February 27, 2001
6:00 pm.

Neeb Hall, Arizona State University

The Lecture is open to the public

Provocative French artist, Orlan, will present a free public lecture and presentation 6 p.m., Feb. 27, in Neeb Hall on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe. The presentation, entitled "Orlan's Visions of the Interdisciplinary Future," is sponsored by ASU's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program. Orlan, whose series of nine cosmetic surgical operations were performed as art between 1990 and 1993, is known internationally as the "Reincarnation of Saint Orlan". She was the first to use her own flesh as a sculpture medium. As a result, Orlan has radically transformed her physical appearance and her identity through what she calls "Carnal Art." "Her transformation is considered quite shocking, if not disturbing, says Tanya Augsburg, an interdisciplinary lecturer at ASU, "because she has chosen to reconstruct herself using some of the more beautiful images of female beauty from the history of Western Art rather than relying on media images of supermodels as sources of inspiration. Orlan has systemically and willingly disfigured herself in the process," she adds. During her seventh operation performance in November 1993, Orlan had cheek implants inserted above her temples to create two distinctive bumps that resemble budding horns. She plans to undergo rhinoplasty for her next operation, but instead of making her nose smaller, she intends to enlarge it as much as possible. Her complex operation performances were broadcast around the world, and have been featured regularly on The Discovery Channel. "Orlan's art raises many questions regarding current ideals of feminine beauty and the anxieties such ideals impose on men and women alike as we all current live in a society obsessed with unattainable youth and perfection," says Augsburg, the first American to write a dissertation chapter on Orlan. "Her work also poses questions regarding the future of the body, ethics of cosmetic surgery and the body's tenuous relation to emergent communication and biomedical technologies." While visiting ASU, Orlan will discuss her philosophies and theories behind "Carnal Art" as well as displaying her most recent work, "Self-Hybridations," in which a series of computer-enhanced self portraits that juxtapose Orlan's photographic image with Mayan Art and other non-Western cultures. For more information about Orlan visit her comprehensive web site at www.orlan.net