The body as artistic and cultural expression - Research Paper Example

?The body as artistic and cultural expression/manifestation Each and every human being on earth has inherited the legacy of body art from his/her ancestors. The extent to which body art is practiced may vary for each individual but there is no escape from this cultural practice for us. From the extreme examples like punk, to being selective in the colour or design of the dress one wears- body art has supposedly normal and not so normal manifestations. Shildkrout (2001) in the article, Body Art as Visual Language, has revealed the primal impulse behind the use of body as an artistic and cultural expression, “if the impulse to create art is one of the defining signs of humanity, the body may well have been the first canvas” (pp.1). Body painting, make up, body shaping, hair styling, scarification, tattooing, piercing, and dressing up in clothes constitute the expansive genre of body art. The functional aspect of body art has been described as supporting “to rebel, to follow fashion, or to play and experiment with new identities” (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.2). Apart from this functional aspect, the use of body as a starting point in artistic expression has gone rather unexplored. This essay envisages finding out the connection between body art and artistic expression and presupposes that the rebellion-aspect of body art inspires artistic expressions while the tradition-aspect blocks it. If we consider each kind of body art separately, it can be seen that different meanings are associated with different kinds of body art. For example, body painting can enhance the beauty, impart a divine countenance, provide protection, masquerade and establish a group identity. Similarly, make up has the function of increasing visual appeal, providing a false identity or concealing the original one, as well as establishing authority and status. Hair styling also can enhance beauty appeal, establish a group identity or visualize rebellion. Body shaping ranges from the primitive practice of skull shaping to the modern plastic surgery, all of which again has multiple functionalities. Scarification, tattooing and piercing have more to do with group identity and rebellion. But there are also less visible uses of body art like the use of piercing as a religious ritual and the use of make up to convey codified meaning as in Kabuki theatre (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.2-4). Body art has a great many things to do with our everyday lives and it is this aspect that brightens up the narrative of Meeta Kaur in her autobiographical essay, Journey By Inner Light (2006). Here, the basic emotions associated with body art are discussed, which is after all about being happy and content about one’s own self. Kaur (2006) has started her essay by describing the beauty of her mother’s hair, the good care that her mother gives it and the passing over of this tradition to herself (pp.39). This is a clear example of how artistic expression is evident in our everyday lives. As the narrative progresses, the reader become aware of the cultural identity that is associated with long hair, for Kaur’s mother and herself (2006, pp.40). Kaur’s being a migrant family from India to America, she believes that her mother’s long hair is “an allegiance to a homeland” (2006, pp.40). Kaur (2006) also has remarked that her mother’s hair “ is a light that provides a sense of place and home between any borders, on any soil, whether she is in India, America, or any other country” (pp.40). It can be seen that in this instance, body art as simple as maintaining one’s hair long has a meaning that is deep-rooted in tradition. The second encounter of Kaur (2006) with body art is when she goes back to India, and in a comic book, sees the picture of “the ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, […] (in) a navy blue turban and a golden robe and […] (having) a long silky beard” talking about religious freedom (pp.41). This visual also reminds how body art can impart great status to a person’s appearance. The “regal turbans” of the Gurus are (Kaur, 2006) as symbols of her community’s distinct identity (pp.42). Their “flowing beards”, are signs of knowledge and religious authority (Kaur, 2006, pp.42). Particularly for a member of the Sikh community, hair referred to as kesh, is “a commitment to a loving state of mind, to self-control, to faith in humanity, and to the protection of individual and communal rights” (Kaur, 2006, pp.42). But Kaur (2006) is facing a dilemma as she is standing on the thresold between two cultures. With her long hair though she can win great adoration and acceptability in her community and her nation, she cannot live the adventurous love life of an American girl, which is the reality of her present (Kaur, 2006, pp.43). The problem before Kaur (2006) develops into a matter of choice as well because the legth of her hair leaves her with too less options of wearing it differently and in a trendy manner (pp.44). And she is emotionally weighed down by the overload of tradition on her hair (Kaur, 2006, pp.44). And the careless way in which the Western hairstylist handles her hair creates panic inside Kaur’s mind (2006, pp.44). Here, a future with n number of choices frightens Kaur while the past, which had only a limited number of choices gives her a sense of security. The problem with body art is that its meanings are not easily communicated to someone who belongs to another culture and this may bring about a kind of cultural alienation (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.1). But in a global communication scenario, two processes happen- either the meanings of body art are misunderstood or the body art looses its original meanings caught in the chaos of information overload (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.1). As a result, body art has undergone a transformation by which it has become a mix of tradition and innovation (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.2). Shildkrout (2001) has cited an example for this by pointing out that “a tattoo from Borneo was once worn to light the path of a person’s soul after death, but in New York or Berlin it becomes a sign of rebellion from “coat and tie” culture” (pp.1). And eventually, because of the cultural connotations involved, body art is used to “identify, exoticize and ostracize others” (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.1). It is clearly demonstrated in Kaur’s narrative (2006) that a person from another culture might fail to find meanings out of the body art of a non-familiar culture. This is why, Tiffany, the hairstylist is least bothered about cutting off the long hair of Kaur (2006, pp.45). But the sense of loss is so acute for Kaur’s mother when she sees that Kaur had cut her hair short (Kaur, 2006, pp.46). Here, Kaur and her mother share a common meaning about body art, because they belong to the same culture. The situation that Kaur (2006) is in is a double-edged one. She fear ostracization by her fellow students if she continue to wear her traditional body art (long hair) but once she has cut it off, she is faced with ostracization within her family (Kaur, 2006, pp.40-46). A decision about her hair, her body art, thus forces her into choosing between two identities. And once she starts growing back her hair, it is not only that her appearance changes but it is as if she is traveling back into the once abandoned territory of her homeland traditions. A sociological and historical analysis of body art can lead to these kind of less explored dimensions of this communication medium. It has been observed that body art has the ability to become the identity of an individual as well as a group (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.2). History stands witness to the fact that “people have always marked their bodies with signs of individuality, social status and cultural identity” (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.1). In retrospection, body art has been identified with “a person’s status in society; […] accomplishments […] memories, desires and life histories” (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.1). It is also a matter of interest that in certain cultures, body art functions “as a link with ancestors, deities or spirits” (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.2). What these associations signify is the role of body art as a visual language (Shildkrout, 2001). The vocabulary and grammar of this language are “shared symbols, myths and social values” depicted on the body in visual form (Shildkrout, 2001, pp.1). It is this visual language of tradition and culture that Kaur (2006) loses when she cuts her hair off. Not that her hair or the body art that she practices by way of her hair is important. But it is the cultural connotations of her having long hair that is deep-rooted in the generations that preceded her and hence very important for her self-realization. Each and every body art form has this kind of a cultural stock embedded within. But in the case of Kaur (2006), a key point regarding body art is drowned in her narrative as she overemphasizes the cultural dilemma that she had faced. It is the aspect of rebellion associated with body art. When Kaur (2006) cut her hair short she was questioning the tradition that was obstructing her living in her reality, her present. It was the rebellion of the individual against the group, against history. Above all, it is the manifestation of artistic expression as is described by Jones (1998, pp.5). As we know, creative expressions both shape and are shaped by our individual and cultural identities and in Kaur’s case, it is her reinforced cultural identity (through growing back hair) that helps her cope with the challenges of her life. But for Kaur (2006), body alterations fall short of becoming body art which is “antiformalist in impulse, opening up the circuits of desire informing artistic production and reception” (Jones, 1998, pp.5). For many, the moment of haircut might have been a moment of freedom and artistic expression but for Kaur (2006) the emotions associated with freedom and art are less intense in her personality than the emotions attached to tradition. It is in this context that the significance of art and literature in relation to identity, culture, and our everyday perceptions and experiences, need to be discussed. Out of such a discussion, the elements in everyday life that promote and obstruct artistic expressions can be singled out. Body becomes the starting point for art for humans because “of all the raw materials available to humanity for transformation into art, the body is the most readily available” (Blandy and Congdon, 1991, pp.86). It is this impulse for artistic expression that causes rebellion against conventional body art as well. Such a rebellion will lead to innovations in body art like tattoo, piercing etc. And the ‘real’ works of art can be understood as extensions of body art into the realm of the ideological ‘body’ of humanity. It is the sociological realm of body art that Shildkrout (2001) discusses while Kaur (2006) has limited her discourse in the personal realm of body art. But both these works lack in understanding the connection between tradition, rebellion and art. It is at the interface between tradition and rebellions that body art emerge as is all other artistic expressions (Burrell, 2004, pp.105). Burrell (2004) has explained this concept by saying, “the rebellion of art is a daily rebellion against the state of living death routinely called real life” (pp.105). Living the routine life is part of tradition while rebelling against that is art. The comparison between the works of Shildkourt (2001) and Kaur (2006) have thus proved that there is a connection between body art and other artistic expressions and this comparative study also proves that the rebellion-aspect of body art inspires artistic expressions while the tradition-aspect blocks it. References Blandy, D.E. and Kongdon, K.G. (1991) Pluralistic approaches to art criticism, Popular Press. Burrell, J. (2004) Word: on being a [woman] writer, New York: Feminist Press. Jones, A. (1998) Body art/performing the subject, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. Kaur, Meeta, (2006) Journey by inner light, In Homelands: Women’s Journeys Across Race, Place and time, (Eds) Patricia Justine Tumang and Jenesha de Revera, California: Seal Press. Shildkrout, E. (2001) Body art as visual language, Anthro Notes, pp.1-8. Read More