369: Cassils on the body as both material and tool in performance art
Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Cassils. Their performance-based work often utilizes physical force and exertion as a metaphor for struggle and survival. In our interview we talk about creating pieces that are in dialogue with past artists, the role the audience plays as observer within a performance, and how they use their body as both a material and tool in their work. To see examples, visit www.cassils.net.
The images above show a spectrum of physical engagement that Cassils uses within their work to talk about social expectation and the shaping of trans subjectivity. In the first pair of images, Cassils leans against a classical figure shaped in ice to melt the form with their body heat for the endurance piece Tiresias. In Becoming an Image , Cassils attacks a 2000 pound monolith of clay in the dark as the photographer’s flash illuminates the audience and the performance. Cassils later exhibited the resulting sculpture Clay Bash as evidence of the performance along with the photos.
(Cuts- A Traditional Sculpture, Timelapse (Front), 2011 Courtesy of the artist. Tiresias, Video Still No. 4 (Performance for Camera), 2013 photo- Cassils with Clover Leary Courtesy of the artist. Becoming An Image, Performance Still No. 1 (Edgy Women Festival, Montreal), 2013 photo- Cassils with Alejandro Santiago Courtesy of the artist)
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