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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.
“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.”
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