Live Art Development Agency Publications Catalogue Ron Athey is an iconic figure in the development of contemporary art and Contributors performance. In his frequently bloody portrayals of life, death, crisis, and Ron Athey fortitude in the time of AIDS, Athey calls into question the limits of artistic Homi K. Bhabha practice. These limits enable Athey to explore key themes including: gender, sexuality, SM and radical sex, queer activism, post-punk and Alex Binnie industrial culture, tattooing and body modification, ritual, and religion. Jennifer Doyle Pleading in the Blood: The Art and Performances of Ron Athey presents Tim Etchells the first critical overview of this major artist’s work. It demonstrates how Guillermo Gómez-Peña Athey foresaw and precipitated the central place afforded the body and Matthew Goulish T PLEADING IN THE BLOOD identity politics in art and critical theory in the 1990s and beyond. HE Catherine (Saalfield) Gund PLEADING IN A Adrian Heathfield RT T H E B L O O D Antony Hegarty AND Dominic Johnson T HE A RT AND Amelia Jones P ERFORMANCES Bruce LaBruce P ERFORMANCES Lydia Lunch OF R ON ATHEY Catherine Opie Juliana Snapper e d i t e d b y Julie Tolentino dominic johnson Robert Wilson OF R ON A THEY At long last, Dominic Johnson’s book begins the dauntingly exhilarating task of assessing the richly provocative art of Ron Athey. Incorporating Athey’s own prose version of his extraordinary childhood, astute critical essays, and moving appreciations from other artists, Pleading in the Blood advances Performance Studies and Art History by forging a mode of commentary expansive enough to address an artist who consistently works to expand the intricate drama of human embodiment. Athey’s art edited by dominic johnson refuses the usual distinctions between pleasure and pain, or faith and doubt, and has been both blamed and celebrated for its radical inquiries into the limits and possibilities of queer bodies. Athey emerges from these pages as one of the most compelling theatre artists of our time. Peggy Phelan, Stanford University Honest, pure, generous, uncompromising... a baptism by fire. Robert Wilson, artist and Director of The Watermill Center In his bloody self-obliterations, Ron Athey reveals the profound enigma of the body as a primary location of SELF. His flesh is a source of Life and a source of Death. Athey creates vital images drenched with human violence; his blood is spilled to placate our fear of the unknown and of mortality. Yet his performances are also implicit celebrations. Genesis BREYER P-ORRIDGE, artist and cultural engineer ISBN 978-1-78320-035-1 9 781783 200351 “LADA is invaluable because it is creating the possibility to see the past, present and future of performance art all at once.” Marina Abramovic, LADA Patron February 2015 About LADA Publishing The Live Art Development Agency (LADA) is one of the world’s leading publishers of Live Art titles, publishing books, DVDs and Artist’s Editions in partnership with major publishers, independent organisations and artists. LADA specialises in critical titles on influential ideas and practitioners; artist-led publications and Editions; Box Set artworks, resources and tools; free online publications; and on-demand DVDs. Partnerships LADA partners major publishers on key titles, including Out of Now - The Lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh, a co-publication with The MIT Press; Live: Art and Performance, with Tate Publishing; Programme Notes: Case studies for locating experimental theatre and The Live Art Almanac Volume 3, both co-published with Oberon Books; and Perform, Record, Repeat with Intellect Books. Intellect Live In 2013, LADA and Intellect Books launched Intellect Live, a new series of publications on influential artists working at the edges of performance. The series is characterized by lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed books, created through close collaborations between artists and writers, each of which is the first substantial publication dedicated to an artist’s work. The first titles in this series focus on the artists Raimund Hoghe and Ron Athey. Artist-led Publications LADA also collaborates on artist-led publications and editions, including innovative print and DVD ‘box sets’ that function as artworks, resources and critical tools. Open Calls LADA issues open calls for proposals for artists to produce DVDs which we publish on an on-demand basis, and online films which are hosted on the Live Online section of our website. LADA also issues calls for proposals for submissions for The Live Art Almanac, a biennial international co-publication which draws together a wide range of writing on and around Live Art. Get in Touch LADA welcomes proposals for collaborations on distinctive publications and DVDs. Please also contact LADA if you wish to discuss our publishing, distribution or ideas for publication events. 2 Individual Sales Individual sales orders can be made from Unbound, the Live Art Development Agency’s online Live Art bookshop: www. thisisunbound.co.uk or by contacting the Agency, below. Trade Orders Please see DISTRIBUTION Information at the back of this Catalogue. Press and Other Enquiries CJ Mitchell, Live Art Development Agency [email protected] +44 (0)20 8985 2124 About The Live Art Development Agency (LADA) houses a unique research library; runs Unbound, the world’s only online shop for Live Art books, DVDs and editions; pioneers models of artistic and professional development, dialogue and debate; contributes to groundbreaking research culture and education; develops inventive ways of increasing access to Live Art through projects and publishing; and coordinates the national Live Art UK network. Live Art Development Agency The White Building Unit 7, Queen’s Yard White Post Lane London E9 5EN UK +44 (0)208 985 2124 [email protected] www.thisisliveart.co.uk www.thisisunbound.co.uk 3 Contents Contents 23 Access All Areas:Live Art and Disability Eds. Lois Keidan and CJ Mitchell New Books 24 China Live: 9 Performance Art Reflections on Contemporary in Ireland: A History Performance Art Ed. Áine Phillips Eds. Daniel Brine and Shu Yang 10 Double Exposures 25 Dancing with Men Manuel Vason Oreet Ashery 11 Life II [in Progress] 26 Dear Stranger, I love you: Janez Janša the ethics of community in Rajni Shah Projects’ Glorious 12 re.act.feminism #2 - Becky Edmunds, Mary Paterson, et al a performing archive Bettina Knaup and Beatrice 27 Documenting Live Ellen Stammer Eds. David A Bailey, Lois Keidan and Rajni Shah 13 Pleading in the Blood: The Art and Performances of Ron Athey 28 Live: Art and Performance Edited by Dominic Johnson Ed. Adrian Heathfield 29 Marcia Farquhar’s 12 Shooters New DVDs Marcia Farquhar 15 HINCH: A film about Ian Hinchliffe 30 Out of Now Matt Page The Lifeworks of Tehching Hsieh Adrian Heathfield and Tehching Hsieh 16 This Is Not a Dream Gavin Butt and Ben Walters 31 Perform Repeat Record Live Art in History 17 Party for Freedom Eds. Amelia Jones & Adrian Heathfield Oreet Ashery 32 Performance / Video / Collaboration 18 No Such Thing As Rest: Aaron Williamson A Walk with Brian Massumi Hugo Glendinning and 33 Programme Notes: Adrian Heathfield Case studies for locating experimental theatre 19 Transfigured Night: A Eds. Lois Keidan and CJ Mitchell Conversation with Alphonso Lingis Hugo Glendinning and 34 The Live Art Almanac Adrian Heathfield Ed. Daniel Brine 20 This is Performance Art 35 The Live Art Almanac Vol. 2 Mel Brimfield Eds. Lois Keidan, CJ Mitchell and Andrew Mitchelson Books 36 The Live Art Almanac: Volume 3 22 A Contemporary Struggle Eds. Lois Keidan and Aaron Wright Jamila Johnson-Small and Alexandrina Hemsley 37 The Many Headed Monster Joshua Sofaer 5 54 Jordan McKenzie 38 Throwing the Body into the Fight: Occupations 1996 - 2013 a Portrait of Raimund Hoghe Jordan McKenzie Ed. Mary Kate Connolly 55 Quick Clips and Short Cuts 39 While You Are With Us Here Tonight Aaron Williamson Tim Etchells 56 relics DVDs Ansuman Biswas 57 Revelations 41 4 x 4 Screens The Films of David Wrights & Sites / Stephen Hodge Hoyle and Nathan Evans David Hoyle 42 acts of memory 2005 – 2010 Monica Ross and Co-Recitors 58 Somewhere Near Variety Tim Etchells and Adrian Heathfield 43 Bite The Hand That Feeds! The Disabled Avant-Garde 59 THE GLUTS Complete Works 44 CANCER CANCER THE GLUTS CANCER CANCER CANCER Brian Lobel 60 UnSeen George Chakravarthi 45 Devolving the Mutant Mat Fraser 61 Visions of Excess Eds. Lee Adams and Ron Athey 46 Everything You Still Wanted To Know About Live Art... 62 Writing Not Yet Thought But Were Afraid To Ask Hélène Cixous with Adrian Heathfield Live Art Development Agency 63 Xenon 47 Farafin a ni Toubabou David Bickerstaff + Mikhail Karikis Black and white ethical projects Adrien Sina 48 Gut Feelings Trilogy Curious 49 in practice Howard Matthew 50 Knitting Iron Selected Works Poshya Kakil 51 Live Autobiography Áine Phillips 52 M21: From the Medieval to the 21st Century DASH and Live Art Development Agency 53 Normalisation of Deviance Richard Dedomenici 6 New Books LADA Forthcoming publications 2015-16 Tracey Warr, Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson (London Fieldworks) Remote Performances in Nature and Architecture (with Ashgate Publishing) July 2015 Lois Weaver/Jen Harvie The Only Way Home Is Through the Show: The Performance Work of Lois Weaver [working title] (Intellect Live) September 2015 Kira O’Reilly/Martin Hargreaves tbc (Intellect Live) Spring 2016 The Live Art Almanac Volume 4 (with Oberon Books) Deirdre Heddon/Dominic Johnson May I Have The Pleasure? The Performance Works of Adrian Howells (Intellect Live) Spring 2016 For more information on these forthcoming titles please contact [email protected] 8 Performance Art in Ireland: A History Ed. Áine Phillips “The collection makes a convincing case for the distinctiveness of Irish performance art, arising from the manner in which performance allowed artists in Ireland to address the specificity of their political, cultural and historical situation.