The Body as an Art Form

The body as a canvas- Can the human body be considered as an art form?
The human form has been depicted in countless great works of art through the ages. Even the human skeleton in all its complexity can be considered a work of art in reality. The human body is such a complex and fascinating structure that it has been a consuming passion for most artists since the dawn of time. We see this in such works as Caravaggio’s, Leonardo Da Vinci, other greats, and too in the works of modernist artists and photographers today.
In many ways however, the body itself is an expression of art- a canvas for displaying emotions, personality or inner being, ideals and beliefs. This idea of the human body employed as an art canvas throughout contemporary and traditional art and indeed everyday life is an idea that I am really eager to explore during this essay.
Tattooing is one of the oldest forms of body art.

The impetus to decorate and adorn the body is fundamentally a human trait and is something that has been a practice for thousands of years. For many people the designs and symbols of tattoos can hold great significance. Similar designs can be found across cultures but their meaning can be notably different. Within cultures the meaning of certain designs can vary across time.

The practice of adorning the body actually spans thousands of years back in time. The written accounts of early European explorers declare an elaborate and widespread nature of tattooing in various parts of the world, providing an insight into traditions that had their origins deep in the past. For example Ötzi, “The frozen human”, found in the Austrian Alps dates to 5,300 years ago. His is the oldest tattooed body known. He has 57 tattoos.

Tattooing actually also has a very central role culturally across the world to this day. In many tribes in Samoa male and female tattoos in fact have distinctly separate names. The word for male tattoo is “pe'a”, which literally translated means “flying fox” and refers to the darker charcoal colour of the ink that is more typically favoured by the Samoan tribesmen. It covers the area from the knee to the waist, and is actually a matter of ceremony in Samoan culture. Without this vital symbol of manhood, it is widely believed that the male will carry a sense of shame.
The word for a female tattoo on the other hand is “malu”, which means to be “protected and sheltered”. Although female tattooing is not as essential as it is for the male in the culture, the taupou (village maiden), who has an important ceremonial role in the community, is also always tattooed from her knee to the top of her leg and sometimes on her hands.
Both male and female tattoos in Samoan culture are customarily meant to show that you are ready for life, for adulthood and to be dutiful to your community. This decoration of the body is really an essential part of the Samoan people’s lives. They are marks of both prestige and of obligation, yet can these tattoos really be considered as the body becoming a form of Art or simply a displaying of traditional values?

Another cultural example of the adornment and decoration of the body is Scarification in central Papua New Guinea. Scarification - the voluntary scarring of the body- is seen as a rite of passage into manhood. Scarification is usually linked to initiation. The skin on the chest, back and buttocks of the initiate is engraved with a bamboo sliver to test both their self control and physical strength. The scars, when healed, represent the teeth marks of the crocodiles that are religiously sacred to many Papua New-Guineans. This is an extreme example of the decoration and marring of the human body for the purposes of conventional religious beliefs. It is a symbolic attempt to merge the human body with that of an animal to display courage and maturity; and yet visually, to the outside world- this practice turns the body into something fascinating, horrifying, and at the same time somehow beautiful. The scarification completely transforms the body, really making it appear as something almost alien and intriguing that in my opinion can hence be considered as a kind of living art.

“The ceremonies and the initiation scars, or marks, were part of my induction into manhood and training in the ways of Sharmanic healing and medicine” Ben Lewis, Healer and Performer, 22
In every case, the art of tattooing is using the skin as a surface for projecting fantasy. It comes from a desire for permanent alteration of the body- to become a kind of artistic composition in the flesh. What tattooists can create are works of art actually under our skin- the art becoming a part of the human body. Similarly with the deliberate scarring of the body, the skin morphs into something more significant and altogether mesmerises the viewer.

What tattooists can create are works of art actually under our skin- the art becoming an integral part of the human body. Whether symbolic religious marks, autobiographical scenes or simply fantastic designs, the whole body becomes a kind of gallery through these forms of body art- a gallery of beliefs and traditions or personal thoughts, emotions and self expression. The decoration of the body reflects entirely the psychology of the wearer. It is an incredibly personal and intimate form of art- using the body as an artistic canvas that one can display to the outside world.

The New-York based Chinese performance artist Zhang Huan really explores in depth this notion of using his body to express himself as a human- to unlock his inner thoughts to the viewer and inspire the imagination. His works emit a strong fantastical element. A piece of his work that I feel really reflects this is “Family tree”, a work created in 2001 that displays a set of bold calligraphy across the artist’s face, which gradually complexifies throughout the set of photographs until his whole face is blackened, covered by the inks.
Zhang Huan seems fascinated with the way people see the human body- with writing and legibility and how we see and understand others or ourselves in particular within a cultural framework. The second piece of work of his that I have here shown named “skin”, created in 1997 displays Huan in a ‘cage’ of animal ribs, complete with flesh still clinging to them. The image displays the vulnerability of the human body; the insides on the outside of the skin. Zhang’s body is truly a canvas for his conceptual artwork.