539
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Breath work: visualizing the invisible and relational breath

ORCID Icon
Pages 177-198 | Received 01 Sep 2018, Accepted 05 Mar 2019, Published online: 26 Apr 2019
 

ABSTRACT

In this paper I explore the significance of the breath in contemporary art. While breathing operates at the margins of perception, its symbolic possibilities are frequently visualized in photography, video and performance-based works. I catalyse Allan Kaprow’s instructive breathing piece, Performing Life (1979), to open up a perspective on the corporeal, creative and inter-subjective dimension of the breath in the work of Australian artists Julie Rrap, Daniel Mudie Cunningham and the late Australian/Italian artist Katthy Cavaliere. These artists, via a diversity of means, perform breathing and inadvertently achieve Kaprow’s intention of drawing attention to what is overlooked in everyday life. I examine how Rrap, Cunningham and Cavaliere’s works induce a consciousness of the breath in the viewer. Further, I have undertaken this examination by reflecting on the unavoidable connection between breathing and death. This discussion brings important detail to embodied spectatorship whereby ‘breath work’ is viewed as engendering an awareness of embodied subjectivity, creativity and community.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Cherine Fahd is an academic, artist and writer working in the field of photography. She holds a doctorate from Monash University, Melbourne and is Director and Senior Lecturer in Photography at the University of Technology Sydney.

Notes

1 For more information see Taoist Tai Chi Society of Australia Inc. (http://www.taoist.org.au/content/standard.asp?) (accessed 14 December 2018).

3 In a face-to-face conversation with Julie Rrap on 3 December 2018.

4 One cannot help but read this work through Cavaliere’s premature death, and wondering if the artist had a suspicion that her life would be cut short.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 200.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.