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The Gift Why would you choose to go and see Franko B’s work? Elements of Romanticism can be recognised in relation to the audience and the work, feelings of fear and apprehension as well as curiosity and fascination may be a compelling enough reason. Live Performance Art implies the necessity of an audience and in the work of Franko B; the audience are an essential part of the performance. There is a complex relationship between B and his audience. B refers to his work as being about “sharing and survival” (Heathfield, 2003a, p.38).The act of cutting is never witnessed; only the evidence on the body is seen, the presence of the wounds is significant. The performance situation, the context, setting and imaging are all extremely important and implicitly conveys meaning to the way Franko B’s work is read. B titles his work but does not write programme notes leaving the role of interpretation open to those watching. For example Franko B (Franko-b, 2003) describes the piece Aktion 398 (1999) his naked body is painted white, he has a cut to his stomach and he is wearing a plastic collar (the type animals wear to stop them licking their wounds). The public encounter this work one at a time spending two minutes alone with B in this intimate and uncompromising situation.
Audience response is described as one of fear, respectful, intense, contemplative, and emotional, of concentration in both the audience and artist. Franko B (Franko-b, 2003) refers to his relationship with the audience as being one of give and take but not on the level of “an offering”. Campbell and Spackman (1998, p.65) also refers to this emotional exchange and make reference to Marcel Mauss’s term ‘depense’ which describes “the excessive gift that lies beyond exchange value, but which nevertheless demands response”. In this context there lies a certain responsibility not only between artist and audience, but also between audience and artist, and that this interaction works in a very personal and intimate exchange. Adrian Heathfield (2003) refers to the relationship between the artist and spectator entering a state of suspension in which the open ended form of abjection is able to have different associations projected onto the work. Referring back to Aktion 398 (1999) the wound can symbolise not only personal and physical violation but possibly be interpreted as a reflection of society generally. The audience/artist relationship is one of complicity in which the audience witness the performatively embodying presence of Franko B’s body, a body laid bare, that emphasises and highlights the fragility of our own bodies, and also represents the marginalised ‘other’ within society. next >> |
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Copyright © Franko B 2007
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