Pleading in the Blood

The Art and Performances of Ron Athey

Edited by Dominic Johnson

Publication date:

15 February 2015

Publisher

Intellect Books

Dimensions:

229x178mm
7x9"

ISBN-13: 9781783204274

Ron Athey is an iconic figure in contemporary art and performance. In his frequently bloody portrayals of life, death, crisis and fortitude in the time of AIDS, Athey calls into question the limits of artistic practice. These limits enable Athey to explore key themes including gender, sexuality, radical sex, queer activism, post-punk and industrial culture, tattooing and body modification, ritual and religion. This landmark publication includes Athey’s own writings, commissioned essays by maverick artists and leading academics and full-colour images of Athey’s art and performances since the early 1980s. The diverse range of artistic and critical contributors to the book reflects Athey’s creative and cultural impact, among them musician Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons who contributed a foreword.

Foreword – Antony Hegarty

Introduction: Towards a Moral and Just Psychopathology – Dominic Johnson

Gifts of the Spirit – Ron Athey

'There are Many Ways to say Hallelujah!' – Catherine (Saalfield) Gund

'Does a Bloody Towel Represent the Ideals of the American People?': Ron Athey and the Culture Wars – Dominic Johnson

Bombs Away in Front-Line Suburbia – Homi K. Bhabha

Deliverance: The 'Torture Trilogy' in Retrospect – Ron Athey

The Irreplaceable Bodies: Resistance Through Ferocious Fragility – Julie Tolentino

Athey-ism, Collaboration and Hustler White – Bruce LaBruce

Sex with Ron – Jennifer Doyle

The Man and His Tattoos (By the Man Who Did Them) – Alex Binnie

The Milk Factory on Winchester – Matthew Goulish

Flash: On Photographing Ron Athey – Catherine Opie

How Ron Athey Makes Me Feel: The Political Potential of Upsetting Art – Amelia Jones

Raised in the Lord: Revelations at the Knee of Miss Velma – Ron Athey

Joyce: The Violent Disbelief of Ron Athey – Lydia Lunch

Judas Cradle: Invasive Resonance – Juliana Snapper

Illicit Transit – Adrian Heathfield

By Word of Mouth: Ron Athey's Self-Obliteration – Tim Etchells

The New Barbarians: A Declaration of Poetic Disobedience from The New Border – Guillermo Gomez-Peña

“Pleading in the Blood offers a remarkable and enduring contribution to literatures on performance and contemporary art... The potency of myth in Ron Athey’s work is the problem tackled by this formidable new book.”