Ron Athey in conversation with Andrea Pagnes

LADA are pleased to make exclusively available a conversation between new LADA Patron Ron Athey and the artist Andrea Pagnes 

This dialogue between the two artists includes a discussion around the issues and concerns of contemporary Performance Art as well as an in-depth focus on the work of Ron Athey, past and present, with additional notes by Lisa Newman.

It is available as a free PDF download or to view in the LADA Study Room.

Ron Athey is an iconic figure in contemporary art and performance. In his frequently bloody portrayals of life, death, crisis, and fortitude in the time of AIDS, Athey calls into question the limits of artistic practice. These limits enable Athey to explore key themes including gender, sexuality, radical sex, queer activism, postpunk and industrial culture, tattooing and body modification, ritual, and religion. The first monograph on his work, Pleading in the Blood, edited by Dominic Johnson, is published by LADA and Intellect Books in their Intellect Live series and available to buy on Unbound.

Andrea Pagnes is a performance artist, writer and curator of the Venice International Performance Art Week. Since 2006 he has collaborated with Verena Stenke as VestAndPage. VestAndPage's practice is process-led and conceived psycho-geographically in response to architecture, natural surroundings or historical sites. Titles by Andrea Pagnes are available to buy on Unbound.