Feminism, Nudity and Performance Art

Abstract

本研究關注的焦點是義大利籍美國行為藝術家Vanessa Beecroft的系列展演作品。文章首先略述二次戰後西方女性藝術家的發展，並藉此脈絡淺談女體在現代主義以降中產階級白人男性論述下，視覺文文化及藝術史中的表徵。此外，本文也隨著VB系列的演變及其中幾篇針對當代事件的在現處理，探究當代資本主義典範下菁英文化生產的世俗化及商業化。 This research focuses on Italian-American performance artist Vanessa Beecroft's work series, whereas each work is titled with a sequential number after her initials VB in time order. First, an investigation of the development of female performance artists in the west after World War II is conducted, providing context for the analysis of the intrinsic role female nudity plays under the hegemony of middle class Caucasian male discourse of art history and visual culture. It continues to review the environment of production under contemporary Capitalism society for female artists, how they strike to tackle Bourgeois ideology whilst female bodies are microscopically gazed. Then, it chronicles the changes in VB series by inspecting three works-VB11 (1995), VB46 (2001), and VB70 (2011), respectively-that are representative of changes in Beecroft's personal production notes and method. By examining the secularization and commercialization of cultural production, this research discovers that Beecroft is taking advantages of her versatile status in art, fashion and entertainment business to ensure claim on the autonomy of female body while exploiting its beauty and vulnerabilities, which continually help establish Beecroft's name as an internationally prominent artist.