Contemporary visual and performance artists have adopted modern medical technologies such as MRIs and computer imagingmdash;and the bodily access they implymdash;to reveal their limitations. In doing so they emphasize the unknowability of anotherrsquo;s bodily experience and the effectsmdash;physical; emotional; and socialmdash;of medical procedures.In The Scar of Visibility; Petra Kuppers examines the use of medical imagery practices in contemporary art; as well as different arts of everyday life (self-help groups; community events; Internet sites); focusing on fantasies and ldquo;knowledge projectsrdquo; surrounding the human body. Among the works she investigates are the controversial Body Worlds exhibition of plastinized corpses; video projects by Shimon Attie on diabetes and Douglas Gordon on mental health and war trauma; performance pieces by Angela Ellsworth; Bob Flanagan; and Kira Orsquo;Reilly; films like David Cronenbergrsquo;s Crash and Marina de Vanrsquo;s In My Skin that fetishize body wounds; representations of the AIDS virus in the National Museum of Health and on CSI: Crime Scene Investigations; and the paintings of outsider artist Martin Ramiacute;rez.At the heart of this work is the scarmdash;a place of production; of repetition and difference; of multiple nerve sensations; fragile skin; outer sign; and bodily depth. Through the embodied sign of the scar; Kuppers articulates connections between subjective experience; history; and personal politics. Illustrated throughout; The Scar of Invisibility broadens our understanding of the significance of medical images in visual culture.Petra Kuppers is associate professor of English at the University of Michigan; Ann Arbor; and the author of Disability and Contemporary Performance: Bodies on Edge.
#2233278 in eBooks 2008-05-01 2008-05-01File Name: B0042JSLWE
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Bernadette Hackettabsolutely wonderful reading about a period in Griffins life that few know about.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Available LightBy Deborah KellyEspecially illuminating for those wishing to understand the life and works of Howard Griffin. this is most valuable for its vivid descriptions of the fear endured by his family in the wake of the publication of "Black Like Me". the political uprisings in Mexico. and his unwitting participation in a nearly-mortal re-enactment of The Passion in the Mexican town in which hed sought refuge.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Fulfilling a gap. Griffins biographyBy R. KnappJames Howard Griffin is a great American hero. I recently read "Black Like Me". which. despite the fact that I was alive aware back in those days. was incredibly harrowing to me. The dark side of human nature. It gives a perspective on the depth of human behavior. good bad. As a proud American it is sadly humbling. as is our history of the Indian Wars. On a broader interpretation: it should give the reader a more realistic perspective on Nazi Germany and horrific conditions and attitudes that still exist all over the world.I was hungry for more information on Griffins experiences and the fallout of his great experiment. This book offers that. and does so in a very humanizing way.
