and instead she moved each activity right into the hustle and bustle of a busy city, inviting anyone to join her or to talk with her throughout. Most interesting for me, from her own accounts of each intervention, was the way that her work seemed to act, as a type of therapy for both herself and the participants. Many seemed to walk away having gained sorne sort of insight into the ways in which they pursue their daily lives. Neumark's work includes a focus on people - from random passersby,