THEORIES OF FLESH
Student presentation on Ana Mendieta's "Silueta Series"
Theories of Flesh (Graduate Seminar HTCA-505-01)
Visiting Faculty: Ryan Tacata
San Francisco Art Institute
Department of History and Theory of Contemporary Art
Fall 2014
This course examines the use of the body as material in art beginning in the mid-20th century. This course does not provide a historical survey of Body Art (or Performance Art). Rather, we will use the performing body in art as an organizing principal in our investigation of main currents and thoughts on both postmodern subjectivities and artistic experiments from the neo-avant garde to the contemporary. While investigating work from artists such as Jackson Pollock, VALIE EXPORT, Carloee Schneemann, Chris Burden, Cindy Sherman, A.A Bronson, and Vaginal Davis, we will cover a range of critical concepts of and on the body, including: performativity, intersubjectivity, disidentifications, locational identity, representation, and support.
Student Course Evaluations:
“This course gave me a great understanding/foundation for performance art that I never had before.”
“Ryan related performance art very well to modern day issues of gender, race, disability, etc. I feel like I can experience performance art more fully now.”
“In addition, I would like to say this was by far my favorite class of the semester! Ryan is a wonderful teacher who makes all material accessible and interactive.”