This surgical montage recalls the practices of the ancient Greek artist, Zeuxis, and Leonardo da Vinci, in which the artists extrapolated the most ideal features of several different models and morphed them into one. But Orlan has taken these methods to a different level. Her operations are not cosmetic; she has had no facelifts or liposuction. Far from an ideal identity, the result seems to be none at all. Little is known about her background (a deliberate obfuscation on the artist's part—as her physical identity changes, her familial identity becomes less relevant). What Jolique was able to dig up reveals that she was born in the town of St. Étienne, France in 1947. In 1978, she performed her first "surgical performance." In 1980, she moved to Paris. In November 1998, she was awarded Arcimboldo prize by a foundation chaired by Hewlett-Packard France, the Association Gens d'Images and the Pictorial Service (a.k.a "Picto"). Orlan's art offers commentary not only by questioning the notion of an ideal beauty, but also the lengths to which people will go to achieve it. Says Orlan: "'My work is not a stand against cosmetic surgery, but against the standards of beauty, against the dictates of a dominant ideology that impresses itself more and more on feminine . . . flesh'" (O'Bryan). It's also a stand against nature. Through her art, Orlan seeks to link the interior self with the exterior self. She takes physiognomy to its extreme. As O'Bryan says, "...She is the artist who is transforming herself, having herself sculpted to resemble an image that she herself created from/of the outside, of her inside. In her attempt to locate her interior image she has placed her exterior physique in a state of flux. It is not still and not fixable." But is it art? Author and critic Barbara Rose thinks so. According to Rose, the "two essential criteria for distinguishing art from nonart, intentionality and transformation, are present in all [of Orlan's] efforts" (Rose, 87). By creating highly structured images in photographs, videos, and of course, on her own body, Orlan has satisfied these criteria. Jolique agrees, even if it is pretty startling. One thing is certain—Orlan has truly sacrificed for her art. Judge for yourself! For more information
on Orlan (including some extremely interesting photos!), check out
some of the following links: Bibliography:
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