Temptation of St. Anthony- Joos van Craesbeeck (1650)

Art installation at symposium

      Steve Wilson, illustrator and writer, will be presenting his “A-Z S.O.D.S” on 1st September at the performing monstrosity symposium:

  “He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. He’s an extraordinary-looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way. No sir; I can make no hand of it; I can’t describe him. And it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment.”        

              (Robert Louis Stevenson: The strange case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde)

Darkly we delight in the notion of the urban monster, that harbinger of social paranoia and devilish dreams. Born and reborn on the wings of the collective consciousness of the great artisans, we catch their form.

From Dante to Blake, surpassing culture and place, the monstrous incarnations are indelibly impressed. They speak of the unspeakable, fortify the untouchable and grow grotesquely until reality and the dream fade into an ominous grey space. Here, terror and taboo hand us helplessly to the devices of that “mysterious other”.

As a contemporary compendium of the darker elements of humanity and the socially absurd, “A-Z S.O.D.S” propagates its own brand of satirical exorcism. The caricatured effigies are caught between pen and paper and brought out into the light.

The blend of cruelty and comedy, re-enactment and realization, requests the reader to revel, rebel and to reform their own notions of idiosyncrasy and monstrosity.

A

... is for the Anarchist, Adam,

Who armed the East in search of Saddam,

And sold for himself, ten-dozen tin tanks,

While strutting the street in his star-spangled pants.

BIG

La rambla barcelona

Leading up to the 1^st September we will share some monstrous images with you. Feel free to leave your comments.

related symposium on zombies

Some of you who plan to attend the Performing Monstrosity symposium may also be interested to attend/send in abstracts for the following symposium on zombies:

http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=38990

Changes to the Catalan Panel

Due to unforeseen circumstances, there has been a change in our Catalan panel in the afternoon. 

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Laia Manonelles from the University of Barcelona to our panel, which will focus on the so-calledVampiress of the Raval, the notorious case of Enriqueta Martí, a woman who led a double life; prostitution and pimping out children by day and appearing in finery in the upper echelons of turn-of-the-century Barcelona society by night. Together with Merce Saumell, she will discuss the case of this grotesque 'social monster', and on the one hand bring a sociological analysis of her behaviour, whilst on the other Merce Saumell will discuss her reappearance in theatre in Barcelona on the centenary of her death.

This panel promises to be a fascinating insight into one of Spain's most grotesque characters; a true urban monster, and we are very grateful to Dr. Manonelles for agreeing to step in and complete this very promising panel.

Registration form...

Performing Monstrosity in the City

1st September 2012

ArtsOne Building

Queen Mary, University of London

Registration Form

Name:

Affiliation:

Address:

Phone:

Email:

Registration fee: £10

Please pay your registration at our online Performing Monstrosity page at this address, http://eshop.qmul.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&prodid=260&deptid=34&catid=1 and please return the form to performingthemonster@gmail.com before the 20th August.

We look forward to welcoming you to our event and thank you for your participation,

Anna Wilson and Charlie Allwood