Lashing "In"

Maybe this is an archaic idea about the root of masochism, but it seems to me that Abramovic’s desire to inflict pain upon herself comes from a place of self-loathing-- or at least, her sense that she is in some way inadequate as an artist. I see the fourteen-minute video as a microcosm of her internal struggle to reckon with what she understands to be an imperfect and not-beautiful artistic self.

Her mantra, “Art must be beautiful; artist must be beautiful,” seems to express her perception of herself as not living up to what she and her art “must be." At the beginning of the video, the way in which she utters the mantra to herself-- at first in a barely-audible whisper, then gradually in a louder and more convincing tone-- conveys her increasing certainty of the statement’s truth. Initially, she is just reciting something she has been told, but as she continues to repeat the words, she becomes convinced of their truth and inevitability. (Hold up... This is starting to sound a lot like Butler’s theory of gender performativity. Say whaa?!)

And as Abramovic becomes sure that art, the state of being an artist, and beauty are all interdependent-- in other words, in order to do one correctly one must do/possess the others-- she grows intensely agitated at her apparent incapacity to do art in the right way, because she is not beautiful (as she sees it), and thus not an artist. In the video, these emotions manifest themselves in her brushstrokes becoming frenzied, and her voice growing more pained and breathy.

At various points throughout the fourteen-minute segment, Abramovic slows down and becomes quiet again. I interpreted these lulls in aggression as expressions of her temporary exhaustion with self-hatred; she becomes so tired of lashing “in” that she is able to pause and be content with herself for a moment. These fleeting instants of complacency are then immediately followed by more head-bashing with the hairbrush, as if she is punishing herself both for her fundamental inadequacy as an artist (the original reason for her masochism) and for her brief respite from inflicting pain upon herself. Her violent cycle of self-abhorrence and fatigue continues throughout the video.

Ron Athey's video is, for whatever reason, harder for me to pin meaning to. Maybe it is because emotional transparency and accessibility are not paramount in his performance: the glass walls distance him from the audience; the calm, robotic way he moves his body causes him to appear psychologically hardened; the fact that he covers his face, perhaps the most emotionally-telling part of the human body, with a wig indicates that his feelings should be unimportant to the viewers.

But then again, the transcendence of all emotion might be exactly what Athey is trying to achieve or portray. Part of masochism is getting 'beyond' basic physical pain and experiencing a sort of ultimate pleasure. While Abramovic is still caught in her physical self, Athey is unattached to his body and is thus able to bleed with disconcerting tranquility.