Liverpool artist Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney recently interviewd Orlan the performance artist who uses her own body and the procedures of plastic surgery to make “carnal art”. Here’s her story…
Meeting Orlan in Paris
by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
(Photograph by Tony Knox)
I had the exceptional opportunity to meet Orlan again on Wednesday 27 July 2005. She agreed to an interview for research I am doing in contemporary arts and culture. The evening of the interview the weather in Paris was unbearably hot. The populace of the city seemed to be out on the streets attracted by the heat and bright sun light.
I arrived at her Studio in Paris with Tony Knox (Photographer) carrying brief case, lap top and dictaphone. The studio is within a private court yard and towards the right two large doors with the word ‘Orlan’. I moved all my bags to one hand to have the other free and knocked. The door opened and there she was with her distinctive two toned black and yellow hair, dressed in black. She pushed the door wide and greeted us. I lent forward and kissed either cheek and turned to Tony to introduce him. She ushered us into her studio space.
A large white room with pure light illuminating everything from large windows above. Over the main entrance is a mezzanine of shelves upon shelves of books and then annexed at the front a kitchen and office space and as one moves around the perimeter of the main space other areas and storage.
On the walls hang some of her various ‘Self Hybridization’ series, large self portraits digitally fused with iconic images from other cultures. These curious large portraits make one attempt to psychologically dissect the synthesis between artefact and features of the artist. The hybridisation manifests a new evolution in cultural expression.
Knox and I unpack at the main table, while Orlan goes to her kitchen and asks, ‘would you like wine, water, coffee .’. Knox pulls from his bag a bottle of wine we had bought for her. She brings to the table large wine glasses and we each take a seat.
She telephones her husband, Raphael Cuir, who is an Art Historian and
Philosopher in Paris. We chat informally with Orlan on her current projects and exhibitions in New York, while we wait for her Cuir to arrive. I discover she has a hectic schedule and she has kindly taken the time to this interview. In less than quarter of an hour Cuir joins us.
I have a few technical problems with the laptop and curse under my breath. I look up and apologise for the delay. She is gracious and things are quickly sorted. It turns out the battery on the laptop needs replacing and it is as simple as plugging it into the mains. This is typical and although I feel somewhat embarrassed by the unreliability of technology things rapidly move on to the actually interview.
The interview lasts approximately three hours and is late by the time it ends. She has been very patient and the entire experience enlightening. I realise why she is one of the principle individuals in the arts who has made such an incredible impact.
It is easy to be wonderment of Orlan. Her contribution to art and culture is one which has shaped the canons of art history in a post modern context. Through the technological intervention on her body and ideas of flesh, in particular her earlier theories and philosophies on ‘Carnal Art’, she took the concept of the body in a performative context combined with plastic surgery, the canon and body modification. Yet, she is immensely amicable and unassuming and kindly tolerates my array of in-depth questions.
We finish and I express my gratitude for her support with the interview towards my research. She walks us to the door and we say our farewells. Knox and I walk through the court yard to the main gates. It is cooler now and dark, but I feel a sense of brilliance in the air.
To learn more about Orlan and her art please visit www.orlan.net.
(N.B.: Actual interview of Orlan for doctorate research only).
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