ORLAN (French)
The Reincarnation of Saint ORLAN (1990's)
Movement: contemporary, found object, performance art
Medium: time based form (picture above is a still from the artwork)
Context: Performance art allowed for artists and artworks to have an intimate relationship with the audience and invited the viewer to participate in the work.
Analysis of work's meaning: In this performance art ‘The Reincarnation of Saint ORLAN’, it appears to be a documentation of different plastic surgeries on the French artist ORLAN during the 1990’s. ORLAN appropriates carnal art, which is a technique that imitates classical, renaissance art through modern technology, such as plastic surgeries and video and appropriates Renaissance paintings such as Mona Lisa and the Birth of Venus. ORLAN livestreams her plastic surgeries in art galleries around the world, inviting the audience to witness the living artwork to be formed. Through plastic surgery, ORLAN comments on the male gaze that has formed the ideal image of women, yet an unrealistic perspective, presenting the high beauty standards women face in society.
What do art critics have to say about it? Art critic Viola exclaims ‘Real body, imaginary body. Mystical body, social body’, encapsulates the permanent manipulation and possible health risks, displaying ORLAN’s extreme approach to breaking the boundaries of art and her seemingly provocative practice