Tag: wounds

categorized-art-collection:

Gina Pane, “Action Psyche” (1974): Along with the poetic descriptions accompanying them, these photographs on glossy white cardstock paper document a performance in which the artist applied make-up while cutting parts of her body and face with a razor as she sat in front of a mirror. “Throughout the grizzly display, her impassive stare increased her detachment. Excruciating, both to herself and for her audience to watch, Pane’s art addressed the anaesthetization of a society numbed by the violence in everyday life. During the 1970s, Pane was the star of Body Art, a phenomenon that used the body itself as its primary material. ‘One has to understand “My body in Action” not as the skin of a painting enclosing its interior but as a WRAPPING/UNFOLDING bringing back depth to the edge of things,’ said Pane. In her extreme acts of self-mutilation, Pane equated masquerade with masochism, questioning the relationship between vulnerability and violence. Like other feminist art, her work also explored the sexual stereotypes of female passivity and male aggression.“ (The 20th Century Artbook, London: Phaidon Press, 1999. p. 357)