Orlan

S'habiller sur sa propre nudite, 1974

mesuRAGE de Paris, Centre Pompidou, 1977
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Self-Hybridization series: Precolumbian, 1998

Self-Hybridization series: African, 2000-2003

Self-Hybridization series: American Indian, 2005-2008


Carnal Art vs Body Art

Carnal Art is not against cosmetic surgery but, rather against the conventions carried by it and their subsequent inscription, within female flesh in particular, but also male. Carnal Art is feminist, that is necessary. It is interested not only in cosmetic surgery, but also advanced techniques in medicine and biology that question the status of the body and the ethical questions posed by them. She calls it Carnal Art. Unlike 'Body Art', Carnal Art does not desire pain as a means of redemption, or to attain purification. Carnal Art does not wish to acheive a final 'plastic' result, but rather seeks to modify the body, and engage in public debate. Says Orlan: "'My work is not a stand against cosmetic surgery, but against the standards of beauty, against the dictates of a dominant ideology that impresses itself more and more on feminine . . . flesh'". It's also a stand against nature. Through her art, Orlan seeks to link the interior self with the exterior self. She takes physiognomy to its extreme.
-O'Bryan



Video on Orlan and Carnal Art