Case Study of Franko B – Research/Notes
These are my notes and some of the writing has probably been repeated alot! However I feel that these notes should be included in the blog, because it's all evidence and there is more extracts from journals and books that supports my research.
So I do apologise for the repeatative nature!
The reason I am going to specifically looking at the work of Franko B is because I became very animated when in conversation with Caroline regarding Performance art that involves the use of physical injury and self-harm, especially blood-letting during a performance especially as I do work within the healthcare professional.
I have a moral issue with this type of performance because I work within the NHS and specifically within the Blood Bank department, the ethos of this particular department being that the essence of blood is essential to life, and when given freely by a blood donor has the capacity to be lifesaving.
Therefore I struggle with the concept of self-harm and the use of your own blood as part of a performance. These particular issues create conflict for me in regards to the ‘live performances’ of artists that use the concept self-harm and specifically the use of your own blood as part of a performance and what can be communicated through this medium however much it is done in a sensitive and responsible manner.
I do freely admit that I had never watched a whole version of any live performances by Franko B, and I was quite unsure about writing this essay because of what I would have to see, however if I can make statements regarding this artist then I do have to research this area of performance art.
With this concept in mind I observed a recording of one of Franko B’s performances, as I watched the video the visual image of a white figure creates a sense of vulnerability especially when he stands still allowing his blood to drain, it’s pretty awful to watch when you witness the effect of blood loss, you can tell that he uses sheer willpower to walk the pure white runway.
There is a uncomfortable sense of a voyeuristic feeling when watching this artist, he came across as someone be led out to sacrificed.
I was upset by watching this piece because Franko B appears to be vulnerable and very alone and even though I do not know this artist on an intimate level I did feel concern for his mental and physical health.
On a separate level watching this performance of exposed vulnerability from Franko B reflected personally to me, I felt feelings of loneliness and need which are emotions that I do not talk about or express that extended the feeling of vulnerability.
I decided to paint myself, because when watching Franko B the fact that he is painted this pure white not only shows up the blood as it spills down him but also accentuates the sense that he the artist is vulnerable and even though I am not going out into the public arena, I know that I would find that in physically painting myself and having the imagery recorded for all to see would cause me distress due to issues with body imagery, especially my own and the world to see all my imperfections was hideous thought. This was accentuated by mainly being outside in my garden, where if my neighbours can see me if they wanted to.
I used acrylic paint that was a red/brown colour and my daughter helped me to reach the areas of difficulty! Furthermore she was in control of the images taken; again the feeling of loss of control was difficult to deal with.
In doing this experiment I was attempting to ‘step into the artist’s shoes’ because I do genuinely struggle with the ‘live performances’ of Franko B, however when reading McNiff, S. Art based Research In Knowles and Cole (2008) Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research. SAGE.
McNiff states “There is no better way to understand a particular aspect of creative practice than to research it in this direct way.”
He continues to say “The focus of my research shifted away from experimenting with human subjects and towards the more direct examination of the artistic process.”
I felt that I had to somehow remove the issue of the self – harming aspect and take into consideration other aspects of his performance, obviously one route I could take was to paint myself. The reason I did keep underwear on was I found this an incredibly difficult process for me to undertake many due to my weight issues and lack of confidence, and I didn’t want to alienate my neighbours completely.
Continuing this research the time to wash off the paint and finish this endeavour my daughter suggested continuing the process by photographing me whilst attempting to remove the paint in the bath, I have to admit I was not overly happy in doing this, however it did seem like a natural conclusion to this experiment.
Franko B he wrote a text called ‘Untouchable’ and I decided to do the same, in doing this I have recorded my feelings, and everything that I associated with the experience, this created a heightened awareness of the whole experience, the positive and negative aspects, as well as the mundane and the bizarre.
I have collated the images and have placed them into a Powerpoint Presentation which does include the text that I have written, furthermore I have taken the photos taken and by using photoshop I have cut out areas of the images and then manipulated them using a filter, this has been very interesting because in doing this I have removed the sense of reality, creating a narrowed field of vision, once again I have created a Powerpoint Presentation called ‘Removing the Real’ because I felt by manipulating the images realism of the situation has been removed.
Because I have never investigated this particular area of performance art I felt it was important to look other artists who practised their art within this field, so I have looked at a variety of male artists who use performance art and the work of Ron Athey (b.1961) interested me because I believe his work is in complete in contrast to that of Franco B.
Athey uses his body in extreme performances in a masochistic format, his body becomes the site of ritualistic and mythical representation.Ron Athey (b.1961) he had a bizarre childhood, brought up to believe he was the young messiah by the age of seventeen Athey was a heroin addict, however he did manage to escape the fanatical control of his family and managed to become clean from heroin. His childhood is discussed in his biography Ron Athey (2011).
“Raised in an extremely dysfunctioned Pentecostal household the young ORonnie Lee, was sainted as young prophet messiah who proselytized in tongues, and whose tears were coveted by the entire congregation. The adoration bestowed upon him in the revival tent, did little to alleviate the daily nightmares heaped upon him as unwitting victim of his mother’s schizophrenia, his aunt’s hyper-sexualized insanity and his grandmother’s channeling of other worldly specters”(2011).
Franko B’s childhood was also very difficult; he touches on his childhood in discussion with Azamat Tseboevin the article The Red Cross of Franko B (2007).
“I spent all my childhood waiting. I lived and waited to grow up at last. I remember my mother who beat me, and I put up with and thought that I wanted to grow up as soon as possible. Then I lived in a home, where for everything you did or said wrong – that God doesn’t exist, for example – you were made to kneel for hours. I kneeled and waited. Until I was 16 I dreamed of growing up. Because I knew that once I had grown up, I would never let myself be insulted and never kneel again. I will never kneel, neither physically or metaphorically”(2007).
Continuing to look at these two artists and what connects them is that they have both been influenced by Renaissance Art in their childhoods, furthermore the martyr St Sebastian (c.300) who is regarded as an iconic martyr within the homosexual community. According to legend Sebastian he was a soldier in the Roman army and he was a secret Christian, when he was discovered he was shot with arrows and left for dead, however he denounced the Emperor for his cruelty to Christians, and was beaten to death.
The martyrdom of St Sebastian is discussed by David Thorp in the text ‘Franko B’ (2004).
“Throughout the history of art, the cathartic property of suffering has been central to the practice of painting. Within that genus, the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian has been returned to repeatedly as a subject for painters, an icon of Renaissance art to which the young Franko B was exposed. Paintings of Saint Sebastian depict a youthful figure of great androgynous beauty, and almost without exception they portray his suffering. Semi-naked, bound to a tree or column, his body pierced with arrows, he gazes towards heaven with a beatific countenance. With the exception of Christ on the cross, Saint Sebastian was, originally, the only acceptable model available to artists wishing to paint the male nude. This and the apocryphal tales surrounding his death may have lead to his subsequent standing as a homosexual martyr”(2004).
What I have learnt from this experience is that by doing the bizarre (painting myself) this action specifically has opened my mind and I have been able to create a relationship with the work of Franko B and the areas of his work that I struggle with I can now engage with at least, even if I still can’t approve, I feel that I have more insight into what he is trying to explore within his work.
