Ron Athey
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Ron Athey (born December 16, 1961) is an American artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally (especially in the UK and Europe). He has also, with Vaginal Davis, curated performance art festivals in the U.S. and in Europe.
As an artist, Athey uses his body to explore controversial subject matters such as the relationship between desire, sexuality, and self-mutilation. Much of his work uses the dynamics of S&M in order to confront pre-conceived ideas about masculinity and the body. Athey's emphasis on especially sexuality and the body made him a favorite target for the Far Right in the 1990s, when homophobic critics and lawmakers falsely represented one of his performances as exposing audience members to HIV infected blood. (This was in response to a 1994 Minneapolis performance of "Four Scenes in a Harsh Life" in which he cut a man's back, placed strips of paper towel on the cuts and then, using a pulley, hoisted the bloody cloths up into the air.) Even though Athey had received only $150 of financial support for his work from the National Endowment for the Arts via his 1994 performance at the Walker Art Center, during the 1990s his name was raised in public debates about state sponsorship of art about sexuality and AIDS. In many ways, these events continue to shape public perception of his work, even though he has not applied for any public grant or funding in the United States since. [1]
Athey's work is informed by his pentecostal background and frequently explores religious subjects - e.g. Athey concludes his 2005 operatic performance Judas Cradle (performed in collaboration with Juliana Snapper of the band Cypher in the Snow ) by speaking in tongues, his theatrical multi-media performance Joyce unpacks the feverish environment of his religious upbringing, and he has staged himself as a modern era St. Sebastian for the photographer Catherine Opie. Athey frequently engages with the ideas of queer philosophers and artists like Georges Bataille and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Athey's performance "Solar Anus" refers directly to one of Bataille's essays, and in 2002 Athey curated an endurance/performance festival inspired by Pasolini's films. The "Solar Anus" performance is included as part of Athey's starring role in the Danish feature film HotMen CoolBoyz (2000), directed by Knud Vesterskov and produced by Lars von Trier's company Zentropa. The film was nominated for five GayVN Awards, including a Best Solo Performance nomination for Ron Athey.
As a curator, Athey has brought together a diverse range of artists, including Bruce LaBruce, Ann Magnuson, Slava Mogutin, Udo Kier, Rick Owens, Ming Yuen S. Ma, Kira O'Reilly, Nicole Blackman, and Franko B
Athey is a regular contributor to the L.A. Weekly newspaper, and occasionally teaches performance studies. He resides in Los Angeles.
