Machine generated contents note: Gifts Of The Spirit / Ron Athey -- `There Are Many Ways To Say Hallelujah!' / Catherine (Saalfield) Gund -- `Does A Bloody Towel Represent The Ideals Of The American People?': Ron Athey And The Culture Wars / Dominic Johnson -- Bombs Away In Front-Line Suburbia / Homi K. Bhabha -- Deliverance: The `Torture Trilogy' In Retrospect / Ron Athey -- The Irreplaceable Bodies: Resistance Through Ferocious Fragility / Julie Tolentino -- Athey-Ism, Collaboration, And Hustler White / Bruce Labruce -- Sex With Ron / Jennifer Doyle -- The Man And His Tattoos (By The Man Who Did Them) / Alex Binnie -- The Milk Factory On Winchester / Matthew Goulish -- Flash: On Photographing Ron Athey / Catherine Opie -- How Ron Athey Makes Me Feel: The Political Potential Of Upsetting Art / Amelia Jones -- Raised In The Lord: Revelations At The Knee Of Miss Velma / Ron Athey -- Joyce: The Violent Disbelief Of Ron Athey / Lydia Lunch -- Judas Cradle: Invasive Resonance / Juliana Snapper -- Illicit Transit / Adrian Heathfield -- By Word Of Mouth: Ron Athey's Self-Obliteration / Tim Etchells -- The New Barbarians: A Declaration Of Poetic Disobedience From The New Border / Guillermo Gomez-Pena.
Summary:
Ron Athey is an iconic figure in contemporary art and performance. In his frequently bloody portrayals of life, death, crisis, and fortitude in the time of AIDS, Athey calls into question the limits of artistic practice. These limits enable Athey to explore key themes including gender, sexuality, radical sex, queer activism, post-punk and industrial culture, tattooing and body modification, ritual, and religion. This landmark publication includes Athey's own writings, commissioned essays by maverick artists and leading academics, and full-color images of Athey's art and performances since the early 1980s. The diverse range of artistic and critical contributors to the book reflects Athey's creative and cultural impact, among them musician Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons who contributed a foreword.
