Destroy your hair = release your self?

Marina Abramovic’s performance was incredibly haunting. I have to admit…it took a lot of self-control to continue watching the clip after I realized what she was doing to herself.

I immediately noticed the repetition of the mantra: “Art must be beautiful, artist must be beautiful”. The fact that she places the subject matter, “ART” first and then follows with the conveyor of the subject matter, the “ARTist” reflects how she prioritizes her art over her self.

Abramovic’s priorities illuminate a fundamental aspect of Sadomasochism. The sadist and the masochist prioritize both the giving and receiving of pleasure in the form of pain to the extent that the health and condition of the receiver do not matter. The receiver of pain is more concerned with receiving this pleasure than the overall livelihood of her body.

The determined look on Abramovic’s face as she continues to tear at her scalp with her combs also highlights the masochist’s priority of pleasure over self. The artist will not stop because she must be beautiful in order for her art to be beautiful. In this case, her art, this pain, is the most important, most valued object.

Abramovic never looks straight into the camera lens. She stares down throughout the entire performance, showing the audience that she does not care what we think about her or whether or not we want her to stop. The only object that matters to her in this scene is her beauty and her art.

Much like Ron Athey’s performance, Athey never looks straight into the audience throughout this clip. He stares straight ahead at his own self and at his own stage. Both Athey and Abramovic show us by ignoring us that the only object that matters to them is their art, their performance, and their selves.

The fact that both Athey and Abramovic destroyed their hair to demonstrate their masochism highlights the fact that their outward image doesn’t matter to them. By ignoring the audience and not looking at the audience, they have already conveyed that the opinions of the outside world do not matter. Hair is a means by which society views and judges a person. By destroying their hair, Athey and Abramovic rebel against a society that has an aversion towards masochism. By deconstructing their hair in a masochist way, in a way that causes self pain, they release their “selves” from the bounds of society.