Eating (performance art)

Performance art by Abel Azcona

Eating

Artist| Abel Azcona
Year| 2012
Medium| Performance Art
Location| Berlin University of the Arts, Berlin, Copenhagen

Eating is a conceptual and performative work of critical, polemical and political content by artist Abel Azcona. Also known as Eating a Koran (Spanish: La Ingesta del Corán), Eating a Torah (Spanish: La Ingesta de la Torá) and Eating a Bible (Spanish: La Ingesta de la Biblia).[1]

## History

[edit]

Eating a Koran, Eating a Torah and Eating a Bible were first presented in October 2012 in the exhibition space of The College of Performing Arts, part of the University of the Arts in Berlin. Azcona inaugurated a series of works of a performative nature with the critical content of religious entities.[2] In the works, Azcona used representative icons of various religions, such as the Koran, the Bible, the Torah and other objects of a sacred character. In the most controversial of them, Azcona performs for nine-hour during which he ingests the pages of a copy of the Koran, the Torah and the Bible. This work provoked the most repercussions of any of the series, and the artist was threatened and persecuted for the piece.[3]

The work was performed again in the Krudttønden, Copenhagen. From there, Azcona founded an art collection together with other artists such as Lars Vilks and Bjørn Nørgaard, who had been persecuted and threatened for their creations. With the collective, including Vilks, Nørgaard, the writer Salman Rushdie and the cartoonist Charb (who was killed in the attack on Charlie Hebdo),[4] Azcona carried out performances and conferences for freedom of speech in the Krudttønden between 2013 and 2015. In 2015 the Krudttønden building was attacked by terrorists during a conference. Subsequently, the work Eating a Koran, was bought by a Danish collector and donated to the Krudttønden for the permanent exhibition.[5]

## Bibliography

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* Group FIDEX, Figures of excess and body policies (2018). Technical-conceptual atlas of the Fidex research group: Micropolitics in contemporary research in Fine Arts (in Spanish). Universitas Miguel Hernández. ISBN 978-8416024711.
* Silva Gómez, Norma Ángelica (2018). Abel Azcona: Of empathy as (im) possibility (in Spanish). Colegio de Saberes de México.
* López Landabaso, Patricia (2017). La performance como medio de expresión artística. Expresiones actuales en el País Vasco (PDF) (in Spanish). Universidad del País Vasco.
* Cano Martínez, Maria Jesús (2018). Escondido tras la piel: representaciones y afrontamientos del dolor y el sufrimiento desde el arte de acción (in Spanish). Universidad de Granada. ISBN 9788491639541.
* Molina Ruiz, Irene (2016). El autorretrato como canalizador del dolor (in Spanish). University of Granada. ISBN 9788491258148.

## See also

[edit]

* Arts portal

* Performance art
* Installation
* Endurance art
* 2015 Copenhagen shootings

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sandhu, Mediha (2014). "Controversial Artist Eats Pages from Muslim Holy Book". Illume Magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
2. ^ El Hueco. "Abel Azcona, one of the most transgressive artists in the world". El Hueco. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
3. ^ García García, Oscar (January 19, 2013). "Abel Azcona threatened for his work Eating a Koran". Contemporary Art Platform. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
4. ^ Jenkins, Lin (February 14, 2015). "Lars Vilks: maverick artist who knows what it is to be a target". The Guardian. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
5. ^ Snaphanen. "Abel Azcona: Eating a Quran in Copenhagen". Snaphanen.

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Abel Azcona

Works|

* Amen or The Pederasty (2015)
* Buried (2015)
* Eating (2012)
* Empathy and Prostitution (2013)
* File 09812 (2015)
* Political Disorder (2017)
* Spain Asks for Forgiveness (2020)
* The Death of The Artist (2018)
* The Fathers (2016)
* The Nine Confinements or The Deprivation of Liberty (2012)
* The Shadow (2014)
* The Shame (2018)
* The Streets (2014)

* v
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* e

Performance art

Work|

* 7000 Oaks (1982)
* Amen or The Pederasty (2015)
* Bed-in (1969)
* Breathing in/breathing out (1977)
* Body Pressure (1974)
* Buried (2015)
* Ceci N'est Pas Un Viol (2015)
* Couple in The Cage: Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit the West (1992–93)
* Cut Piece (1964)
* Eating (2012)
* Empathy and Prostitution (2013)
* Food for the Spirit (1971)
* How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare (1965)
* I'm too sad to tell you (1970–71)
* Luminosity (1997)
* Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight) (2014–2015)
* One & Other (2009)
* Rest Energy (1980)
* Rhythm 10 (1973)
* Rhythm 5 (1974)
* Rhythm 2 (1974)
* Rhythm 0 (1974)
* Seedbed (1972)
* Seven Easy Pieces (2005)
* Shot Marilyns (1964)
* The Artist Is Present (2010)
* The Death of The Artist (2018)
* The Fathers (2016)
* The Shadow (2014)
* The Shame (2018)
* Three Weeks in May (1977)
* Untitled (Rape Scene) (1973)
* Untitled [Senior Thesis], 2008 (2008)

Artists|

* Marina Abramović
* Vito Acconci
* Bas Jan Ader
* Laurie Anderson
* Ron Athey
* Abel Azcona
* Franko B
* Matthew Barney
* Rebecca Belmore
* Joseph Beuys
* David Blaine
* Mark Bloch
* Stuart Brisley
* Günter Brus
* Nancy Buchanan
* Chris Burden
* James Lee Byars
* Sophie Calle
* Papo Colo
* Valie Export
* Bob Flanagan
* Terry Fox
* Coco Fusco
* Guillermo Gómez-Peña
* Cai Guo-Qiang
* Ann Hamilton
* David Hammons
* Jo Hanson
* Newton Harrison
* Sharon Hayes
* Lynn Hershman
* Rebecca Horn
* Tehching Hsieh
* Zhang Huan
* Natalie Jeremijenko
* Joan Jonas
* Allan Kaprow
* Andy Kaufman
* Ragnar Kjartansson
* Yves Klein
* Terence Koh
* Paul Kos
* Yayoi Kusama
* Suzanne Lacy
* Phoebe Legere
* James Luna
* Miki Malör
* Eric Millikin
* Marta Minujín
* Kent Monkman
* Linda Montano
* Frank Moore
* Charlotte Moorman
* Bruce Nauman
* Shirin Neshat
* Pat Oleszko
* Pauline Oliveros
* Mihai Olos
* Yoko Ono
* Eiko Otaki
* Nam June Paik
* Gina Pane
* Mark Pauline
* Petr Pavlensky
* Dorothy Podber
* Jim Pomeroy
* Duke Riley
* Rachel Rosenthal
* Martha Rosler
* Carolee Schneemann
* Tino Sehgal
* Aliza Shvarts
* Barbara T. Smith
* Michael Smith
* Stelarc
* Melati Suryodarmo
* Mierle Laderman Ukeles
* Ulay
* Wolf Vostell
* Robert Whitman
* Hannah Wilke

Groups|

* Ant Farm
* Concept 21
* COUM Transmissions
* Fallen Fruit
* General Idea
* LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner
* Los Angeles Urban Rangers
* Mavo
* The Yes Men

Media|

* Mondo New York (1988 film)
* Kusama: Infinity (2018 film)

Other|

* Body art
* Endurance art
* Feminist art
* Fluxus
* Happening
* Hunger artist
* monochrom
* Participatory art
* Performance art in China
* Survival Research Laboratories
* Viennese Actionism
* Process art

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